Final answer:
A health information exchange is a structure for improving healthcare by allowing the receipt and querying of data within a competitive health insurance marketplace, aiming to increase market competition and care quality while addressing privacy concerns.
Step-by-step explanation:
The health information exchange that enables both the receipt of data and the capability to query an exchange for data is a sophisticated structure designed to improve the efficiency and quality of healthcare delivery. Health insurance exchanges are mandated for each state, or they may use the federal exchange. These exchanges serve as a competitive marketplace where insurance companies vie for business, with the principal goal being to enhance competition in the health insurance market.
Health agencies can obtain data on disease incidence through various means, including voluntary reporting, surveillance systems, and also potentially through these health information exchanges where anonymized data could be made available for public health purposes.
When developing policies that affect health records, it is important to weigh the costs of treatments and diagnoses, patient quality of life, and risks to individual privacy. The sharing of digital records among health providers is proposed as a way to improve healthcare quality while reducing costs.