New employees must receive HIPAA training within their first three months of joining an organization, and best practice in the healthcare sector is for all staff to receive HIPAA refresher training on at least an annual basis.
For new hires, HIPAA training should be part of the early onboarding process, not something postponed until later. Many organizations prefer to provide at least basic HIPAA and security awareness training before a new employee is given access to systems containing Protected Health Information, so that mistakes are less likely in the first weeks on the job. Completing full HIPAA training within the first three months helps ensure that new staff understand what PHI is, what the Minimum Necessary Standard means, how to handle records, and how to report any suspected incident. It also shows regulators and clients that the organization takes its training obligations seriously from the start of employment.
After that initial onboarding period, it is considered best practice in the healthcare sector for all workforce members to complete HIPAA refresher training every year. Annual training keeps people up to date on privacy rules, security expectations, and any changes in policies, systems, or workflows. It also gives organizations a regular opportunity to address real incidents from the previous year, such as misdirected emails or phishing attempts, and to use those as learning examples. By making annual HIPAA training a standard practice, an organization strengthens its compliance posture and reduces the risk that outdated behavior will lead to a breach.