CHPC study guide
CHPC · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Certified in Healthcare Privacy Compliance (CHPC) credential is a professional certification for people who build, run, or advise on privacy programs in healthcare organizations. It is most often pursued by privacy officers, compliance and risk staff, health information management professionals, in-house counsel, consultants, and vendor-side privacy leads who need to demonstrate working command of the legal and operational side of protecting health information rather than only the security controls around it. The CHPC study guide has 8 sections and about 2,448 words.
01Privacy Program Foundations, Governance, and Oversight
An effective privacy program is built on the classic compliance chassis: written policies and procedures, a designated privacy official plus an oversight committee, training and education, open lines of communication, internal monitoring and auditing, prompt response and corrective action, and consistent enforcement with documented sanctions. The HIPAA Privacy Rule mirrors this at 45 CFR 164.530: designate a privacy official, train the workforce, apply reasonable safeguards, maintain a complaint process, sanction violations, and mitigate known harmful effects - all documented and retained six years from the last effective date.
351 words, about 2 min02Applicable Privacy Laws, Regulations, and Standards
Place HIPAA within a layered framework. The Privacy, Security, Breach Notification, and Enforcement Rules sit in 45 CFR Parts 160 and 164; HITECH added direct business-associate obligations, breach notification, and stronger penalties.
333 words, about 2 min03Permitted Uses and Disclosures, Authorization, and Minimum Necessary
Most disclosures occur for treatment, payment, and health care operations without authorization. Authorization is required for psychotherapy notes (separately from the rest of the record), marketing, sale of PHI, and any use or disclosure not otherwise permitted.
306 words, about 2 min04Individual Rights and Access to Health Information
Know each right, its deadline, and its exceptions. Access: provide the requested form and format, including electronic, and honor a direction to send a copy to a third party; 30 days with one 30-day extension; fees limited to reasonable, cost-based labor, supplies, and postage.
300 words, about 2 min05Business Associates, Vendors, and Third-Party Arrangements
A business associate creates, receives, maintains, or transmits PHI on behalf of a covered entity or another business associate. Scope matters: a vendor with only incidental access, or one acting as a conduit that transports PHI with no more than transient storage, is not a business associate.
296 words, about 1 min06Safeguards, Incident Response, and Breach Notification
Privacy Rule administrative safeguards require reasonable policies, a designated official, training, and mitigation; the Security Rule adds administrative, physical, and technical safeguards for ePHI. When an incident occurs the sequence is contain, assess, document, notify, remediate, and learn.
313 words, about 2 min07Privacy Training, Communication, and Culture
HIPAA requires workforce training on policies and procedures within a reasonable time after hiring and after material changes, with documentation of completion. Effective programs go further: role-based content for front desk, clinical, research, IT, and revenue cycle staff; short, frequent modules; scenario-based practice; and confirmation that learning transferred.
280 words, about 1 min08Monitoring, Auditing, and Privacy Investigations
Monitoring and auditing are proactive and continuous: access-log reviews, rounding, audits of disclosure logs and accounting records, notice distribution checks, business associate inventories, and periodic risk analysis. Investigations are reactive and case-specific.
269 words, about 1 min