Final answer:
True, the primary purpose of a health record is for patient care management, playing a vital role in medical treatment and continuity of care. In developing health record policies, it is essential to address the balance between treatment costs, patient quality of life, and privacy protection.
Step-by-step explanation:
True, the primary purpose of a health record is patient care management. Health records are crucial in ensuring that patients receive high-quality, continuous, and efficient medical care. They enable healthcare providers to document patient history, treatments, tests, and outcomes, which can be critical for effective and informed patient care. Furthermore, the sharing of digital records among health providers is proposed to improve the quality of healthcare in the U.S. while reducing costs.
When it comes to developing policies for health records, three fundamental questions need to be addressed:
- How can the costs of treatments and diagnoses be balanced with the need to maintain or improve patient quality of life?
- What measures can be implemented to safeguard patient privacy when sharing electronic health records among different healthcare providers?
- How can the policies ensure that the privacy risks to individuals are minimized, while still allowing for the necessary flow of information for patient care and public health?
These questions reflect the challenges faced in healthcare policy regarding costs, quality of life, patient privacy, and information sharing.