As a healthcare business and provider, you work closely with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), among many other legal propositions. This federally mandated law plays an important role in the safety and success of your practice and those you cater to. It establishes the best standards for protecting and handling one’s protected health information (PHI) and governs access rights. Finding the best training course for your clinic’s HIPAA compliance ensures the success of your compliance and minimizes any mishaps and safety breaches. Here are some factors to consider before choosing a compliance program.
The Number of People in Training
Training a large group of people differs from training a smaller set. From aligning schedules and resource supplies to engagement and distractions, the number of people involved affects the training experience. For small groups but especially for larger groups, online programs work best because it eliminates scheduling challenges, allowing people to take the program at their own time and pace. It also helps streamline resource sharing and accessibility.
Employee Learning Style
Like the number of people training, considering people’s learning styles also affects the success and overall training experience. Although online training allows employees to undergo compliance courses at their own pace and schedule, some find it difficult to fully comprehend what’s being taught when learning through a screen. Every person has their preferred way of learning that allows them to take in and interact with given information optimally. Some learn better by reading the information. Others need hands-on learning experiences. The four main learning styles to keep in mind include visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and reading/writing learning.
Appropriate Compliance Topics
As with any legal Act, there are numerous sections and topics to cover and requirements set to comply with HIPAA. Ensuring that your HIPAA compliance training manual includes recent law updates and all the necessary subjects guarantees successful implementation of protocols and compliance. Important topic points that should be covered in HIPAA training include:
- • Privacy Rule overview
- • Security Rule overview
- • HITECH Act overview
- • Omnibus Rule overview
- • Patient rights
- • HIPAA safeguards
- • Patient PHI
- • Risk analysis and management
- • HIPAA compliance process stages
Other factors to consider before choosing a compliance program include determining the amount of time you have available, whether you want an expert to manage training or someone from the company, and if the program includes a form of certification. Finding and choosing a HIPAA training course that suits you, your employees, and those overseeing HIPAA compliance ensures the safety measures placed by HIPAA work and benefits those it’s supposed to help.