Do returning patients have to sign a HIPAA form every single time they visit, or is it once a year, or how often do we really need to have them sign it?

The HIPAA Privacy Rule requires that you ask a new patient to sign an Acknowledgement of your Notice of Privacy Practices not later than the patient’s first face-to-face visit. After that, the regulation generally requires that you retain any signed Acknowledgement for at least six years after the patient is no longer active in your practice. Some facilities ask all patients to sign an Acknowledgement at every visit to reduce the risk of missing new patients and lost paperwork, but this is not a HIPAA requirement.