Best Way - When Should HIPAA Training Take Place?

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Laws were passed in 1996 to make the health care system more effective and efficient for Americans. HIPAA protects the contents of private medical information from being publicly disclosed, unless permission is given by you, the patient. If your business handles patient medical information, your employees must receive HIPAA training.

When To Administer HIPAA Training

1. In general, HIPAA training should be administered immediately after an employee is hired, usually no later than 30 days prior to their hire date. However, many businesses schedule trainings on one or two specific days each month. To combat any confusion, offer bonus incentives for attending the training or a small rise in an employee's hourly wages. If this does not work, schedule them on an extra day of the month that falls on the same day of the training.

How Often to Train

2. The law requires an employee to be HIPAA trained once. There is no obligation for an employer to administer HIPAA training to the same employee more than once to become recertified. However, if there is a HIPAA breach committed by an employee, you may want to consider retraining that employee to ensure his or her knowledge of HIPAA laws to prevent future lawsuits brought upon your company.

Training Documentation

3. To ensure your new employees' attendance was documented, issue a sign-in sheet for all attendees to sign. This should also include the nature of the training, topics covered during the training, how the training was administered, and how long the training occurred. Document everything in an effort to keep thorough records.

Length of Training

4. A training session should be no more than 30 minutes to an hour. The time it takes to complete a training depends on where and how it is being administered. There are several ways you can go here:
   
   Workplace Classroom Training---Requires getting an outside expert to come to your workplace and train new employees. Time of training lasts about 1 hour.
   
   Offsite Workplace Training: Requires employees to attend classes at other locations. Time of training lasts about 40 minutes.
   
   Online Training: Allows employees to recieve training online at any time from their desk. Time of training last about 30 minutes.