HIPAA Privacy Officer vs. Security Officer: Responsibilities and Training Focus

Two related responsibilities

The HIPAA Privacy Rule requires a covered entity to designate a privacy official responsible for developing and implementing privacy policies and procedures. The Security Rule requires a covered entity or business associate to identify the security official responsible for developing and implementing its security policies and procedures.

In smaller organizations, one person may support both functions. That does not merge the underlying privacy and security responsibilities, and a title alone does not establish compliance.

Choose learning by responsibility

Privacy-focused leaders commonly need practical training on patient rights, uses and disclosures, policy administration, workforce expectations, and privacy incident handling. Security-focused leaders commonly need practical training on risk analysis, safeguards for electronic protected health information, security awareness, incident response, and system activity review.