Are HIPAA certifications only awarded for completing training courses?

No. Certifications can also be awarded to organization who demonstrate compliance with Privacy Rule and Security Rule standards – although it is important to be aware that these are “point-in-time” certifications that do not guarantee ongoing compliance. This is why the HHS does not endorse or recognize private organizations´ certifications regarding Security Rule compliance.

Does the HHS recognize certifications of Privacy Rule compliance?

A Covered Entity may award certificates to members of the workforce when they complete their initial policy and procedure training, if they undergo refresher training, or when reaching milestones in security and awareness training. In these cases, although not officially recognized as certification by HHS, copies of certificates have to be retained for a minimum of six years to comply with the document retention requirements of the Privacy Rule.

What if an outsourced company provides HIPPA certification?

Covered Entities can outsource workforce training and other elements of HIPAA to third-party compliance companies. Indeed, many smaller Covered Entities use compliance companies to conduct the periodic evaluations required by the Security Rule see 45 CFR § 164.308 and this HHS article ). If the outsourced company provides a certificate at the end of a training course or evaluation, these should also be retained to demonstrate good faith efforts to comply with HIPAA in the event of an OCR audit, inspection, or investigation.

What are the benefits of demonstrating good faith efforts to comply with HIPAA?

When a HIPAA violation or data breach occurs, organizations that have “exercised a reasonable amount of care” to comply with HIPAA will be treated more leniently than an organization that has demonstrated “willful neglect”. This can reduce the financial penalties issued by the HHS Office for Civil Rights, or the time the organization is required to comply with a Corrective Action Plan.

How does online HIPAA training work?

Online HIPAA training is provided as a cloud-based service so members of the workforce can access the training from any Internet-connected device at work or at home. Courses consist of modules providing information about individual subjects (e.g., patients´ rights, minimum necessary standard, cyber threats to ePHI, etc.); and, as each module is completed, a record is kept of the student´s progress on a Learning Management System. This way of providing basic training can raise the bar for HIPAA knowledge and simplify the provision of HIPAA-mandated policy and procedure training.

What is HIPAA Certification?

HIPAA certification is a training completion credential issued by a private training provider that documents an individual has completed a HIPAA education program covering role relevant requirements under the HIPAA Privacy Rule, HIPAA Security Rule, and HIPAA Breach Notification Rule, is commonly delivered through online HIPAA training as the best solution for standardized instruction and tracking, typically takes 60 minutes to 90 minutes to complete, and is most meaningful when used alongside annual HIPAA training as an industry best practice for staff who have contact with protected health information.

HIPAA does not establish an official government issued personal certification, and a certificate does not grant authority to access protected health information or substitute for an employer’s policy specific training. HIPAA Covered Entities and HIPAA Business Associates remain responsible for training workforce members on organizational policies and procedures that implement HIPAA requirements, including training for new workforce members within a reasonable period after joining and training updates when material policy or procedure changes affect workforce functions.

Online HIPAA training is widely used for certification courses because it supports consistent presentation of required topics, knowledge checks, and documentation of completion that can be retained for compliance oversight. A typical course can be completed in 60 minutes to 90 minutes depending on the learner’s role and the course design, and completion should result in a certificate that includes the learner identity, completion date, and an identifier that supports verification.

The best way to have HIPAA on your resume is to have completed a HIPAA certification course and list the course title, issuing provider, and completion date in a manner that can be verified. The value of HIPAA certification is mainly based on the brand recognition and credibility of the provider of the certificate, including whether the provider maintains a structured curriculum, aligns content to HIPAA regulatory requirements, and supports certificate verification and record retention.

Fast and cheap certification websites are not credible and do more harm than good on the resume because they often indicate superficial training, weak assessment standards, and limited verification, which can undermine credibility during hiring. A certificate should be selected from a recognized authority on HIPAA, and resume wording should avoid implying a government credential by describing the certificate as completion of a HIPAA training and certification course.

What is HIPAA Certification?

John Blacksmith