CMM Healthcare Management 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A medical manager is developing a staffing model. Which metric is MOST useful for determining optimal front-desk staffing levels?
- Total practice revenue
- Patient volume per hour by day of week (Correct answer)
- Number of physicians on staff
- Square footage of the office
Correct answer: Patient volume per hour by day of week
Hourly patient volume patterns identify peak demand periods and allow precise staffing alignment.
Question 2: The Primary purpose of a practice's charge master (chargemaster) is to:
- Determine physician compensation
- List the standard prices for all services and supplies (Correct answer)
- Track accounts payable
- Schedule patient appointments
Correct answer: List the standard prices for all services and supplies
The chargemaster is the comprehensive price list that drives the revenue cycle by establishing charges for all billable items.
Question 3: Which federal law requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities?
- FMLA
- ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) (Correct answer)
- FLSA
- ERISA
Correct answer: ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)
The ADA mandates reasonable accommodations for qualified employees with disabilities in workplaces with 15 or more employees.
Question 4: A practice wants to benchmark its overhead ratio. Which formula is correct?
- Total expenses ÷ total collections × 100 (Correct answer)
- Total revenue ÷ total expenses × 100
- Net income ÷ total revenue × 100
- Total collections ÷ number of physicians × 100
Correct answer: Total expenses ÷ total collections × 100
The overhead ratio equals total operating expenses divided by total collections, expressed as a percentage.
Question 5: In a capitation payment model, the provider assumes financial risk when:
- Patients use services more than anticipated (Correct answer)
- Payers reduce their premium rates
- Government regulations change
- Staff turnover increases
Correct answer: Patients use services more than anticipated
In capitation, the provider receives a fixed per-member payment, so higher utilization than predicted results in a financial loss.
Question 6: A CMM candidate reviewing a quality improvement initiative should recognize that the PDCA cycle stands for:
- Plan, Develop, Check, Act
- Plan, Do, Check, Act (Correct answer)
- Prepare, Deploy, Control, Audit
- Plan, Design, Correct, Approve
Correct answer: Plan, Do, Check, Act
The PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle is a foundational continuous improvement framework used in healthcare quality management.
Question 7: Which of the following is a key indicator of revenue cycle efficiency in a medical practice?
- Total number of payer contracts
- First-pass claim acceptance rate (Correct answer)
- Number of credentialed providers
- Square footage of billing department
Correct answer: First-pass claim acceptance rate
First-pass claim acceptance rate measures the percentage of claims paid without correction, directly reflecting billing accuracy and efficiency.
CMM Healthcare Management 3
A medical manager is developing a staffing model.
Which metric is MOST useful for determining optimal front-desk staffing levels?