Senin, 14 Januari 2013

What You Need to Know About HIPAA Exams: 3 Things

Any organization that deals with personal health information either through direct contact with patients or through indirect contact with medical records is required by law to provide some type of training about the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). If you own a business that has access to private health information it is crucial and that you and your employees can be up to date on all things related to the HIPAA guidelines. Violations of HIPAA can result in fines for you and your employees and sometimes even in a civil lawsuit.

The easiest training program to provide your employees with HIPAA training is to partner with an online exam and training course. Choosing an online program has several advantages. The online exam can be taken anywhere with an internet connection, 24 hours a day, seven days a week at their own convenience. Once they have passed the exam, your employees can then print their own certificates for display in offices and other places.

Before choosing an exam provider or training program, there are a few things you should know about exams. A reputable exam provider will have these three things included in their training materials and they will appear on the exam:

1) HIPAA history. This includes information like when HIPAA was enacted, what problems it set out to address, who helped to put it into place, and how have the healthcare and insurance dealt with HIPAA since its start.

2) HIPAA privacy rules. A huge part of HIPAA regulations deals with the privacy of personal health information. Any reputable exam will cover these in great detail to make sure the exam taker has a solid grasp on the material. Even the slightest violation in HIPAA privacy rules can result in major fines so it is crucial to understand these rules. In addition to understanding privacy rules in general, a quality exam will check the rules as their pertain to different aspects in the industry whether it be health insurance providers, direct healthcare providers, or medical records processors.

3) Other HIPAA requirements. These are outlining requirements put in place by HIPAA to ensure compliance. These are just as crucial as the privacy law. One example is that HIPAA requires at least one person on staff be held responsible for HIPAA compliance within an organization. Another example is that those involved in direct care with the patients must tell patients of their rights of their personal health information. This must be done before any information is obtained. Rules like these should be covered in any reputable HIPAA exam.

Once you have begun your search for an exam and training provider, make sure they cover at least those three fundamental elements of HIPAA. There is no point in having your employees go through a training program, wasting precious time and money, if you are not completely certain the HIPAA exam will test them on crucial information about HIPAA regulations and compliance. Think of exams not as a chore, but as a reassurance and investment back into your healthcare organization. Not only will HIPAA exams help you stay in compliance and avoid violations, but patients will be happier and feel more secure knowing that all employees having taking a certification HIPAA exam. When explaining the privacy rules to the patients, take that moment to reassure them that every employee in the organization has passed a HIPAA exam meaning their personal health information is 100% safe.

For more information, please visit our HIPAA Exams website.

Tidak ada komentar:

Posting Komentar