3 Types of HIPAA Certification

If you work in any field related to healthcare you have certainly come across the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in your job. Depending on your responsibilities and your access to personal health information, a HIPAA certification may be a good idea for your job. If you have any kind of direct access to personal health information, it is likely that your employee even requires certification.
If your employer does not require certification, it does not mean it is not relevant to your position. The HIPAA laws are quite complicated and affect a great deal of areas in health care. Non-compliance Therapy Cost with HIPAA regulations can result in costly fines and potentially civil lawsuits from patients. Truly, anyone employed in the healthcare industry could benefit from a certification.
There are three main types of HIPAA certifications you can complete. Each is targeted towards a certain aspect of healthcare professional or information technology professional. You may find it useful to become certified in all three HIPAA certifications or just one, depending on your position. Below are the three types of certifications and their definitions, uses, and applications.
• Certified HIPAA Professional (CHP). CHP certification is a Level 1 HIPAA certification. It covers mostly just the basics of HIPAA and does not require any certain education or prerequisites. This is a great certification for all employees in any organization that has access to personal health information. In CHP certification, employees will gain an overview of HIPAA and why it was implemented. Health care executives, risk supervisors, privacy and security employees, nurses, and physicians can all benefit from a CHP certification.
• Certified HIPAA Administrator (CHA). The CHA certification is most applicable to end-users like nurses and hospital administrators who deal directly with the delivery of health care services. The CHA certification focuses heavily on the privacy aspects of HIPAA legislation. The CHA certification is also very patient centric, covering how HIPAA will affect patients in regards to their personal health information and medical records. With CHA certification, end-users will have a solid grasp on patient privacy and HIPAA compliance on a daily basis.
• Certified HIPAA Security Specialist (CHSS). CHSS is a Level 2 HIPAA certification. To qualify for the CHSS certification, participants must already have completed the CHP certification. The CHSS focusing on electronic medical records and the information technology aspects of HIPAA compliance. Graduates will have a deep understanding of security standards and practices surrounding electronic medical records and how it applies to HIPAA. All healthcare information technology employees should complete CHSS certification.
It can be a very costly decision not to have employees to gain HIPAA certification. Costs of non-compliance from fines and civil lawsuits far outweigh the costs of HIPAA certification programs for employees. The more employees in an organization with Pork Fat Benefits HIPAA certification, the lower the risk of security breaches or violations of HIPAA laws. To ensure your professional success and the overall success and safety of your organization and the patients it serves, HIPAA certification is a requirement.