CPHRM Risk Analysis 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which quantitative technique assigns probability distributions to uncertain variables to model the range of possible outcomes in a risk assessment?
- Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
- Fault tree analysis
- Monte Carlo simulation (Correct answer)
- Bow-tie analysis
Correct answer: Monte Carlo simulation
Monte Carlo simulation runs thousands of iterations with randomly sampled inputs to produce a probability distribution of outcomes.
Question 2: A hospital's risk manager is evaluating a clinical process with multiple sequential steps, each with its own failure probability. Which method is BEST suited to calculate the probability that the entire process fails?
- Root cause analysis
- Fault tree analysis (Correct answer)
- FMEA severity scoring
- Pareto analysis
Correct answer: Fault tree analysis
Fault tree analysis uses Boolean logic gates to model how combinations of individual failures lead to a top-level undesired event.
Question 3: In risk analysis, 'residual risk' refers to:
- Risk identified after a sentinel event
- Risk remaining after controls are applied (Correct answer)
- Risk transferred to a third party
- Risk deemed too minor to address
Correct answer: Risk remaining after controls are applied
Residual risk is the level of risk that remains after all implemented risk controls have been applied and accepted.
Question 4: Which of the following BEST describes the purpose of a risk register in healthcare risk management?
- To document adverse events for regulatory reporting
- To record employee incident reports
- To track malpractice claims and legal settlements
- To centralize identified risks, their ratings, and assigned owners (Correct answer)
Correct answer: To centralize identified risks, their ratings, and assigned owners
A risk register is a living document that catalogues identified risks, their likelihood and impact scores, mitigation actions, and accountability assignments.
Question 5: When analyzing risk severity, which dimension is PRIMARILY concerned with how quickly a hazardous situation can cause harm if not detected?
- Probability
- Detectability (Correct answer)
- Controllability
- Reversibility
Correct answer: Detectability
Detectability measures how easily a failure or hazard can be identified before it causes harm, influencing the urgency of controls.
Question 6: A risk manager observes that medication errors cluster around shift-change handoffs. Which analytical approach is MOST useful for uncovering the systemic root causes?
- Fishbone (Ishikawa) diagram (Correct answer)
- Risk matrix scoring
- Probability impact grid
- Loss run analysis
Correct answer: Fishbone (Ishikawa) diagram
Fishbone diagrams organize potential causes into categories (people, process, equipment, environment) to systematically identify root causes.
Question 7: The 'likelihood' component in a traditional 5×5 risk matrix is BEST defined as:
- The financial cost if the risk materializes
- The estimated probability or frequency of the risk occurring (Correct answer)
- The number of patients potentially affected
- The time required to mitigate the risk
Correct answer: The estimated probability or frequency of the risk occurring
Likelihood (or probability) represents how often or how probable it is that a given risk event will occur within a defined timeframe.
CPHRM Risk Analysis 2
Which quantitative technique assigns probability distributions to uncertain variables to model the range of possible outcomes in a risk assessment?