Quality Improvement Flashcards
7 cards from real AHIMA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Quality Improvement flashcards as text
Which data quality characteristic refers to whether data values fall within an expected or acceptable range for a given data element?
Answer: Validity
Data validity means the data conforms to an expected format, range, or set of permissible values — for example, a patient age of 250 would fail a validity check.
Health data that is collected and available soon enough to support the decision or action for which it is needed demonstrates which quality characteristic?
Answer: Timeliness
Timeliness means data is available when it is needed; for example, lab results available before a clinician makes a treatment decision reflect timely health data.
A hospital's quality dashboard shows a 3% rise in 30-day readmission rates over the past quarter. What is the BEST immediate next step?
Answer: Conduct a root cause analysis to identify contributing factors
Before implementing any intervention, a root cause analysis should be performed to understand the specific factors driving the increase in readmissions.
Benchmarking in healthcare quality improvement is BEST described as:
Answer: Comparing organizational performance against best practices or peer organizations
Benchmarking uses external reference points — industry best practices or comparable organizations — to set meaningful performance targets and identify improvement gaps.
A hospital compares its surgical site infection rate against national rates published in the CDC's NHSN database. This is an example of:
Answer: External benchmarking
External benchmarking compares an organization's performance data to national databases, peer groups, or industry leaders outside the organization.
The Case Mix Index (CMI) in hospital quality and financial management is BEST defined as:
Answer: A measure of the relative complexity and resource intensity of a facility's patient mix
CMI is the average relative weight of all Medicare DRGs assigned to a hospital's patients, reflecting the complexity and resource demands of its overall case mix.
In the United States, the ICD-10-CM diagnosis coding system used for quality reporting and reimbursement is officially maintained by:
Answer: CMS and the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)
ICD-10-CM is maintained cooperatively by CMS and the NCHS/CDC in the US, with annual updates coordinated through the ICD-10 Coordination and Maintenance Committee.