Health Information Privacy & Security (HIPS) Certification

Every day, people working in the healthcare sector handle some of the most sensitive information about individuals’ lives, including illnesses, diagnoses, test results, phone numbers, addresses, and personal histories. This information is not merely data. It represents trust placed in the health system by health services users and patients.

When health information is misused, exposed, or shared carelessly, it can cause serious harm, including stigma, discrimination, loss of dignity, and erosion of confidence in healthcare services. Protecting health information is, therefore, not only a legal requirement but also a professional and ethical responsibility for everyone involved in the delivery of healthcare services.

The Health Information Privacy & Security (HIPS) Certification is a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) accredited training worth 20 CPD credits, designed to be completed over 20 hours of self-paced learning. The course is updated annually to ensure continued alignment with evolving evidence, emerging technologies, and the practical realities of healthcare delivery.

HIPS is grounded in Law No. 058/2021 of 13 October 2021 relating to the Protection of Personal Data and Privacy, which establishes obligations for the lawful, secure, and confidential processing of personal data, including sensitive health data. The course is also aligned with Law No. 026/2025 of 17 September 2025 governing Healthcare Services, which defines healthcare services, health services users and patients, and the role of digital health and medical technologies in healthcare delivery. Together, these laws provide the legal foundation for protecting health information and upholding the rights and safety of health services users and patients in Rwanda.

The HIPS course translates these legal requirements into clear, practical actions that healthcare workers can apply in their daily work across clinical, community, emergency, research, and digital health settings. At the same time, the course draws on good international practice in health information privacy and security, ensuring that learners are trained to a standard comparable with internationally accepted healthcare data protection frameworks.

This course is designed for all cadres working in the healthcare sector, including clinicians, health information officers, managers, researchers, and digital health implementers. Anyone who accesses, records, stores, transmits, or discusses health information has a responsibility to protect it.

By completing the HIPS training, you will be able to:

• Explain what health information is and why it requires heightened legal and ethical protection

• Apply legal data protection grounds in everyday clinical, community, emergency, research, and digital health settings

• Identify and respond appropriately to data breaches, including mandatory reporting obligations

• Respect patient rights in daily practice, including obtaining consent, allowing access to their information, correcting errors, and removing or limiting data when appropriate

• Implement practical security measures for both paper-based and digital health records

• Recognise the heightened obligations owed to vulnerable and special-category patients

HIPS is more than a certificate.  It is a professional standard for safeguarding patient trust and strengthening the quality and integrity of healthcare services.

Welcome to the HIPS course 🙂

Disclaimer!

This course is developed for educational purposes only, it does not serve as a legal reference document. The content has been simplified and summarized to allow busy healthcare professionals to understand key concepts in the shortest time possible to improve their daily practice towards healthcare information privacy and protection.

While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, OAZIS Health does not assume any legal responsibility for actions taken based on this course content. Learners are strongly encouraged to refer to the officially published laws and regulations in their respective contexts, which remain the primary and authoritative source of information.