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Health Information Compliance Alert

Sample HIPAA Security Officer Job Description

Published on Fri Aug 29, 2003

Whether you're thinking of creating a position in your facility for a HIPAA security officer, or you're just curious what it takes to become a security rule guru, you'll want to take a look below at this sample job description developed by Kevin Beaver, CISSP, president and founder of Principle Logic in Kennesaw, GA.  

Overview

The HIPAA Security Officer position for [insert your organization here] will be responsible for the management of all security policies, procedures, plans, and systems as mandated by HIPAA to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of all protected health information (PHI) handled by the organization.
 
Responsibilities

  •  Ensure the ongoing integration of HIPAA security initiatives with all healthcare related business strategies
  •  Manage contingency planning and security incident response initiatives
  •  Direct and develop or outsource security awareness and training initiatives
  •  Administer periodic information risk assessments and audits according to HIPAA requirements
  •  Work with third parties as needed to ensure that HIPAA Security Rule requirements are being met
  •  Work with upper management to enforce security policies and hold all users accountable for their actions

    General requirements for this position

  •  Minimum 10 years of experience in working with physical and information security systems (preferably    both)
  •  Understanding of technical security systems including networking, TCP/IP, firewalls, and content filtering
  •  Experience in developing security policies, procedures, and plans
  •  Strong documentation and communications skills
  •  Ability to understand and assess business risks and determine which countermeasures need to be    applied
  •  Understanding of the ISO/IEC 17799 framework
  •  Knowledge of the HIPAA Transactions and Code Sets Rule and Privacy Rule
  •  In-depth knowledge of the HIPAA Security Rule
  •  CISSP, CISA, or CISM certification preferred

    Source: Reprinted with permission of Kevin Beaver, CISSP, president and founder of Principle Logic in Kennesaw, GA. To view other HIPAA-related documents created by Principle Logic, go to www.principlelogic.com.

     

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