HIPAA Compliance

HIPAA Compliance and HIM Professionals

It has been more than a decade since the passage of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). As such, HIPAA compliance has become an integral factor in all health information exchange planning, especially those related to Electronic Medical Records (EMR) systems and Electronic Health Records (EHR) implementation. With the primary goal of streamlining the administration process of health information management (HIM) and realizing new cost efficiencies, HIPAA guidelines, as national standards, govern the uniform adoption of a universal format for electronic healthcare claims and transactions.

HIPAA compliance carries multiple implications. Some of these implications affect the way standards are addressed in terms of privacy and confidentiality in healthcare, including e-signatures, and other facets that also involve electronic medical records. In all, there are nine areas of HIPAA compliance, including HIPAA guidelines for:

first report of injury
health claim status
health plan eligibility
health plan premium payments

For more information regarding HIPAA compliance, please view our HIM Resources page.

Find HIPAA Compliance Resources at AHIMA

HIM professionals work in all areas of the healthcare industry. From hospitals, to doctor's offices, to insurance companies, HIPAA compliance plays a significant role in daily operations. To help AHIMA members gain a greater understanding of HIPAA compliance and its implications, AHIMA offers numerous resources and HIPAA training courses.

AHIMA provides continuing education courses for HIPAA training and compliance. The Advanced HIPAA Training Program is a series of six courses designed to educate HIM professionals about HIPAA compliance. These HIPAA courses are available on an individual basis or together as one six-course program. Each HIPAA training course takes four week to complete. To learn more about HIPAA training, we invite you to visit our AHIMA Continuing Education page.

For other HIPAA compliance informational resources, AHIMA also provides audio seminars and books at the AHIMA online bookstore, where you will find valuable resources such as the HIPAA in Practice book. Also helpful are Journal of AHIMA articles on various aspects of HIPAA compliance regulations regarding the importance of privacy and confidentiality in healthcare, particularly health information exchange practices.

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