Final answer:
Health information departments establish tracking systems to monitor the movement and location of records. Key questions include ensuring privacy, sharing among providers without risk, and the costs versus benefits of security measures.
Step-by-step explanation:
To control the movement of records into and out of the file area and to account for the location of each record, health information departments establish tracking systems. These systems are essential for maintaining the confidentiality and integrity of patient records, which is a significant concern in the healthcare industry.
When developing policies around electronic health records (EHRs), several key questions need to be addressed to ensure a balance between treatment costs, patient quality of life, and privacy risks. The questions might include:
- How can we ensure the privacy of electronic health records while allowing for necessary access by healthcare professionals?
- In what ways can digital records be shared among providers without increasing the risk of unauthorized access or breaches of confidentiality?
- What are the potential costs associated with heightened security measures, and how will they impact healthcare affordability and patient quality of life?
Historically, as indicated by FIGURE 15.15, managing data effectively has always been crucial, as seen with the complex systems required by the 1950s computers, such as the U.S. Census Bureau's transfer of data from paper to microfilm for rapid processing.