Simplified Training Solutions

HIPAA Privacy Tool Kit for Employers™ Guides Executives Through New Privacy Issues

RALEIGH, NC Most employers that sponsor health plans for their employees are not aware that the HIPAA Privacy Rule will require new protections against improper use or disclosure of confidential health information. With the looming deadline of April 14, 2004, business owners and managers throughout the country are facing the need to adopt policies and procedures and train staff on HIPAA Privacy.

“ This privacy rule is going to come as a huge surprise to human resources directors and key company executives because the rule is so much broader than what is familiar to them,” says David C. Smith, attorney with BenInsLaw, LLC, and one of a team of creators of the HIPAA Privacy Tool Kit for Employers™, produced by Simplified Training Solutions. “What was once water cooler gossip could become a privacy breach, possibly resulting in penalties and, in extreme cases, jail time. This law is as much about labor issues as it is privacy.”

To meet HIPAA standards, employers must assign one person to be the privacy officer, establish documentation procedures from simple to complex depending on how much protected health information (PHI) comes to the employer, develop privacy policies and procedures that safeguard protected health information, train staff and supervisors on those policies, and establish policies that sanction employees – including time off without pay or firing employees – for intentionally releasing PHI.

The HIPAA Privacy Tool Kit for Employers™ includes 35 sample policies and procedures that can be customized for the employer, a 14-minute scenario-based video, a PowerPoint presentation with video clips and speakers notes to be used in privacy training for management, and a HIPAA Reference Guide that provides a plain language overview of HIPAA’s Privacy Rule.

“ We’re featuring this Tool Kit at our national convention as one of a handful of new products worth looking at,” says Diane Boyle, executive director, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA).

Simplified Training Solutions has a successful track record of producing other HIPAA tool kits for physicians, dentists and long-term care facilities and maintains content and distribution relationships with professional organizations, including the American Medical Association and the National Association of Health Care Consultants as well as corporate distribution partners.

Human Resources managers who attended the Employer Tool Kit focus group sessions quickly recognized how health privacy was part of a business culture. One HR person in a manufacturing environment regularly advises employees on how to read an explanation of benefits (EOB) or fill out an insurance claim. Another attendee routinely looks at health information that has become PHI once a worker’s comp claim is denied.

Health plans that are subject to HIPAA’s Privacy Rule include Medical Benefits Plans, Prescription Drug Plans, Dental, Vision, Flexible Spending Accounts, Long-term Care Insurance, Personal Health Accounts (medical savings or reimbursement), most Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) and Wellness Programs (including executive health plans).

To preview scenes from the HIPAA Privacy Tool Kit for Employers™, log on to www.simplifiedtraining.com, and click on Employers Enter. Then click on Training Tools and click again on View a Sample. At the same web page, you can also review the Table of Contents for the HIPAA Reference Guide and review ordering information.

For more information about the HIPAA Privacy Tool Kit for Employers™, or to schedule an interview, contact Denise Kustka at denise@simplifiedtraining.com, or call 919-821-9192.

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IMMEDIATE RELEASE		CONTACT: PHONE: DATE:	Rob Karn 919.821.9192 9.8.2003
HIPAA Privacy Tool Kit for Employers™ Guides Executives Through New Privacy Issues RALEIGH, NC Most employers that sponsor health plans for their employees are not aware that the HIPAA Privacy Rule will require new protections against improper use or disclosure of confidential health information. With the looming deadline of April 14, 2004, business owners and managers throughout the country are facing the need to adopt policies and procedures and train staff on HIPAA Privacy. “ This privacy rule is going to come as a huge surprise to human resources directors and key company executives because the rule is so much broader than what is familiar to them,” says David C. Smith, attorney with BenInsLaw, LLC, and one of a team of creators of the HIPAA Privacy Tool Kit for Employers™, produced by Simplified Training Solutions. “What was once water cooler gossip could become a privacy breach, possibly resulting in penalties and, in extreme cases, jail time. This law is as much about labor issues as it is privacy.” To meet HIPAA standards, employers must assign one person to be the privacy officer, establish documentation procedures from simple to complex depending on how much protected health information (PHI) comes to the employer, develop privacy policies and procedures that safeguard protected health information, train staff and supervisors on those policies, and establish policies that sanction employees – including time off without pay or firing employees – for intentionally releasing PHI. The HIPAA Privacy Tool Kit for Employers™ includes 35 sample policies and procedures that can be customized for the employer, a 14-minute scenario-based video, a PowerPoint presentation with video clips and speakers notes to be used in privacy training for management, and a HIPAA Reference Guide that provides a plain language overview of HIPAA’s Privacy Rule. “ We’re featuring this Tool Kit at our national convention as one of a handful of new products worth looking at,” says Diane Boyle, executive director, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA). Simplified Training Solutions has a successful track record of producing other HIPAA tool kits for physicians, dentists and long-term care facilities and maintains content and distribution relationships with professional organizations, including the American Medical Association and the National Association of Health Care Consultants as well as corporate distribution partners. Human Resources managers who attended the Employer Tool Kit focus group sessions quickly recognized how health privacy was part of a business culture. One HR person in a manufacturing environment regularly advises employees on how to read an explanation of benefits (EOB) or fill out an insurance claim. Another attendee routinely looks at health information that has become PHI once a worker’s comp claim is denied. Health plans that are subject to HIPAA’s Privacy Rule include Medical Benefits Plans, Prescription Drug Plans, Dental, Vision, Flexible Spending Accounts, Long-term Care Insurance, Personal Health Accounts (medical savings or reimbursement), most Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) and Wellness Programs (including executive health plans). To preview scenes from the HIPAA Privacy Tool Kit for Employers™, log on to www.simplifiedtraining.com, and click on Employers Enter. Then click on Training Tools and click again on View a Sample. At the same web page, you can also review the Table of Contents for the HIPAA Reference Guide and review ordering information. For more information about the HIPAA Privacy Tool Kit for Employers™, or to schedule an interview, contact Denise Kustka at denise@simplifiedtraining.com, or call 919-821-9192. Close Window