Physicians and office staff understand that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is federal law. It was designed to provide privacy standards to protect patients’ medical records and other health information. Nevertheless, many fail to recognize that they are not in compliance with federal privacy laws enacted since HIPAA. With an increase in the number of audits conducted for HIPAA compliance and larger penalty amounts, failing to comply with federal privacy laws is not something you can afford to do.
Most HIPAA violations are due to human error. For this reason, the most critical thing you can do is start by training all new employees and conduct annual staff training. Every physician and practice must ensure that all staff members understand the importance of patient privacy and the seriousness and potential penalties of even one violation. This training should demonstrate an awareness of and a commitment to HIPAA compliance.
CAP members and their staff can take advantage of free access to all HIPAA training videos made available through NAS CyberNET®.
For detailed instructions on accessing the training materials, click here.
Upon completion of a course, a certificate is automatically generated that can be printed or saved. This can be used to prove compliance.
Authored by Kimberly Danebrock, JD, RN, CPPS
CAPAssurance Director of Risk Management