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Although having the appropriate policies and procedures in place to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) privacy rule is a great first step, hospital administrators also need to make sure that staff follow those stipulations. It's not an easy task, and each organization has its own way of auditing compliance. It is important that auditing is conducted on an ongoing basis. "There are so many areas to address," says Sharon Busler, director of health information services and privacy officer at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center in Nashua.