CAc Interdisciplinary Care 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A patient presents with fever, stiff neck, and a non-blanching petechial rash. What is the appropriate response?
- Release the exterior with LI 4 and GB 20
- Recommend rest and fluids
- Prescribe Yin Qiao San and follow up in three days
- Refer immediately to emergency care for possible meningitis (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Refer immediately to emergency care for possible meningitis
Fever, neck stiffness, and a petechial rash suggest bacterial meningitis, a medical emergency.
Question 2: Which herb-drug interaction concern is associated with Gan Cao (licorice) in patients on diuretics or digoxin?
- Hypokalemia (Correct answer)
- Thrombocytosis
- Hypercalcemia
- Hyperglycemia
Correct answer: Hypokalemia
Licorice can cause potassium loss, which worsens diuretic-induced hypokalemia and increases digoxin toxicity risk.
Question 3: A mental health counselor refers a patient with anxiety to an acupuncturist. What is the best role for the acupuncturist?
- Advise the patient to discontinue psychiatric medications
- Diagnose a psychiatric disorder using DSM criteria
- Replace the counselor's psychotherapy
- Provide adjunctive care while keeping the counselor informed with the patient's consent (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Provide adjunctive care while keeping the counselor informed with the patient's consent
Acupuncture is used as an adjunct, and coordination with consent supports integrated mental health care.
Question 4: A patient with suicidal ideation and a specific plan discloses this during treatment. What should the acupuncturist do?
- Prescribe calming herbs only
- Continue treatment and mention it at the next visit
- Ensure immediate safety by connecting the patient with crisis services such as 988 or emergency care (Correct answer)
- Keep it confidential under all circumstances
Correct answer: Ensure immediate safety by connecting the patient with crisis services such as 988 or emergency care
Imminent risk of self-harm requires immediate crisis intervention, and safety overrides routine confidentiality.
Question 5: Which practice best shows cultural competence in interdisciplinary care?
- Asking about the patient's beliefs and preferences and using qualified interpreters when needed (Correct answer)
- Avoiding discussion of the patient's other treatments
- Assuming all patients share the practitioner's health beliefs
- Using family members as interpreters for all complex consent discussions
Correct answer: Asking about the patient's beliefs and preferences and using qualified interpreters when needed
Respecting patient beliefs and using qualified interpreters supports accurate communication and informed consent.
Question 6: A patient on a chiropractor's care plan reports increased neck pain and dizziness after a cervical adjustment. What is the acupuncturist's best action?
- Ignore it because it is the chiropractor's responsibility
- Tell the patient to get another adjustment
- Assess for red flags such as vertebral artery dissection, refer for urgent evaluation if present, and communicate with the chiropractor (Correct answer)
- Needle the neck aggressively to release tension
Correct answer: Assess for red flags such as vertebral artery dissection, refer for urgent evaluation if present, and communicate with the chiropractor
New dizziness after cervical manipulation can signal vertebral artery dissection, which requires urgent medical evaluation.
Question 7: What is the main benefit of using standardized outcome measures, such as a pain scale or validated questionnaire, in integrative practice?
- They let all providers track progress in a common, comparable language (Correct answer)
- They eliminate the need for referrals
- They replace the need for TCM diagnosis
- They are required for herb prescription
Correct answer: They let all providers track progress in a common, comparable language
Standardized measures give the team a shared, objective way to track patient progress.
CAc Interdisciplinary Care 5
A patient presents with fever, stiff neck, and a non-blanching petechial rash.
What is the appropriate response?