The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ensures the security, privacy, and integrity of health information of patients across the US. Failing to protect patient privacy can lead to fines and even jail time. We’ve compiled a list of online HIPAA courses to keep your teams up-to-date on the latest regulations.
What is HIPAA training?
The goal of HIPAA is to reform the field of healthcare by lowering costs, streamlining administrative processes and burdens, and protecting patient privacy and security. Today, HIPAA training is primarily focused on maintaining the privacy and security of patients’ health information.
With regular training, you can refresh your healthcare workers’ knowledge on HIPAA concepts. Making sure they’re up to date on the details, guidelines, and standards of HIPAA will be key to their compliance and your team’s success.
Why take online HIPAA training?
Receiving HIPAA training online has many advantages over attending offline training sessions. Some of these advantages include:
Convenient microlearning that fits in with busy work schedules
Better knowledge retention from algorithms that use spaced repetition
Engaging multisensory lessons that keep learners actively participating
With the importance of HIPAA training and the advantages of receiving it online in mind, this article took a look at some of the free online HIPAA training options that are available.
What are the topics HIPAA training must cover?
HIPAA regulations can be divided into two categories. The HIPAA Privacy Rule focuses on the patient’s rights to decide how their personal information is used. Meanwhile, the HIPAA Security Rule mainly involves the measures organizations must take to protect patient data. We’ve listed HIPAA online training topics for each rule below.
HIPAA Privacy Rule training topics
Overview of HIPAA and its purpose
The organization's privacy policies and procedures
Definition and identification of PHI
Use and disclosure rules, including situations requiring authorization and those that do not
Minimum Necessary Rule (using or disclosing the minimum amount of PHI needed)
Patient rights under HIPAA (access, amendment, restriction requests, confidential communications)
Role of the HIPAA Compliance Officer
Handling complaints and breach notification procedures
Confidentiality and social media policies
Accounting of disclosures
HIPAA Security Rule training topics
Security awareness and training program requirements
Protection against malicious software (malware)
Procedures for login monitoring and reporting discrepancies
Password management (creation, change, safeguarding)
Physical safeguards for devices and electronic PHI
Remote access and use of portable devices
Responding to security incidents and breaches
Policies on hardware, software, and technology updates affecting security
Data destruction procedures
How often is HIPAA training required?
There’s no specific requirement dictating how often teams should take HIPAA training. However, to make sure everyone stays up to date on regulations and best practices, it’s generally recommended to take HIPAA training as follows:
Onboarding of a new employee
Changes in policies, procedures, or working practices that affect HIPAA compliance.
Regular refresher training at least once every year (as a general practice)
Additional training in the event that risk assessments identify gaps or when staff violate HIPAA policies
Conclusion
There are tons of online HIPAA training courses for healthcare workers, but if you need a free, bite-sized, and mobile-friendly option that's simple to share with your team, check out Mitti (by SafetyCulture). This platform makes it easy to optimize your HIPAA training program with tools for editing content, adding interactive features, and tracking learner compliance—all in just a few clicks!
