Required HIPAA Training

HIPAA
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, offers protections that ensure continuity of health care coverage for all citizens. For example, it limits exclusions for preexisting medical conditions and prohibits discrimination in health insurance enrollment based on health status-related factors.

In addition to these guarantees, HIPAA’s Privacy Rule provides patient privacy protections. This rule requires organizations and health care providers to reasonably safeguard all health care information that they have access to.

The University of Maryland has determined that the University Health Center is currently the only unit that qualifies as a “Health Care Provider” and must, therefore, comply with HIPAA privacy regulations. Compliance also includes units that may have access to health care information because of their activities in support of the University Health Center. Other units within the university community who perform health care related functions may voluntarily choose to comply with some or all of HIPAA’s requirements.

The Hearing and Speech Clinic has elected to comply with the privacy rules outlined in HIPAA. The Clinic feels that it is important for clinic faculty, staff, and graduate clinicians to be knowledgeable about client rights, understand their responsibilities as health care providers, and ensure that client information is handled confidentially at all times. The department has developed an online HIPAA training course for this purpose. All graduate students in the department are required to complete this course and pass a competency test demonstrating knowledge and understanding of HIPAA privacy regulations.

Please review the department’s HIPAA training module.

After reviewing this information, please print the HIPAA competency test and return a completed copy to Phyllis Bonelli, Clinical Supervisor, in 0141C by October 1.

You will receive a certificate stating that you have completed the HIPAA training module and that you have passed the competency test with a score of 80% or better. You should include this certificate in your clinical portfolio.