We see it on the news constantly and it goes something like this, “[insert healthcare organization here] experienced a breach in their data this week after [insert reason here] took place. That story and more at 11 pm.”

The point I’m trying to make is that we see HIPAA violations often, some experts within the industry think that they’re inevitable. As a result, organizations implement policies, trainings, cybersecurity safeguards and sometimes hire entire departments to ensure that they remain compliant.
Even with all of those safeguards implemented, though, a violation could still happen.

LINKS:
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https://etactics.com/blog/canyouget...
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Now, I could go on and on about what could happen to the organization after a breach occurs or how they should discipline the employee who caused the violation. But, there are thousands of blog posts discussing that, I’ve even written a few myself.

Instead, what I am going to go over is what happens to the employee that committed a breach and answer the question, “Can you get a job after a HIPAA violation?”

What ultimately determines whether or not you can get a job after committing a HIPAA violation is the severity of the violation you committed.
Not every breach requires a federal investigation and calls for the perpetrator to resign from their position.

Yes, if an employee goes through the electronic health record (EHR) system looking for the health information of celebrities that might’ve checked in at the organization they should get fired.

Alternatively, though, should an employee who accidentally saw PHI that they shouldn’t have because they clicked on the wrong file?...No.
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights
The HHS classifies violations into four tiers all determined based on severity and organizational response.

Next, what decides if you can get job after a violation is based on what your current employer decides. The larger the tier, the higher the chance an employee has to face termination.

A lowertier might only require the employee who committed the breach to have a meeting with the compliance department where they go over what happened and why it was wrong. In other words, the organization has control over the employee’s punishment.

A higher tier, though, might end up getting noticed and covered by news outlets across the country depending on its severity. Thus, what happens to the employee depends on what a federal judge decides.

Third, a violation you committed could end up getting all the way to licensing organizations if you’re a part of any.

Working as a healthcare professional has benefits that go beyond the financial earnings that come along with it. There are state and national agencies devoted to educating, licensing, and disciplining the different careers within the medical field. As an example, registered nurses join their state’s Board of Nurses only after passing the NCLEX.

My point after all of this is to bring to light one of the specific duties of these agencies and connect it to HIPAA violations. Yes, each state’s board of nurses is different, but they all agree with a nurse’s role in protecting PHI.
If you commit a bad enough breach, you could lose your license to practice in healthcare.

Finally, whether or not you can get another job after you’ve committed a HIPAA violation also depends on your future employer’s process.
Let’s say that you’re a nurse and were the source of a HIPAA violation for your previous employer. I specifically included the word “previous” because they let you go as a conclusion of their internal investigation. It wasn’t necessarily a big violation, it was just your third strike and they had no choice but to let you go because of their policy.

You start applying for jobs and hear back from another healthcare organization rather quickly. Time to put on your formal “hire me” clothes and head to your first interview. Of course, during the crossexamination, the representative from the hiring organization asks you, “Why did you leave your previous employer?”

You can’t blame them for asking you that question. They have a right to know why that relationship no longer exists in your professional career. You can’t lie to them so you confess that you violated HIPAA.

As a result, they decide that you’re not a fit for their organization.
All hope is not lost, though, as some organizations may look past your previous violations and view them as a learning experience. But, everything depends on their policies and safeguards surround patient privacy.

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