Since HIPAA was first enacted in 1996, health care organizations have been required to provide periodic training to their employees to ensure that they understand what’s required of them under the law.
As we know, employee training can be time consuming, expensive, and it can have a negative impact on productivity. Today, technology gives us significant advantages when it comes to employee training in that it can now be accomplished online. That includes keeping employees compliant with the ever-changing requirements of HIPAA regulation.
Here are seven important reasons why your employees need to keep up-to-date with their HIPAA training, and why it is more effective when they receive that training online:
1. Online Training Provides the Most Current Information
HIPAA regulation and requirements are always changing to meet the needs of today’s health care industry. Printed materials, therefore, can quickly become outdated, which is why it is important to accomplish this training online. It is easier for both government agencies and health care organizations to keep track of modifications when they are made online. Moreover, employees can receive the information quickly, and learn it more efficiently.
2. Online Training Makes HIPAA Compliance Easier to Achieve
HR and compliance professionals know that keeping employees compliant can be a big burden. Online training makes things easier because the training is distributed online, rather than in person. Employees no longer have to attend costly off-site seminars that take them away from their jobs and their families. Online training can be completed at the employee’s convenience, taking the burden out of attesting to policies and procedures and making total HIPAA compliance that much easier to attain.
3. Online Training Is Easy to Manage
When you finally take the plunge by adopting online training, you’ll be surprised at how easy the courses are to manage. All HIPAA training materials are kept in one central location that everyone can access. There is no more stress about posters and other printed materials disappearing from break rooms, and fewer opportunities for employees to claim that they were unaware of new regulations or training requirements. When everything is stored online, excuses disappear and access to education increases.
4. Online Training Is Affordable
Most businesses are trying to keep expenses down wherever possible. Hiring trainers to hold seminars in-person is a significant expense, as is sending employees to off-site locations to obtain training. Online training eliminates these expenses by providing information that is accessible on office computers as well as personal or mobile devices. Training can be accessed from anywhere that a high-speed internet connection is available, which makes it much easier for employees to keep up with their training requirements.
5. Online Training Makes Onboarding New Employees Easier
Very often, new employees can become overwhelmed when they start a new position. Online training, particularly for something as important as HIPAA compliance, makes their new job a little less daunting, and helps prevent common mistakes new employees will often make during the early days of a new position.
6. Online Training Ensures That Everyone Is Protected
The easier the training is to access and complete, the greater the amount of protection your business and your employees will have. No one wants to be in violation of HIPAA regulations, or subject to an audit, so having all HIPAA information readily available ensures that compliance is as up-to-date as possible.
7. Semi-Annual and Annual Re-Training Is No Longer a Headache
Organizations that are required to periodically re-train employees dread having to spend all that time and money achieving compliance, particularly for something as important as HIPAA. Online training makes it easier to ensure that annual or semi-annual training can be completed in a timely fashion. Additionally, many online training platforms contain tools that will help supervisors and management ensure that employees attest that they’ve understood and will comply with the training they’ve received.
Overall, online training is a win-win for organizations that must maintain HIPAA compliance. These seven reasons illustrate how easy and affordable it is to stay in the know.
Author Bio: Kathy Amato is the Director of Marketing at Coggno.com, a website that aggregates online training courses and also offers a free Learning Management System.