Ambulatory Care Quality and Safety Improvement Flashcards
7 cards from real Ambulatory Care Test practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Ambulatory Care Quality and Safety Improvement flashcards as text
Which element is most critical to include when designing a safe health information technology (HIT) system for ambulatory care?
Answer: Usability testing with end users before full deployment
Usability testing before deployment identifies workflow mismatches and alert fatigue risks that can lead to EHR-related safety events.
A practice manager reviews data showing 18% of patients do not show for scheduled appointments. The FIRST step in a quality improvement effort should be:
Answer: Measure and stratify no-show rates by provider, day, and patient demographics to understand patterns
Before selecting an intervention, you must understand the distribution and drivers of no-shows through data stratification.
In ambulatory care, 'failure mode and effects analysis' (FMEA) is best used to:
Answer: Prospectively identify and prioritize potential process failures before they cause harm
FMEA is a proactive risk assessment tool that identifies failure modes and their potential severity before a safety event occurs.
A patient safety officer notes that staff rarely report errors in the electronic reporting system. The most likely organizational barrier is:
Answer: Fear of punitive consequences and a blame-focused culture
A punitive culture where staff fear blame is the primary reason underreporting occurs; psychological safety is essential for a functioning safety reporting system.
Which approach best supports equitable quality improvement in ambulatory care?
Answer: Stratifying quality measure data by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status to identify and address disparities
Stratifying data by race, ethnicity, and social determinants reveals hidden disparities so that targeted interventions can address equity gaps.
A clinic implements a new workflow to improve hypertension control. After three months, control rates improve then fall back to baseline. This most likely indicates:
Answer: Lack of sustainability planning and hardwiring into standard workflows
Gains that fade back to baseline signal that the improvement was not embedded into reliable daily workflows and standard processes.
In the context of ambulatory care safety, which patient population is at highest risk for preventable adverse drug events?
Answer: Elderly patients with multiple chronic conditions taking five or more medications
Polypharmacy in elderly patients with multimorbidity significantly increases the risk of drug interactions, inappropriate dosing, and adverse drug events.