CCS Database Management 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which database field type is most appropriate for storing a patient's date of birth in a healthcare information system?
- VARCHAR
- DATE (Correct answer)
- INTEGER
- BOOLEAN
Correct answer: DATE
DATE fields store calendar dates in a standardized format, enabling accurate age calculations and date-range queries.
Question 2: In a relational database, what term describes a field in one table that references the primary key of another table?
- Composite key
- Candidate key
- Foreign key (Correct answer)
- Alternate key
Correct answer: Foreign key
A foreign key establishes a referential link between two tables, enforcing relational integrity across the database.
Question 3: A coder notices that the same patient has two different medical record numbers in the HIM database. Which database principle has been violated?
- Normalization
- Data integrity (Correct answer)
- Indexing
- Partitioning
Correct answer: Data integrity
Data integrity ensures that information stored in the database is accurate, consistent, and free of duplicates.
Question 4: What is the purpose of a query in a healthcare database management system?
- To back up data
- To retrieve specific information from the database (Correct answer)
- To encrypt sensitive records
- To assign user permissions
Correct answer: To retrieve specific information from the database
A query retrieves, filters, or aggregates data from a database based on specified criteria.
Question 5: Which normalization form eliminates partial dependencies by ensuring all non-key attributes are fully functionally dependent on the entire primary key?
- First Normal Form (1NF)
- Second Normal Form (2NF) (Correct answer)
- Third Normal Form (3NF)
- Boyce-Codd Normal Form (BCNF)
Correct answer: Second Normal Form (2NF)
Second Normal Form (2NF) removes partial dependencies, requiring every non-key column to depend on the whole composite primary key.
Question 6: In a hospital's coding database, an encoder links ICD-10-CM codes to DRG assignments. What type of database relationship does this represent?
- One-to-one
- Many-to-many
- One-to-many (Correct answer)
- Self-referencing
Correct answer: One-to-many
A one-to-many relationship exists because one DRG can be assigned to many patient encounters sharing that code grouping.
Question 7: Which SQL clause is used to filter results after a GROUP BY aggregation in a healthcare analytics query?
- WHERE
- ORDER BY
- HAVING (Correct answer)
- DISTINCT
Correct answer: HAVING
The HAVING clause filters grouped results, unlike WHERE which filters individual rows before grouping.
CCS Database Management 2
Which database field type is most appropriate for storing a patient's date of birth in a healthcare information system?