HIPAA is the acronym for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The HIPAA certification program validates a specialist’s skills in assessing the patients’ health information and using it correctly.

Target Audience for HIPAA Certification Program

In short, HIPAA certifications target those individuals who work in the healthcare industry or have access to protected information related to the health domain. For example, the individuals who can be interested in obtaining the HIPAA certification are healthcare providers and those working in health insurance companies. Besides, this designation can be useful for business associates who work in the healthcare industry. Finally, those individuals who work in medical devices or pharmaceutical companies can benefit from adding the HIPAA certification under their belt.

How to Obtain HIPAA Designations

All in all, the HIPAA certification program includes two certificates. Each of them requires applicants to pass one exam. The first one is the Certified HIPAA Administrator (CHA) test which validates the candidates’ skills in the core elements of the HIPAA Administrative Simplification program. The certification exam includes 40 questions and the allotted time for the candidates to finalize the test is 60 minutes. If they want to be successful and get the CHA certification, the exam-takers will need to obtain a minimum passing score of 75%. The registration fee for this exam is $695. The retake fee for the candidates who don’t get the passing score from the first try is $100. The second certification included in the HIPAA designation program is the one for the Certified HIPAA Professional (CHP). The associated exam validates the candidates’ knowledge of concepts related to the HIPAA Administrative Simplification legislation as well as Privacy and Security requirements and the Code Sets requirements. A candidate who enrolls in the CHP test has to answer 60 questions in one hour. Again, the minimum passing score for such an evaluation is 75%. For this exam, the enrollment fee stays at the same value, which is $695. In case you don’t get the passing score in this exam, then the retake fee is $395.

Topics Tested in HIPAA Certification Program

As you remember, the first level of certification included in the HIPAA accreditation program is the CHA. This certification exam focuses on two areas, as follows:

• HIPAA Administrative Simplification Overview

The first topic covers 30% of the exam’s questions and it validates the candidates’ skills in understanding HIPAA administrative principles. The questions included in the exam consist of compliance challenges and test the candidates’ understanding of how the HIPAA rules can be applied in different scenarios. Also, it includes topics related to penalties and the difference between security and privacy acts.

• HIPAA Privacy

The second domain covers the remaining 70% of all questions. Here, the candidates should be prepared to demonstrate that they gained a solid knowledge of patient rights and understand how to apply the rules included in the privacy practice. They should also understand how to apply the minimum necessary provisions related to the privacy policy and be able to document the patient's access to PHI.

The second validation included in the HIPAA program is the CHP. Such a certification exam focuses on four areas, as follows:

• HIPAA Administrative Simplification Overview

This topic covers 28% of the total exam questions. It tests the candidates’ knowledge of the estimated implementation costs. Also, the exam-takers should stay updated with the latest compliance updates included in the HITECH Act as well as understand how the HIPAA rules apply in different scenarios. The examinees will then need to develop a solid knowledge of the penalties that can be applied in case they break the HITECH Act and its latest changes. Another subtopic included in this section is related to understanding how the security and privacy acts differ and what deadlines candidates need to follow if they want to implement HIPAA regulations in an organization.

• HIPAA Privacy

The second topic has 22% of all exam content and focuses on the most important privacy rules. Thus, the test-takers are required to demonstrate that they know everything about the patient’s rights and the forms they need to fill in according to HIPAA privacy standards. What is more, they should be ready to demonstrate that they know how to allocate the roles when using HIPAA privacy rules and apply the minimum necessary standards when they manage patients’ information.

• HIPAA Transactions and Code Sets

The third objective with the 20% coverage is dedicated to code and transaction sets. Here, the applicants will need to show their expertise in handling procedures and diagnostic codes. They should also become professionals in handling dental and drug codes as well as understand how to apply the ANSI ASC X12N standards. This test chapter is also dedicated to the National Health Plan Identifier. Finally, the test-takers should demonstrate their firm knowledge of working with the NPI Enumerator and how to make the difference between different pharmacy transactions.

• HIPAA Security

The last topic dedicated to HIPAA Security covers the largest percentage of the exam objectives, 30% respectively. Under this knowledge scope, the exam-takers will need to understand how to define security and use its principles properly. After this, applicants should get familiar with concepts such as availability, confidentiality, and integrity. Besides, they should become knowledgeable of the Administrative as well as the Physical, and Technical Safeguards. Other topics included in this section are related to the policies, documentation, and procedures together with being able to follow the non-technical aspects of the technical solutions.

Career Opportunities for HIPAA Certified Individuals

The candidates who manage to get HIPAA certified can occupy different roles in healthcare organizations, such as:

• Privacy Officer;
• Compliance Officers;
• Chief Information Officers.

According to Payscale.com, the average salary that a Privacy Officer can obtain stays around $57k per year. A certified Compliance Officer can obtain an average salary of $76k per annum. In case your target is to become a certified Chief Information Officer, then the average annual payment that you should expect to obtain is approximately $124k.

Certification Prospects

A specialist who wants to become HIPAA certified should start with the first level of certification, which is the Certified HIPAA Administrator. Once you get successful in this level, then you can move to the next designation stage, which is the Certified HIPAA Professional.

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