HIPAA and HITECH Regulatory Compliance Training, Webinars, Seminars, Standards

HIPAA and HITECH Compliance Training

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was enacted in 1996 to protect the privacy of individually identifiable health information. HIPAA was amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act which President Obama signed as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The HITECH Act widens the scope of privacy and security protections available under HIPAA and increases the potential legal liability for non-compliance.

The implementation of the final omnibus rule has made it mandatory for healthcare organizations to review their policies and procedures to ensure HIPAA compliance. The final rule has made significant changes to the privacy, security and breach notification standards. These changes affect every health care-related entity, from providers to insurers to business associates, and more. The amendments to HIPAA found in the final rule are extensive and complex. Some of these modifications include:

• Making business associates directly liable for HIPAA compliance for certain requirements
• Expanding individuals’ rights to receive electronic copies of their health information
• Changing the way to determine if a breach must be reported
• New restrictions on disclosures for marketing fundraising and sale of protected heath information
• New restrictions on use of genetic information by health plans (must be noted in Notice of Privacy Practices for the plans)
• Requiring modifications to, and redistribution of Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP)
• Incorporating the increased and tiered civil money penalty structure provided by the HITECH Act.

In order to comply with these changes all HIPAA-covered healthcare providers must renew their compliance activities and review their documentation to make sure they meet the challenges of the new rules and avoid breaches. Changes to policies and notices will be necessary in areas of patient access to records, restrictions of disclosures, marketing, fundraising, breach notification, and more. Failure to comply with these changes can lead to severe civil and criminal penalties.

Numerous cases of multi-million dollar fines for healthcare entities that violated HIPAA regulations are constantly reported (Cignet Health of Maryland, Mass General Hospital, MEEI). These cases of non-compliance re-instate the need for compliant measures and compliance programs within healthcare organizations to ensure violations are checked and brought forward to rectify without external inspections or citations.

ComplianceOnline HIPAA Training Courses

HIPAA compliance is a multi-faceted and complex subject. An effective training program will consider current trends and requirements, bringing you the latest updates from experienced instructors. ComplianceOnline offers HIPAA compliance training programs in various formats, including: live webinars, training recordings, in-person seminars, and customized organization-level in-person seminars. Led by recognized experts and industry veterans with decades of experience in regulatory affairs and compliance, our training programs will offer staff and management an interactive platform to understand and discuss current industry standards.