CPHRM Risk Identification 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following represents an 'active failure' in healthcare risk management?
- A poorly designed medication ordering interface
- Inadequate staffing policies
- A nurse selecting the wrong drug from a dropdown menu (Correct answer)
- Lack of a double-check protocol for high-alert medications
Correct answer: A nurse selecting the wrong drug from a dropdown menu
Active failures are unsafe acts committed by frontline workers that directly cause or contribute to an adverse event.
Question 2: A risk manager wants to identify safety risks in the sterile processing department. Which tool would be MOST appropriate?
- Patient satisfaction surveys
- Structured process observation and FMEA (Correct answer)
- Analysis of malpractice claims from last year
- Staff credentialing file review
Correct answer: Structured process observation and FMEA
Structured process observation combined with FMEA allows systematic prospective identification of contamination or sterilization failure risks.
Question 3: When a healthcare organization conducts a 'gap analysis' as part of risk identification, it is comparing:
- Current performance against a desired standard or benchmark (Correct answer)
- Budget projections against actual spending
- Staff competency against peer organizations
- Incident rates against historical malpractice claims
Correct answer: Current performance against a desired standard or benchmark
A gap analysis identifies the difference between current performance and desired standards, revealing areas of risk requiring improvement.
Question 4: Which of the following patient populations requires heightened risk identification protocols due to communication barriers?
- Patients with private insurance
- Patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) (Correct answer)
- Patients scheduled for elective procedures
- Patients in single-occupancy rooms
Correct answer: Patients with limited English proficiency (LEP)
Limited English proficiency patients face higher risk for miscommunication-related adverse events, requiring targeted risk identification and mitigation strategies.
Question 5: A risk manager is tasked with identifying risks in a newly implemented telemedicine program. The BEST initial approach is to:
- Wait for the first incident report before acting
- Review state licensure laws only
- Conduct a prospective risk assessment of the new workflow and technology (Correct answer)
- Benchmark against internal in-person care metrics only
Correct answer: Conduct a prospective risk assessment of the new workflow and technology
Prospective risk assessment of new programs identifies potential failure points before patients are exposed to harm.
Question 6: Which of the following is the MOST reliable indicator that a hospital's incident reporting system is effectively capturing risks?
- Low number of reports submitted
- High number of near-miss and no-harm reports (Correct answer)
- Reports focused exclusively on serious adverse events
- Reports submitted only by nursing staff
Correct answer: High number of near-miss and no-harm reports
A high proportion of near-miss and no-harm reports indicates staff are comfortable reporting minor events, which reflects a strong safety culture and effective capture of early risk signals.
Question 7: In healthcare risk identification, 'vulnerability scanning' of IT systems is important because it helps identify:
- Risks related to cybersecurity threats to patient data and clinical operations (Correct answer)
- Underperforming clinical staff
- Gaps in physical security of the facility
- Incomplete medical record documentation
Correct answer: Risks related to cybersecurity threats to patient data and clinical operations
IT vulnerability scanning identifies cybersecurity weaknesses that could compromise protected health information or disrupt clinical systems.
CPHRM Risk Identification 5
Which of the following represents an 'active failure' in healthcare risk management?