Covered Entities & Business Associates Don’t Understand What is Needed for Satisfactory Assurances of HIPAA Compliance
COVID-19 vaccine and screening issues broaden common misunderstanding of HIPAA rights and requirements
In isolation, individual misunderstandings are usually benign. However, when they are broadcast and become viral, they can reshape an entire community’s perception of the regulation.”
DES MOINES, IA, USA, March 24, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Broad misunderstanding of U.S. health data regulation HIPAA rights and requirements has been a long-standing issue that has led to many non-compliance penalties against HIPAA covered entities (CEs) and their business associates (BAs). Yet, pandemic-related circumstances, such as asking about vaccination status or requiring participation in screening activities, have exasperated the problem. The widespread sharing online of incorrect information about these issues by those with influence and power has made HIPAA compliance even more complicated for CEs and BAs than it is. — Rebecca Herold
To alleviate mounting confusion, the online education platform Privacy & Security Brainiacs (PSB) has developed a 34-minute virtual training course for HIPAA CEs, BAs and their subcontractors. The course includes coverage of both temporary HIPAA requirements that are still in effect, as well as proposed permanent HIPAA rules. It also covers common BA misconceptions and HIPAA compliance errors.
“HIPAA continues to find its way into the news, and quite often, the privacy rights it provides are referenced inaccurately,” said Privacy & Security Brainiacs CEO Rebecca Herold. “Recently, a lawmaker accused a reporter of violating HIPAA by asking about her vaccination status. She was wrong. This question is not a violation of HIPAA, which only applies to healthcare CEs, BAs and their subcontractors.”
“In isolation, individual misunderstandings are usually benign,” continued Herold. “However, when they are broadcast and become viral, they can reshape an entire community’s perception of the regulation, as well as lead to false beliefs about privacy rights that actually are not provided by the regulation. The domino effect results in an exponential increase in the number of reported “violations.” Subsequently, CEs, BAs and their sub-contractors must then devote time and resources to addressing the accusations.”
HIPAA compliance complaints, breaches and penalties have steadily increased since 2008 with a major rise in HIPAA violation penalties in 2020.
“The troubling truth is most CEs and BAs do not fully understand their HIPAA responsibilities,” Herold continued. “Employees rarely know what they are responsible for as it pertains to daily job activities required under HIPAA. This lack of awareness leaves organizations at greater risk of HIPAA noncompliance, security incidents, privacy breaches, huge fines and penalties, bad press, and in some cases, business closure.”
PSB’s new training module, HIPAA Basics for Business Associates 2022 Edition, aims to provide employees with the information they need to know to avoid these risks. At just 34 minutes and $19.95 per individual, the course is quick, effective and affordable.
PSB offers a sliding scale to lower prices as the number of learner attendees increases, as well as a price break of 50% off for clients agreeing to become beta testers of new courses as they are developed. Organizations interested in these arrangements are encouraged to contact PSB at info@privacysecuritybrainiacs.com.
The PSB online courses service offers a variety of benefits for business administrators in charge of their organizations’ training strategies. These include a free administrator account, an extensive administrator tracking and reporting portal and access to a range of functionality. From the portal, administrators can track the training activities of learners, view quiz results, push classes and supplemental materials to learners and create certificates for learners who have completed their assigned course. Special certificates are available for those who pass quizzes, as well as those who pass with exceptional scores. Private learning portals for each learner display the learner’s course history, including details like course title, completion date and time, quiz results, access to past courses and materials, as well as communication options for the learner and the administrator.
About Privacy & Security Brainiacs
Rebecca Herold launched Privacy Security Brainiacs in partnership with her son Noah Herold on Data Privacy Day 2021. The online platform offers IT, security, privacy and compliance education, training and awareness tools to help organizations of all sizes, in a wide range of industries, throughout the world. Privacy & Security Brainiacs provides online Software as a Service (SaaS) education services, with business admin capabilities for organizations to assign and manage training and other educational activities for their employees. They also provide videos, podcasts, e-books, paperback books, custom training, awareness events, supplemental materials and learning activities. To learn more, visit privacysecuritybrainiacs.com.
# # #
Media Contacts:
Rebecca Herold (for Privacy & Security Brainiacs), rebeccaherold@privacysecuritybrainiacs.com
Noah Herold (for Privacy & Security Brainiacs), noahherold@privacysecuritybrainiacs.com
Rebecca Herold
Privacy & Security Brainiacs
+1 515-491-1564
rebeccaherold@privacysecuritybrainiacs.com
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
