Reaching Your Audience

The education and training you provide should match the needs of your audience. The Office of Inspector General has recommended that specific risk areas receive additional compliance training, which are listed below. These specific audiences may need additional examples and hands on learning activities to ensure that the complex compliance regulations are understood and followed. Also, the diversity of audiences listed below may also require different teaching techniques in order to best serve the group. Information on training delivery options is also included in this section.

Specific Audiences

• • Billing, finance and coding staff - these high risk areas need additional training on fraud, waste, and abuse, false claims and HIPAA, as they deal with confidential and finanical information. It's also important to give examples from audit findings, organizational and regional trends and case examples.

  • Health Information management and information systems - this area may need additional HIPAA training specific to HIM and IS.

  • Nursing staff and other clinicians

  • Physicians 

  • Management and leadership

  • Human Resources

  • Marketing and Fundraising, it's important that marketing and fundraising staff and manager know the proper use and disclosure of PHI under HIPAA, as well as specific information regarding physician referrals and kickbacks under the Stark Law and Anti-kickback Statue.

  • Research and IRB

  • Board of directors - Compliance officers should refer to the document from OIG - Corporate Responsibility and Corporate Compliance, which can be found in the Files to Download section of the website. The Board should be educated on an ongoing basis on any program updates or new regulations. 

  • Contractors and vendors

  • Other Stakeholders

Training Delivery

Whether your compliance training is delivered by yourself or an external vendor, using a variety of delivery methods will help ensure your training is effective and engaging. Options include:

• Computer-based module training, typically used for annual training for the general audience. Some vendors have developed specific training as well, directed at the specific audiences listed above. These software packages can be costly. Computer-based training (CBT) works well for adult learners as they can complete the training at their own pace and on their own time. CBTs are also helpful in providing excellent documentation of training provided. Yet, CBTs lack human connection and interaction between the speaker and audience. The Compliance Officer needs to spend time with the vendor in developing the best training if the CBT option is chosen. It is best to pair the annual CBT training with some in-person training to the high risk areas and other training options such as email reminders and newsletter articles.

• In-person training - Perhaps the best delivery for interactive and engaging compliance training, the in-person training can also be costly and hard to schedule. Depending on the organization and resources available. in-person training may only be available for certain groups and events. One example, is a quick introduction to compliance and HIPAA by the compliance officer or staff during new employee orientation.

• Video - The use of compliance training videos have been used for decades. New technology and innovative scripting has provided some new takes on providing video training to employees. One idea is to create your own, using screencasting and video editing options available free.

• Other training options, include sending employees to an external training program, providing newsletter articles, hosting events on compliance and ethics, email blasts to employees on compliance reminders, and more. Share your training options on the Discussion page.