Clinical Operations & Patient Care Flashcards
7 cards from real CDC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Clinical Operations & Patient Care flashcards as text
A dental consultant is evaluating a claim for a full-mouth series of radiographs taken 10 months after a previous full-mouth series. Under most dental plan guidelines, what is the most likely outcome?
Answer: Deny, as most plans require a minimum interval of 3–5 years between full-mouth series for adults
Most dental plans establish minimum intervals (typically 3–5 years) between full-mouth radiographic series for adults without high caries risk, making a 10-month repeat non-covered.
Which aseptic technique error poses the greatest cross-contamination risk during a dental procedure?
Answer: Failing to change gloves between patients
Failing to change gloves between patients allows direct transfer of patient blood and saliva, representing the highest cross-contamination risk.
A patient with a documented penicillin allergy requires antibiotic prophylaxis before a dental procedure. Which antibiotic is the standard AHA alternative?
Answer: Clindamycin 600 mg orally 1 hour before
The American Heart Association recommends clindamycin 600 mg as the primary alternative for patients with penicillin allergy requiring infective endocarditis prophylaxis.
When reviewing treatment records for medical necessity, which criterion most strongly supports the necessity of periodontal surgery?
Answer: Documented probing depths of 5–6 mm with no response to scaling and root planing after 4–6 weeks
Persistent probing depths of 5–6+ mm that fail to respond to non-surgical therapy after adequate healing time is the primary clinical criterion supporting surgical necessity.
A dental office is transitioning to electronic health records (EHR). Under HIPAA, which safeguard is mandatory for protecting electronic protected health information (ePHI)?
Answer: Implementing access controls, audit controls, and encryption for ePHI
HIPAA's Security Rule mandates administrative, physical, and technical safeguards including access controls, audit controls, and encryption to protect ePHI.
During a clinical audit, a consultant notes that a dentist routinely bills a comprehensive exam (D0150) at every recall visit. What is the most appropriate finding?
Answer: This constitutes upcoding; recall visits should typically be billed as periodic oral evaluations (D0120)
Billing D0150 (comprehensive exam) for established-patient recall visits instead of D0120 (periodic oral evaluation) is upcoding, which constitutes fraudulent billing.
Which of the following is the correct protocol for handling a needle-stick injury in a dental office?
Answer: Immediately squeeze the wound to express blood, wash with soap and water, report to the employer, and seek medical evaluation
The correct post-exposure protocol is to allow the wound to bleed briefly, wash thoroughly with soap and water, report to the employer, and seek prompt medical evaluation for post-exposure prophylaxis assessment.