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 standardized tool is most commonly used to assess organizational safety culture in ambulatory care settings?
Answer: AHRQ Medical Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture (MOSOPS)
AHRQ's Medical Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture (MOSOPS) is the validated instrument specifically designed to measure safety culture in ambulatory settings.
A clinic's run chart shows a shift (six consecutive data points on one side of the median) in appointment wait times. This indicates:
Answer: A non-random signal suggesting a true process change occurred
Six or more consecutive points on one side of the median is a recognized signal rule indicating a non-random shift in process performance.
Which statement best describes the role of clinical practice guidelines in ambulatory quality improvement?
Answer: Guidelines provide evidence-based recommendations that anchor quality measures and reduce unwarranted variation
Evidence-based guidelines reduce unwarranted clinical variation and form the foundation of quality measures used for accountability and improvement.
During a root cause analysis (RCA) of a delayed cancer diagnosis in an outpatient clinic, the team focuses primarily on:
Answer: Uncovering system-level contributing factors and developing corrective action plans
RCA is a systems-oriented process that identifies contributing factors across organizational levels to prevent recurrence, not to assign individual blame.
A federally qualified health center (FQHC) wants to improve diabetic foot exam rates. Which QI strategy is most likely to be effective at scale?
Answer: Embedding a standing order and best-practice advisory in the EHR workflow triggered by a diabetes diagnosis
EHR-embedded standing orders and alerts create reliable, systematic reminders at the point of care without depending on individual memory.
Which of the following represents a leading indicator (process measure) rather than a lagging indicator (outcome measure) for ambulatory patient safety?
Answer: Rate of completed pre-visit medication reconciliation for high-risk patients
Pre-visit medication reconciliation completion is a process measure that leads to safer care, while hospitalizations and readmissions are downstream outcome measures.
An ambulatory pharmacy implements a 'read-back' protocol for all verbal prescription orders. This is an example of which safety strategy?
Answer: Closed-loop communication
Read-back is a closed-loop communication technique that verifies information accuracy by having the receiver repeat the order back to the sender for confirmation.