An updated HIPAA Privacy series released by LearnSomething

Sep 24 2009

Keeping pharmacy staff and healthcare industry staff current on evolving HIPAA guidelines can be time-consuming and costly. An efficient and economical solution is on schedule from LearnSomething, the leading provider of eLearning for retail pharmacy and health care industries.

LearnSomething will be releasing an updated HIPAA Privacy series to help employers achieve compliance with new amendments to HIPAA privacy standards. The series offers two versions - one for pharmacy staff (pharmacists and technicians) and one for administrators and employees of all covered entities in health care industries (including any worker who has access to protected health information transmitted electronically).

Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Rick Fuelling explains that LearnSomething has always been a leader in web-based compliance solutions for pharmacy and health care. "We started our drive to become recognized in the industry as the compliance company when we developed and delivered the very first online HIPAA training course. We saw the need and we applied our instructional and technical expertise to create a solution for thousands of clients." Fuelling adds, "We're now well over a half a million in HIPAA course enrollments and completions, and will top a million sometime next year."

All personnel who require training under the HIPAA Privacy Act can find a solution in the LearnSomething online series.

For employees who have achieved compliance in the past, LearnSomething is developing "refresher" courses focused on the new regulations and how to reach recently erected milestones. To bring "new hires" or employees with no past certification into compliance, LearnSomething is producing new courses with comprehensive HIPAA training.

In particular, LearnSomething's series will show employees how to comply with the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) enacted under the recent economic stimulus bill ("American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009"). HITECH's many new requirements include Breach Notification requirements.

Covered entities that experience a breach of protected personal health information in electronic databases must follow mandated protocol in notifying affected individuals. In addition, breaches involving 500 or more plan participants must now notify major media outlets serving the state were the breach occurred.

The HITECH Act now extends the reach of HIPAA to business associates of covered entities and subjects to the same civil and criminal penalties.

Penalties for violating the HITECH Act and HIPAA have been increased, making LearnSomething's online series particularly timely.

Any course in the LearnSomething online HIPAA series can be customized for a fee to include specific corporate policies and procedures.

LearnSomething also Releases Preventing Fraud, Waste and Abuse to Help Providers Avoid Medicare Violations Penalties

Medicare providers, sponsors and intermediaries can now review LearnSomething's Fraud, Waste and Abuse compliance programs to see if they meet the standard for recommendation to their member groups and participants.

LearnSomething's "Preventing Fraud, Waste and Abuse" online courses provide a simple, cost effective approach to detecting and preventing fraud, waste and abuse problems before they result in government investigations and fines. All recently established Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services standards and recommendations are covered in these courses, eliminating the need for employees to go through multiple, time-consuming and costly training.