Final answer:
A medical assistant should identify comprehensive care coordination as a feature of the patient-centered medical home model. This concept involves streamlining communication through electronic health records and ensures collaboration across all parts of the healthcare system. Policy development must consider costs, quality of life, and privacy.
Step-by-step explanation:
A medical assistant should identify comprehensive care coordination as part of the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model of care. The PCMH model emphasizes that care is organized across all elements of the broader health care system, including specialty care, hospitals, home health care, and community services.
Central to this model is the use of electronic health records to streamline communication and ensure that all members of a patient's care team have access to the same information, enhancing the coordination of care.
In terms of policy development, to balance the costs of treatments and diagnoses, patient quality of life, and risks to individual privacy, questions that must be addressed include: 'How can we effectively integrate technology to improve care coordination and patient outcomes, without escalating costs?'
'How can we maintain high-quality care standards that positively affect patient quality of life?' and 'What safeguards are required to protect patient privacy while still allowing for the flow of necessary health information between providers?'