Final answer:
The correct answer is D: Covered entities must conduct a risk assessment for HIPAA addressable specifications to determine their appropriateness. The balance between costs, quality of life, and privacy should be addressed by ensuring confidentiality, protecting privacy, and mitigating privacy risks.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question pertains to the implementation specifications of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), specifically those that are considered addressable. For HIPAA implementation specifications designated as addressable, the covered entity must conduct a risk assessment to determine if a particular specification is suitable for its environment.
This means answer D is correct: The covered entity Must conduct a risk assessment to determine if the specification is appropriate to its environment. If the specification is reasonable and appropriate, the entity must implement it. If not, they may implement an alternative measure that achieves the same purpose or, if both the specification and any alternatives are not reasonable and appropriate, document why and do nothing.
When developing policies regarding health records, a balance must be sought between the costs of treatments and diagnoses, the patient's quality of life, and individual privacy. Three questions that should be addressed are as follows:
- How can we ensure the confidentiality of patient health information while still facilitating effective and cost-efficient treatments and diagnoses?
- What measures can be taken to protect patient privacy while optimizing patient quality of life?
- In what ways can we mitigate the risks to individual privacy when policies necessitate the sharing of health information?