Train for HIPAA offers customized comprehensive sets of HIPAA policies, procedures and forms (P&Ps) for both providers and health plans developed by Margret Amatayakul, RHIA, FHIMSS, President, Margret\A Consulting, LLC, Strategic Alliance, Boundary Information Group. The P&Ps are templates. They are intended to serve as a "starter set" of policies and procedures that the can be molded into an organization's current document structure and documents.

The P&Ps include over 125 policies, procedures and forms. To assist the user in the customization of these documents, all of the document templates include variable content options to be replaced with the licensee's specific requirements.

Each distinct policy and procedure includes:

• Document identification section,
• Summary of the policy and procedure, suitable for executive review and approval, as well as core training for members of the organization's workforce,
• Source of the policy and procedure that provides citations to the regulations and a synopsis of their content,
• Definitions of terms which are not defined within the policy and procedure, but which are critical references for understanding the policy and procedure. A fully glossary of terms is provided at the end of Document Inventory,
• Policy statement(s) as applicable to the topic,
• Procedure statement(s) as applicable to the topic,
• Appendix(es) that provide specific content to the procedure which may change more frequently than the procedure itself, and
• Associated forms, logs, checklists, agreements, etc.

The Provider P&Ps have been field tested in provider settings, including small physician offices, community hospitals, the various components of large integrated delivery networks, and academic medical centers. This field testing assures the user that the policies and procedures are not just regulatory language, but can be implemented in a provider setting. The Health Plan P&Ps have been tested in the context of major health plans and insurers.

Updates to these documents are distributed to current licensees. Licensees are encouraged to send comments, suggestions for future updates, and their suggestions for model documents to: Steven S. Lazarus, Ph.D. at sslazarus@aol.com.

These documents were developed by Margret Amatayakul, RHIA, FHIMSS, President of Margret\A Consulting, LLC and are licensed and distributed by Boundary Information Group. Other HIPAA services, including consulting and training, offered by the Boundary Information Group are described at www.hipaainfo.net.