Reasons Why HIPAA Compliance Training is Very Important

Imagine that a person undergoes a medical procedure, and the affairs and details of all the events that occurred were revealed to random people without the patient's approval.

The patient would be devastated at the lack of respect and regard for their privacy, and it would not speak well of the formality and professionalism of the medical sector. 

One thing that patients want aside from receiving treatment is the confidentiality of their personal information and affairs. Because health information is delicate, the privacy of a patient must come first, and this is why the HIPAA Compliance Training is of great importance. 

Now, let us get into more detail about HIPAA law and training.

What is HIPAA Law and Training?

The law of HIPAA, otherwise known as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, was founded as a federal law in the United States of America, the year 1996. The purpose of the law is to protect the privacy and security of patients. 

HIPAA Compliance Training is for people or bodies who have access to the details of individuals' health records. In every organization or business where the health records or medical reports of employees are required, such records or reports must be protected according to the HIPAA Law. The HIPAA training will mostly be undergone by staff or employees that have direct access to medical information. The first set of people that mostly come to mind when we talk about staff with access to health information are, of course, doctors, nurses, physicians e.t.c. They constitute a majority of HIPAA compliance trainees, but the training is not restricted to them alone. 

The training is not only for members of the health sector but other sectors too. As long as there is a submission of medical reports, the staff must become HIPAA certified as soon as possible. In any business or formal setting, the members responsible for keeping the medical records of other employees must undergo HIPAA compliance training. Companies that provide health plans for their employees and health insurance companies or companies that deal with any kind of health information must also incorporate this training. It is compulsory for every health business organization, no matter how small they are, to make their staff undergo HIPAA training. There is no valid excuse that can be given if this is not done, even if it is ignorance. This is because it is up to an organization to meet every demand of the law. 

The HIPAA Compliance training is a periodical one. It is not a one-time training like other ones. Employees who have undergone this training must continue to revisit the training room. This is so that they are aware of every latest change and development, and they are up to date with the current practices and regulations, as everything is subjected to change.

The training can follow any pattern that is suitable for the organization. Most companies make theirs annually, while some might make theirs occur twice in a year, or once in two years. 

Why is HIPAA Compliance Training Very Important?

Like we have discussed above, the major function of the HIPAA law is to protect the privacy and secure the health information of individuals, among other things. Given that medical records are private information and are delicate, the personnel in charge of storing this information, and those privileged to have access to them, must undergo training that will help them conceal the records of patients' health professionally.

It is one thing to know what should and should not be done, and it is another thing to comply with doing what is right. The aim of having trained compliance personnel is to prevent the occurrence of any voluntary and involuntary violation of patients' privacy. This will be good for the integrity of health organizations/ corporate organizations too. 

The HIPAA Compliance Training is very important. Some major reasons are:

• It can prevent healthcare fraud and misuse.  Since the HIPAA code is very easy to violate, compliance training must be put in place to ensure that workers know that the medical information of individuals isn’t something to toy with, manipulate or violate. We have had cases where health workers sell private medical information for money or collaborate with people to manipulate reports for fraudulent activities.

• It helps in allocating punishment to offenders. HIPAA compliance training will make it easy to recognize a deliberate offender. Once a worker has gone through training and still breaks codes, they don’t deserve to be entrusted with private information.

• It builds patients' trust. When people are confident about the fact that their information cannot be shared with any second party, it will help them develop more trust for the health sectors of this new era.

We cannot become a society if we do not all perform our roles dutifully. The HIPAA Compliance Training is a call for duty amongst those who carry the responsibility of keeping health records and information!