Final answer:
An accreditation organization is an example of an institutional user of health records, which uses the records for compliance and quality monitoring. Policy development must consider cost, quality of life, and privacy protection.
Step-by-step explanation:
The institutional user of health records refers to organizations rather than individuals. Given the options provided:
- (a) Third party payer
- (b) Accreditation organization
- (c) Physician
- (d) Employer
The correct answer is (b) accreditation organization. This includes entities such as nonprofit health organizations, private hospitals, and governmental agencies like Health and Social Services. These organizations use health records to ensure compliance with standards, for research purposes, and to monitor the quality of care provided.
When it comes to developing policies that balance treatment costs, patient quality of life, and privacy risks, questions to consider include:
- How can we ensure that treatment costs do not become prohibitively expensive for patients?
- What measures can be taken to maintain or improve patient quality of life?
- How can individual privacy be protected while sharing digital records among health providers?