The deadline for compliance with the regulations for patient privacy in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is now upon us, and hospitals and physician groups are in the throes of working to meet it. This is an enormous chore, affecting numerous areas of hospital operations and, ultimately, every employee.Meeting the requirements of the extensive privacy regulations — the deadline for which is April 14, 2003 — has been consuming substantial time, resources, and energy from hospitals and physician groups. For example, essentially all employees must be trained in the protection of patients' privacy, and . . .