CPHRM Basic CPHRM 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A 'never event' in healthcare is BEST defined as:
- Any unexpected patient death in a hospital
- A serious, largely preventable adverse event that should never occur (Correct answer)
- An event that has never been reported before
- An error that occurs during surgery only
Correct answer: A serious, largely preventable adverse event that should never occur
Never events are serious, largely preventable patient safety incidents that should never occur if proper safeguards are followed.
Question 2: Which risk financing technique involves a healthcare organization retaining financial risk and setting aside funds to pay for anticipated losses?
- Commercial insurance
- Risk transfer
- Self-insurance or captive insurance (Correct answer)
- Excess liability coverage
Correct answer: Self-insurance or captive insurance
Self-insurance and captive programs allow organizations to retain risk and fund their own losses rather than transferring them to a commercial insurer.
Question 3: The primary purpose of a healthcare organization's occurrence reporting system is to:
- Document events for use in malpractice litigation
- Satisfy mandatory government reporting requirements only
- Identify, track, and analyze events to prevent recurrence (Correct answer)
- Discipline employees who make clinical errors
Correct answer: Identify, track, and analyze events to prevent recurrence
Occurrence reporting systems are designed to capture data that helps organizations identify trends and implement improvements to prevent future events.
Question 4: Which standard of care concept requires healthcare providers to perform at the level of a reasonably competent professional in the same field?
- Res ipsa loquitur
- Duty of care
- Standard of care (Correct answer)
- Proximate cause
Correct answer: Standard of care
Standard of care defines the level of care a reasonably competent healthcare professional with similar training would provide in the same circumstances.
Question 5: When a patient falls in a hospital and sustains a hip fracture, which element of negligence establishes that the fall DIRECTLY caused the fracture?
- Duty
- Breach
- Causation (Correct answer)
- Damages
Correct answer: Causation
Causation links the breach of duty directly to the harm suffered—the fall caused the fracture.
Question 6: Which accreditation body surveys hospitals using National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) and requires a robust risk management program?
- CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
- The Joint Commission (TJC) (Correct answer)
- AAAHC
- NCQA
Correct answer: The Joint Commission (TJC)
The Joint Commission establishes National Patient Safety Goals and surveys hospitals for compliance as part of accreditation.
Question 7: A healthcare organization conducts a Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) on its medication administration process. This is an example of:
- Reactive risk management after an adverse event
- Proactive risk management to prevent future errors (Correct answer)
- Regulatory compliance reporting
- Claims management for pending litigation
Correct answer: Proactive risk management to prevent future errors
FMEA is a proactive tool used to identify potential failure points in a process before an adverse event occurs.
CPHRM Basic CPHRM 3
A 'never event' in healthcare is BEST defined as: