HIPAA compliance
Go online for a cost-effective training option
By Don M. Halverson

Have you complied with the training requirement of HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules? Many practitioners claim they have implemented HIPAA policies and procedures and have no need for further training.

They are mistaken.

A practice cannot rest unless it has also instituted a formal, ongoing training program. Ongoing training is the process of keeping the issues in the forefront.

Both HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules stipulate that the “workforce” of a provider organization receive training appropriate for job-related duties. This “workforce” includes employees, volunteers, trainees, and other persons who work for the organization HIPAA covers, whether or not they are paid by that organization.

That means that each new employee as well as any employee changing his/her function must be trained. And all employees need to be retrained when policies and procedures are changed. The result is a continual training program that will meet all these training needs.

A one-time education program to initiate implementation is not sufficient. New employees who join an organization must receive training within a reasonable period of time. Workforce members who change jobs or receive new responsibilities must receive additional training if their new job duties include new patient privacy or security-related responsibilities.

Be advised: Providing reading material or audio/visual tapes to your staff members may not be effective training. This type of “training” is passive. It does not allow for feedback or interaction. You have no way to know if your employees have truly learned and can implement the information they have read or seen.

TRAINING OPTIONS

Training can happen either in the office or outside the office. Each has good points and bad points.

• Onsite classroom training. Inviting (and paying for) onsite training sessions assures interaction with an expert. However, onsite training can be intrusive and possibly cause your office to close while the training is being conducted.

The cost of a professional trainer to spend a day or even a half-day in the office can also be considerable, on top of lost revenue while the office is closed.

• Offsite training. Sending staff members to training offsite is an option. Staff members get to interact with experts, as well as with individuals from other practices. This often results in excellent networking and new ideas.

But offsite training requires staff members to leave the office for at least a half-day if the training is local or several days (plus travel expenses) if the training is not local. And you also have tuition and related costs (meals, travel) for the training.

• Online training. A less costly method of training in terms of both time and money is online training, which only requires a computer with Internet access. This type of training is also effective, provided the training program is interactive and requires the student to respond throughout each session.

Online programs assure that information is current; some provide for automatic updates in changes in the law.

With Internet access, a worker using earphones can train at a desk, not bother anyone else nor leave the office, and do it at a time best suited for the office and the worker. As an alternative, your employee can also access the online training at home.

Computers are consistent; human instructors are not. Human instruc-tors add to or omit information with every session delivered.

Computers do not do that. The material covered is only changed when someone in authority says it should be changed and that change will be there for all viewers. Online training will insure that everyone will be trained uniformly and correctly.

Online training is not perfect. It is limited by Internet technology. Full-motion training films are not yet practical in an interactive environment. However, trainees can experience a combination of text, pictures, and audio if they have a broadband connection and a basic PC configuration.

Interactivity, or the ability of the student to communicate with the instruction software, helps with the learning process and also allows the student to work at a comfortable pace.

Given options for complying with the HIPAA training requirement, online training can be both cost-effective and deliver the results you need — maintaining the privacy of your patients.

Don Halverson has a master's degree in engineering administration from the University of Utah and owned and operated a computer consulting firm for 18 years. He is currently a manager for Healthcare Compliance Solutions Inc. of Salt Lake City, Utah, and can be reached at 801-947-0183 or by e-mail at donh@hcsiinc.com.