Putting HIPAA Compliance on a Resume
Putting HIPAA compliance on a resume can be beneficial to job candidates in healthcare, health insurance, and other industries because it implies an understanding of data privacy and security. However, it may be necessary to list specific HIPAA skills on a resume to avoid misunderstandings about what areas of HIPAA compliance job candidates are familiar with.
An increasing number of employers are advertising job vacancies for which one of the required skills is HIPAA compliance. These opportunities are not limited to positions in healthcare. They can also include opportunities in IT, hospitality, recruitment, translation services, and – as recently advertised on Indeed.com – as the national team sport dietician for USA Boxing.
Putting HIPAA Compliance on a Resume is Easy, But … …
Putting HIPAA compliance on a resume is easy. Demonstrating HIPAA compliance is harder if a prospective employer asks a job candidate how they have been compliant with HIPAA. Never having been sanctioned for a violation of HIPAA does not necessarily mean a job candidate is HIPAA compliant. It could mean they are good at disguising their non-compliance, or that their former employer was lax in enforcing a HIPAA sanctions policy.
In addition, prospective employers may have different views of what HIPAA compliance consists of. Some may consider compliance with a former employer’s HIPAA policies and procedures adequate to fulfil the definition of HIPAA compliance. Others may (correctly) understand HIPAA compliance to mean compliance with a former employer’s HIPAA policies and procedures and all applicable standards of the HIPAA Privacy Rule, Security Rule, and Breach Notification Rule.
Is HIPAA Compliance a Skill on a Resume?
HIPAA compliance is a skill on a resume. Workforce members who have been trained on HIPAA awareness, HIPAA policies and procedures, and ensuring the security of electronic Protected Health Information – and who have applied their training – have acquired a skill that is highly sought in many industries. Putting HIPAA compliance on a resume indicates that a candidate acknowledges the importance of data privacy and security in any role.
In addition to putting compliance with HIPAA on a resume, it can also be beneficial to include any responsibilities for training, monitoring, or disciplining other members of the workforce no matter how informal. It may also be important to state the dates during which the candidate had these responsibilities so prospective employers can tell how up to date the candidate’s HIPAA knowledge is, and which changes to HIPAA they may have been responsible for implementing.
How to Put HIPAA Compliance on a Resume
There are several ways to put HIPAA compliance on a resume. Which one is best depends on the prospective employer’s other required skills and the order in which they are listed, and the candidate’s other qualifications – some of which may be more relevant to the position being advertised. For example, in the job advertisement for USA Boxing (above), HIPAA compliance appears in eighth place of ten education, experience, and proficiency requirements.
The positioning of compliance with HIPAA on a resume will also determine how much space is dedicated to listing HIPAA skills on a resume. For example, if the role being advertised is for a compliance officer, it is better to list all HIPAA training taken – including the topics covered in the training – all training, monitoring, and disciplinary responsibilities, and any participation in HIPAA audits, HIPAA assessments, and/or compliance planning activities.
If a job candidate has a certificate of training, it is recommended to include a copy of the certificate with the HIPAA resume, examples of the topics included in the training for which the certificate was awarded, and the date(s) on which the certificate(s) was issued. In some cases, certificates of HIPAA training already have this information (see below). Nonetheless, it is still a good idea to include relevant HIPAA skills on a resume for demonstrating compliance with HIPAA.
