All of our drivers are HIPAA certified in order to ensure that all patient health records remain properly handled and private. You might be wondering what HIPAA certification really means, and we are happy to explain. The Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act (HIPAA) was introduced in 1996 as a Federal law that controls the use, storage and distribution of all personal health records. Any business with access to health records must follow all regulations associated with the law. As a non-emergency medical transportation service it is very important that all of our drivers are HIPAA certified so that they fully understand the best ways to maintain and respect patient privacy.   

What Is HIPAA Certification?

HIPAA was mandated in order to protect patient privacy and security. All healthcare professionals including doctors, office workers, healthcare technicians and so forth should obtain HIPAA certification.

In order to become certified one must take the course(s) offered through private companies. Courses are followed up with testing before one is granted HIPAA certification. It’s important to note that the government has not yet mandated HIPAA certification in all healthcare related fields, although it is hugely beneficial. In other words, not every non-emergency medical transportation service is going to offer HIPAA certified drivers, putting us yet another step ahead of the competition.

HIPAA certification courses focus on teaching you about HIPAA implications, who is impacted by HIPAA, and how it has influenced the healthcare industry. Courses also give you self-help tools to stay up to date on any changes in policy.

HIPAA certification programs focus on privacy and security awareness training, which helps prevent healthcare workers from making simple mistakes that violate a patient’s security. There are numerous privacy requirements that must be carefully followed; all it takes is one mistake for a breach in security to occur. Professionals seeking certification are given access to special data centers, compliance data back-ups, as well as a final certification after passing the course.

Different Types Of HIPAA Certification

There are different HIPAA courses depending on the field someone works in, including CHP, CSCS and CHA courses. CHP courses examine the logistics of HIPAA transactions, code sets, identifiers, as well as privacy and security. This is the staple for healthcare information systems. CSCS training offers an in-depth training program focused on major information security regulations and standards. The CHA course is geared to educate on the legislation of nurses and other hands-on administrators that are responsible for providing health-care related services.

Why We Require HIPAA Certification For All Drivers

There are a number of reasons why all of our drivers are HIPAA certified, including:

  • Your security is extremely important to us! By requiring drivers to become HIPAA certified we keep your healthcare information completely private, just as it should be. 
  • HIPAA training gives drivers the background knowledge they need to truly understand and follow certain policies, processes and procedures. Just telling someone how to do things isn’t enough; people need to have a true understanding of the importance in order to follow protocol without questions or fault.
  • HIPAA is largely about awareness, teaching people to look out for certain things that they may otherwise not even notice or think twice about. Once someone has awareness they are capable of fully assessing a situation and making the best decision based on the protection of the patient.
  • Provide better understanding of how hospital and doctor offices operate, which enables better communication between these entities and our drivers. Since we offer medical transportation we work with doctors and nurses on a regular basis. In order to maintain a professional working relationship our drivers need to be fully up to speed on all regulations and policies associated with HIPAA.
  • Patient privacy is not always cut and dry, there are times when state regulations and other factors seem to mitigate HIPAA regulations. In which case it’s important to know how to go about conducting business properly.

There are no prerequisites to taking a HIPAA certification course, so if someone tells you they are ‘kind of’ certified that doesn’t mean anything. At the start of the course you go in with little to no knowledge of course materials. There is no substitute for HIPAA training either, so if you want to make sure your private health records remain private it’s important to seek out services with HIPAA certified staff. When you go into a hospital setting this is pretty much guaranteed, but not necessarily if you are looking into private services, such as medical transportation. 

Our goal is always to maintain the highest level of professionalism, thus providing our patients with a safe, comfortable and reliable ride they can count on rain or shine, local or long distance. Contact us today to learn more!