How to Create Effective HIPAA Training Programs

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) includes provisions for protecting the confidentiality of patient information. These provisions are known collectively as the Privacy Rule. Compliance management of the Privacy Rule by pharmaceutical and other organizations that come into contact with patient information must involve comprehensive HIPAA training of employees to understand and follow the Privacy Rule by outlining patient rights and explaining the administrative requirements of the rule, including the penalties for noncompliance.

LRN, the leader in ethics course, enterprise risk management and HIPAA training programs, has HIPAA courseware and training materials. LRN's HIPAA training covers the general rules for using or releasing a patient's Protected Health Information (PHI), with an emphasis on how to follow the "minimum necessary requirement" that limits which information can be used or released, and by whom. Effective HIPAA training must educate employees on the nuances of HIPAA and PHI.

LRN's experience has shown that companies create effective HIPAA training programs when they incorporate five key elements:

• Senior management takes responsibility for driving ethics and HIPAA training efforts.
• Educate on values – as well as laws and rules – to inspire principled behavior.
• Make HIPAA training interesting and engaging.
• Make HIPAA training relevant to real, on-the-job scenarios.
• Reinforce HIPAA training by relating course content to actual workplace experiences.

Since 1993, LRN has helped nearly 300 companies create and implement effective ethics and compliance training programs, including industry specific HIPAA courses that teach employees how to value ethical behavior and foster respect for patients' rights, including their right to privacy. LRN's team of 350 dedicated professionals will work with you to help promote and reinforce your code of ethics by incorporating it into your HIPAA training curriculum. Visit LRN.com to find out how you can create winning compliance corporate email and ethics training programs to inspire principled performance.