The protection of medical records’ anonymity is of the most significant concern. Healthcare organizations must be HIPAA compliant to protect personal patients’ data. This applies to workflows, physical access. The software is covered to a lesser extent, so HIPAA Compliance Checklist for Software with a description is sufficient. For instance, HIPAA is complemented by the Health Information Technology Business and Clinical Practice Act (HITECH). This legislation sets out sanctions for organizations that do not meet the requirements of the HIPAA.

What are the differences between CHPA, CHPE, CHSE, and CHPSE?

Certification is a formal acknowledgement of a certain level of professionalism in the area of information technology. The certificate holder is recognized as a specialist with a thorough knowledge of the field and has specific competencies essential to the profession. There are four different types of such certifications.

Certified HIPAA Privacy Associate (CHPA) is an entry-level certification that covers HIPAA basic overview for those who need a general awareness of HIPAA.

Certified HIPAA Privacy Expert (CHPE)  defines that you know the HIPAA law requirement for Privacy rule & basic overview on HIPAA security rule and guide you on making your organization HIPAA compliant for privacy rule.

Certified HIPAA Security Expert (CHSE) will help you learn the HIPAA law requirement for Security rule & basic overview of HIPAA privacy rule and supervise you on making your company HIPAA compliant for Security rule.

Certified HIPAA Privacy Security Expert (CHPSE) will assist you in finding out about law requirements for HIPAA Privacy & HIPAA security rule and guide you on specifics of making your company HIPAA compliant.

HIPAA Certification vs. HIPAA Compliance

Let me explain to you the difference between being HIPAA compliant and being certified?

Compliance associates with adhering to the proper rules and following the guidelines and requirements of HIPAA.

Certification refers to the process when an organization or individual is given a document that indicates the completion of an education course or training.

You don’t need to be certified, but you need to be HIPAA compliant.

What steps can you take to comply with HIPAA?

You may doubt if this certification can present any value to your business. Today, HIPAA offers the highest level of protection among manufactured goods in the marketplace. If you are ready to obtain HIPAA certification, now is the perfect time to do so. Still, you should take heed of offers promising to certify to protect you from audits. HIPAA must endeavour to obtain certificates of the highest security level and the organization and construction of the entire chain of additional certification of updates and their provision to customers.

You should be acquainted with the top five HIPAA administrative rules and the HITECH Act. The HITECH Act defines the privacy of electronic health records (EHR) and patients’ rights. The HIPAA rules cover the next topics:

• Privacy rule.

• Transactions and code set rules.

• Security rule.

• Unique identifiers rule.

• Enforcement rule.

Who is in charge of HIPAA training in a healthcare system?

The organization of HIPAA training is the responsibility of the HIPAA Privacy and Security Officers. However, it should be a collaborative effort that involves nursing managers, HR, and IT – primarily when a new policy, process, or technology is implemented. These may also be third-party consultants accustomed to providing training when HHS issues new HIPAA guidelines.

Completing HIPAA Training

To get the HIPAA and HITECH certifications, you must follow the next three steps: the candidate organization selects a training provider, participates in training workshops, and passes a certification exam.

Good HIPAA certification courses provide training for you and your staff. New employees should be trained soon after they are hired and other employees who have changed roles. Yet, there’s no official training protocol that you are obliged to use, so you can create your training or outsource it. Training needs to be tailored to individual employees’ roles, thereby maximizing competence. It is a vital part of HIPAA compliance as it makes all individuals aware of measures to take to ensure PHI’s privacy and security. The training educates employees on the details of the act and helps them understand their role in compliance.

Is third-party HIPAA compliance certification beneficial?

The certificate is valid for one year. Third-party certification resulting from an audit is useful for organizations to confirm that they are meeting HIPAA standards. However, these audits only verify that one met the regulations on the day of the audit. Any certificates awarded from a third-party audit is not legally binding and will not prove you have maintained HIPAA compliance after the audit.

Many healthcare professionals would try to deter your organization from getting certification. Their critiques of for-profit ventures are not unfounded, but they are superfluous. There are several good reasons for getting a third-party HIPAA certification, even if it is not necessary.

Should Business Associates Be HIPAA Certified?

While a certification badge on a provider can strengthen your confidence that the provider is compliant and can trust your data, this does not mean that they follow through. Accordingly, do not select a vendor based just on a “HIPAA Certified” status. Always conduct due diligence first to ensure they follow the rules.

So, neither covered entities nor their business associates need HIPAA certification. Likewise, individual employees don’t need to receive a HIPAA certification. Although, employees, covered entities, and business associates are liable for complying with HIPAA rules.

Final Thoughts On Certification

There is no legal significance for HIPAA certification. It doesn’t exempt you from complying with the rules or auditing your performance and finding rules breaking. It was intended to be “future-oriented” and does not describe the exact technologies that should be used to protect PHI. Today, publicly available digital certificates from Certification Authorities (CAs) are an excellent solution to ensure the encryption, authentication, and integrity of digital communications.

HIPAA rules are complex and often updated, and the organization itself can introduce changes that require new procedures to ensure ongoing compliance.

HIPAA compliance is an ongoing process. You can’t complete certification on a given day and assume you are finished. HIPAA compliance requires constant audits, so the healthcare providers and business associates remain compliant.