What is HIPAA?
HIPAA stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The act was introduced by the US federal government in 1996 for the purpose of protecting private information of patient's. HIPAA is directed towards hospitals, clinics, doctors, health care professionals and any other individual or organization with access to private information of medical patients.
HIPAA Training
HIPAA training is offered by many private companies, however, there is no standard accredited training program. The federal government provides guidelines and specifications of HIPAA but does not specify any curriculum training programs. The HIPAA training curriculum has been designed by private companies who offer training programs. Most of these private companies provide classroom as well as online training. The average cost of a HIPAA training program is around $20.
HIPAA Training Programs
There are four common HIPAA training programs:
- HIPAA Compliance Certification: This training program gives an overview of HIPAA regulations, their implications and penalties of non compliance etc. There are no pre-requisites or educational requirements for this course.
- Certified HIPAA Professional (CHP),: The CHP training program provides an understanding of HIPAA privacy and security requirements and teaches standards for transactions. Award of this certification is subject to clearance of the CHP exam. This program is also known as Level 1 of HIPAA certification. There are no pre requisites for enrolling in this course.
- Certified HIPAA Security Specialist (CHSS),: CHSS training program teaches HIPAA security specifications, international security standards and security technologies. This is level 2 of HIPAA certification and similar to the CHP requires clearance of the CHSS exam. Pre-requisite for enrolling in this course is successful completion of the CHP training.
- Certified HIPAA Administrator (CHA),: The CHA training program provides an overview of HIPAA's impact on patients, doctors, nurses and other health care professionals. It teaches requirements for patient privacy, payment information and other considerations when initiating projects. This is Level 3 of the HIPAA certification and the training program is followed by an exam.
HIPAA Training target audience and job opportunities
HIPAA training programs are recommended for all organizations in which privacy and security of data are of concern. HR managers, accountants, CFOs and administration staff in such organizations should be HIPAA certified.
HIPAA certification is a valuable career asset for individuals as well. With the strict enforcement of HIPAA, non compliance can be critical and extremely costly. Many organizations require HIPAA certified professionals for key designations.