ATLANTA, GA – 22 November, 2010 – The College of Direct Support (CDS), an internet-based curriculum for Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) and managed in partnership by Elsevier/MC Strategies and the University of Minnesota's Research and Training Center, has introduced its latest offering in the form of a new genre of its online learning content. The new Learning Session is called "R&R Arcade: Direct Support Professionalism: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)."

This Learning Session is in a new memory-game format, based on the memory game format of matching pictures on a grid, and is the 34rd course in the CDS lineup. Included are courses in the main CDS curriculum, the College of Frontline Supervision and Management, Disability Intensive Courses and Film For Thought. The "R&R" name indicates a Learning Session designed for "Reviewing & Refreshing" content that is likely to be familiar to experienced CDS users.

"Research shows that when you have fun learning, people retain the information and really learn from it," said Nancy McCulloh, Project Coordinator at the University of Minnesota Institute on Community Integration, which authors the CDS Curriculum. "This Learning Session is now available for Learning Administrators to incorporate into a learner's lesson plan by creating a module and assigning to learners."

The R&R Arcade courses – built along the lines of the previously announced Disability Intensive Courses and Film For Thought – are intended to provide a quick, educational, and fun way to review and relearn the basic aspects of CDS content that must be reviewed on an annual basis. After reviewing the game content, users are still required to take a post-test that tests their knowledge and understanding of key concepts, McCulloh explained.

This new HIPAA course review covers several key areas including:

• Why HIPAA was enacted in the United States

• The four primary areas covered by HIPAA
• Consent for release of private health information
• Standardized transactions by provider organizations
• Security issues and procedures
• The role of the Direct Support Professional in protecting the private health rights of those being supported

"This new addition to our lineup covers the key essential elements in HIPAA and the ones that DSPs have to be reminded about," McCulloh said. "This is a brand new way of learning that we have introduced into the CDS. It's fun and exciting and learners will not get bored with this."