Documentation & Record Management Flashcards

A passage argues that anonymizing patient records for research purposes adequately protects privacy. A critic points out that re-identification attacks have successfully de-anonymized 87% of records using only zip code, birth date, and sex. The critic's point most directly shows that:

Answer: Anonymization techniques may provide weaker privacy protection than claimed.

High re-identification rates reveal that anonymization may not deliver the privacy guarantee the passage assumes.

A passage on the history of census records notes that data collected under confidentiality pledges was released 72 years later to genealogical researchers. The author uses this to argue that 'permanent confidentiality' is a legal fiction. Which assumption underlies this argument?

Answer: A pledge that expires after 72 years does not constitute permanent confidentiality.

If 'permanent' means 'without end,' then a 72-year time limit reveals the term was used loosely or misleadingly.

An information governance specialist argues that 'information is an organizational asset' and should be managed like financial capital. A critic argues this metaphor is misleading because information, unlike capital, is non-rivalrous—sharing it does not diminish the original. What is the critic's implication?

Answer: Financial capital management principles may not translate directly to information governance.

If information behaves fundamentally differently from capital, models built on the capital analogy may produce flawed governance strategies.

A passage describes the tension between the archival principle of 'provenance'—keeping records from the same creator together—and users' preference for topically grouped collections. The author ultimately sides with provenance. Which value does this choice prioritize?

Answer: Contextual integrity of records over ease of thematic access.

Provenance preserves the original context in which records were created, which the author values over the convenience of topical grouping.

A legal passage states that courts may draw a negative inference when a party fails to produce records that should exist under normal business practices. This doctrine is called 'spoliation by non-production.' What logical basis supports this doctrine?

Answer: A party's failure to produce expected records suggests the records would have been unfavorable to that party.

The negative inference is justified by the reasonable presumption that parties suppress evidence only when it would harm their position.

A passage on freedom of information requests notes that agencies may redact records under exemptions for deliberative process, attorney-client privilege, or national security. The author argues these exemptions are necessary but often abused. Which evidence would best support the 'abuse' part of this claim?

Answer: Agencies redact information later proven unrelated to any recognized exemption category.

If redacted content is later shown to fall outside exemption categories, this directly evidences improper use of the exemption.

A passage contends that the proliferation of cloud storage has made records retention policies obsolete because storage costs are now negligible. Which flaw in this reasoning does the author fail to address?

Answer: Retention policies govern more than cost—they address legal compliance, findability, and risk reduction.

Reducing retention policy to a cost-management tool ignores its legal, operational, and risk functions that persist regardless of storage price.