HIPAA: A Guide for Healthcare Workers (1.0 CE for Nurses)

01-25-2021 12:10 PM

Course Description

The passage of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, of 1996 initiated one of the largest changes in the provision of healthcare in decades. The goal of this course is to define HIPAA and provide an overview of its guidelines and requirements, including those resulting from the enactment of the HITECH Act of 2009 and the act's Final Rule announced in early 2013. This course also provides information to help healthcare workers comply with HIPAA reforms and requirements, including guidance on how to maintain administrative, physical, and technical safeguards when dealing with private patient information in any electronic format.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of the course, the learner will be able to:

  • Describe the overall purpose and goals of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
  • Explain the role of the HIPAA Advisory Team and the individual healthcare worker in ensuring HIPAA reform compliance
  • Describe healthcare access, portability and reliability
  • Describe the five rules of administrative simplification
  • Describe the Privacy Rule that exists within the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
  • Describe the rule that requires that patients be given written notice of an institution's privacy rules and practices
  • Explain patient's rights regarding the privacy of their medical and personal information
  • Describe key exceptions to the Privacy Rule
  • Describe the most common violations of the Privacy Rule and the consequences for healthcare workers
  • Explain the difference between administrative, physical and technical safeguards
  • Explain the role of the privacy officer in a healthcare institution
  • Describe the various actions and precautions to take to ensure the security of patient information in electronic format 
Intended Audience

This educational activity was developed for nurses and healthcare professionals.

CE Information

This course is approved for 1.0 contact hours by the Florida and California State Boards of Nursing. 

Course Authors

This course was written by G. Rand Rodriguez and Marguerite Voorhees RN, MN, CNS, CPHQ, CPHRM and edited by Brenda Kozak, DNP, MSN, RN, CNE.

Brenda is a certified nurse educator and has over 20 years of clinical experience in nursing practice. She earned her Doctorate in Nursing Practice along with a Master of Science in Nursing with a focus on education.