CPHIMS CPHIMS IT Governance and Management 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A hospital is selecting a new EHR system. Which governance step should occur FIRST in the procurement process?
- Issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP)
- Defining business and clinical requirements (Correct answer)
- Negotiating vendor contracts
- Conducting system testing
Correct answer: Defining business and clinical requirements
Requirements definition must precede procurement activities to ensure the selected system will meet the organization's clinical and operational needs.
Question 2: Which governance principle ensures that no single individual has unchecked control over critical IT processes?
- Transparency
- Separation of duties (Correct answer)
- Accountability
- Due diligence
Correct answer: Separation of duties
Separation of duties divides critical tasks among multiple people to prevent errors, fraud, and unauthorized actions from going undetected.
Question 3: An IT steering committee is reviewing three competing projects with limited budget. Which approach BEST supports governance-based prioritization?
- Fund the project requested by the most senior executive
- Evaluate projects using a scoring matrix that weighs strategic alignment, ROI, and risk (Correct answer)
- Fund projects in the order they were submitted
- Choose the least expensive project
Correct answer: Evaluate projects using a scoring matrix that weighs strategic alignment, ROI, and risk
A structured scoring matrix ensures consistent, objective, and strategy-driven project prioritization rather than subjective or political decision-making.
Question 4: What is the PRIMARY role of a Chief Information Officer (CIO) in healthcare IT governance?
- Managing individual software development projects
- Aligning IT strategy with organizational mission and representing IT at the executive level (Correct answer)
- Performing hands-on system administration
- Negotiating all vendor contracts personally
Correct answer: Aligning IT strategy with organizational mission and representing IT at the executive level
The CIO serves as the executive accountable for IT strategy, governance, and ensuring technology supports the organization's mission and goals.
Question 5: In IT governance, what does 'accountability' mean relative to 'responsibility'?
- They mean the same thing in IT contexts
- Accountability cannot be delegated and is answerable for outcomes; responsibility can be assigned to others (Correct answer)
- Responsibility is non-delegable; accountability can be shared
- Accountability applies only to financial matters
Correct answer: Accountability cannot be delegated and is answerable for outcomes; responsibility can be assigned to others
Accountability is the ultimate answerability for results that cannot be transferred, while responsibility for executing tasks can be delegated to others.
Question 6: Which of the following BEST describes the concept of IT governance maturity in healthcare?
- The age of the organization's IT systems
- The degree to which IT governance processes are defined, measured, and continuously improved (Correct answer)
- The number of IT policies in place
- The size of the IT department
Correct answer: The degree to which IT governance processes are defined, measured, and continuously improved
IT governance maturity reflects how well-defined, consistently practiced, measured, and continuously improved governance processes are within an organization.
Question 7: A healthcare organization wants to adopt a cloud strategy. Which governance body should approve this major infrastructure change?
- The IT help desk manager
- The IT Steering Committee or equivalent executive governance body (Correct answer)
- The network administrator
- The software vendor
Correct answer: The IT Steering Committee or equivalent executive governance body
Major strategic infrastructure decisions like cloud adoption require approval from executive-level governance bodies with the authority to commit organizational resources.
CPHIMS CPHIMS IT Governance and Management 4
A hospital is selecting a new EHR system.
Which governance step should occur FIRST in the procurement process?