• HIPAA stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
• Passed and federally implemented in 1996, HIPAA is designed to reduce costs, simplify administrative processes/burdens, and improve the privacy and security of patients’ information. It is enforced by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights.

• HIPAA applies to covered entities and business associates.
• A covered entity is a Healthcare provider, a Health plan, or a Healthcare Clearinghouse.

• A business associate is a person or entity that performs certain functions or activities that involve the use or disclosure of protected health information on behalf of, or provides services to, a covered entity.

• The HIPAA Privacy Rule states that training must be provided to “each new member of the workforce within a reasonable period after the person joins the covered entity’s workforce” and to “each member of the covered entity’s workforce whose functions are affected by a material change in the policies or procedures . . . within a reasonable period after the material change becomes effective.”
• Employees are required to sign Acknowledgements showing they’ve received the training and resources needed to understand their HIPAA responsibilities and that they do understand and agree to follow the HIPAA policies the office requires.

Our Recommendation: All new employees be trained on HIPAA within the first 30 days of their employment and ALL employees get HIPAA training annually.