HIPAA Privacy and Confidentiality

Who should take it

All workforce members of a HIPAA covered entity: clinical, administrative, billing, students and volunteers.

National course on the federal HIPAA Privacy Rule. State laws that give clients more privacy protection, and your organization's own policies, also apply and are not covered here.

What employees will learn

• ✓Identify protected health information (PHI) and the organizations and people HIPAA applies to.
• ✓Distinguish uses and disclosures that are permitted without authorization from those that require the client's written authorization.
• ✓Apply the minimum necessary standard and recognize its exceptions.
• ✓Describe clients' rights to access and amend their records and how quickly the practice must respond.
• ✓Decide when information may be shared with family members and caregivers.
• ✓Explain the special protection for psychotherapy notes.
• ✓Describe your personal confidentiality responsibilities and how to report a concern.

Topics covered

• •Privacy Rule fundamentals
• •Protected health information
• •Permitted and prohibited disclosures
• •Minimum necessary standard and exceptions
• •Patient authorization
• •Patient access and amendment rights
• •Family and caregiver communication
• •Psychotherapy notes
• •Special considerations for behavioral health
• •Workforce confidentiality responsibilities

Sources this course is based on

• Administrative requirements: training, sanctions, retaliation, documentation and retention (45 CFR 164.530(b), (e), (g), (j)) · eCFR
• Definitions, including psychotherapy notes (45 CFR 164.501) · eCFR
• Uses and disclosures: general rules and minimum necessary (45 CFR 164.502(a), (b), (g)) · eCFR
• Uses and disclosures requiring an authorization, including psychotherapy notes (45 CFR 164.508) · eCFR
• Involvement in the individual's care (family and friends) (45 CFR 164.510(b)) · eCFR
• Uses and disclosures for which authorization is not required, including serious threats (45 CFR 164.512(j)) · eCFR
• Rights to request restrictions and confidential communications (45 CFR 164.522) · eCFR
• Access of individuals to protected health information (45 CFR 164.524) · eCFR