Is there HIPAA certification?
 According to The Department of Health and Human Services, which manages and enforces HIPAA Privacy, THERE IS NO SUCH THING as "official HIPAA certification", for HIPAA compliance or anything else HIPAA-related.
Many firms are springing up to offer "certifications" for HIPAA Privacy or
Security, with their own "certification" training and testing. The problem
is, there is no official, government-approved HIPAA certification: it simply
does not exist. Be aware that these firms are private companies that have
simply invented a HIPAA certification of their own design, and have created
training and testing to match. These are for-profit ventures, designed to
exploit current HIPAA compliance requirements. They have no federal
authority to create or designate such "certifications". Nobody does. Such
purported "certifications" carry no legal weight or force of law whatsoever.
Some organizations offer a service whereby an organization's electronic
(EDI) transactions are "certified" for compliance with HIPAA's Transactions
and Code Sets Rules. These are legitimate, technical, "proof reading"
services, dealing strictly with HIPAA EDI transactions. These are not
"certifications" of HIPAA compliance, only of transaction accuracy and
fidelity.
Once again: there is NO federally approved, official HIPAA "certification"
for Covered Entities or individuals. If you choose to pursue one of the
privately offered programs, be clear on what you are really getting, or
rather, not getting. |
