AHIC Quality Improvement 4

Question 1

A QI team discovers that medication errors spike every Tuesday afternoon. Using the PDSA cycle, what is the appropriate FIRST step?

Accepted Answer

Plan a small test of change based on a theory about why Tuesdays are different

Answer

Immediately implement a new verification protocol to stop the errors

Answer

Study data to confirm the pattern and develop a hypothesis about the cause

Answer

Act by replacing the Tuesday afternoon nursing staff

Question 2

Which measure type directly assesses whether care processes are being performed correctly according to evidence-based guidelines?

Accepted Answer

Process measure

Answer

Outcome measure

Answer

Balancing measure

Answer

Structure measure

Question 3

An informatics team implements a clinical decision support rule to reduce inappropriate opioid prescribing. Six months later, providers report alert fatigue. Which strategy BEST addresses this while maintaining safety?

Accepted Answer

Increase alert specificity by refining triggers to reduce non-actionable alerts

Answer

Remove all CDS alerts related to opioids to eliminate fatigue

Answer

Add mandatory override comments to all opioid alerts

Answer

Convert alerts from interruptive to passive display only

Question 4

The Quadruple Aim expands the Triple Aim by adding which fourth dimension?

Accepted Answer

Improving the work life and well-being of healthcare providers

Answer

Health equity across populations

Answer

Reducing environmental impact of healthcare delivery

Answer

Increasing transparency in quality reporting

Question 5

A hospital implements a new sepsis protocol. The QI team uses a run chart to monitor compliance over 16 weeks. How many consecutive data points above the median are required to signal a non-random shift using standard run chart rules?

Accepted Answer

8

Answer

4

Answer

6

Answer

10

Question 6

Which of the following BEST describes the difference between quality assurance (QA) and quality improvement (QI)?

Accepted Answer

QA focuses on inspection and meeting minimum standards; QI focuses on continuous system improvement

Answer

QA is prospective and proactive; QI is retrospective and reactive

Answer

QA involves front-line staff; QI is conducted only by administrators

Answer

QA uses statistical process control; QI uses accreditation standards

Question 7

A health system wants to compare its 30-day readmission rate against peer hospitals. Which approach provides the most valid comparison by accounting for patient population differences?

Accepted Answer

Risk-adjusted readmission rates controlling for patient demographics and comorbidities

Answer

Direct comparison of raw readmission rates across hospitals

Answer

Comparing readmission rates only for patients with the same primary diagnosis

Answer

Using patient satisfaction scores as a proxy for readmission risk