EHR Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield EHR facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. What does the term 'interoperability' mean in the context of EHR systems? → The ability of different systems to exchange and use health information
2. In EHR reporting, what does 'drill-down' functionality allow a user to do? → Click on a summary metric to view the underlying detailed patient-level data
3. Which federal agency collects electronic clinical quality measure data from hospitals to calculate star ratings and compare performance publicly? → CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
4. A hospital's EHR analytics team wants to measure the rate of hospital-acquired infections. Which data element is most critical for this analysis? → Date of admission and infection diagnosis date
5. A clinical dashboard in an EHR is primarily used to: → Display real-time key performance indicators and patient metrics
6. What functionality in an EHR patient portal helps patients manage their preventive care by sending reminders for screenings or immunizations? → Automated preventive care reminder notifications
7. Which data format is most commonly used to export structured clinical data from an EHR for analytics purposes? → CSV or HL7 FHIR
8. Which analytics approach is most appropriate for determining why readmission rates increased after a workflow change in the EHR? → Root cause analysis using diagnostic analytics
9. What does CDA stand for in health information exchange? → Clinical Document Architecture
10. Which of the following is a benefit of documenting a patient encounter at the point of care? → Improved patient outcomes
11. What is the meaning of 'attestation' in EHR clinical documentation? → A clinician's electronic signature confirming the accuracy and completeness of a note
12. Which of the following is a feature of a patient portal within an EHR? → Patients can input health status updates between appointments
13. Under the 21st Century Cures Act, when must patients be given access to their electronic health information through a portal? → Immediately upon request, without delay and without charge in most cases
14. Permission to use and disclose information for uses other than treatment, payment, and operations: → Authorization
15. What Meaningful Use objective encouraged providers to offer patients the ability to view, download, and transmit their health data? → View, Download, and Transmit (VDT) objective
16. Which metric best measures how well a primary care practice manages its diabetic patient population? → Percentage of diabetic patients with HbA1c tested in the last 12 months
17. A quality improvement team notices that the EHR's blood pressure measurement field contains both '120/80' and '120 over 80' formats. This is an example of a: → Data integrity / data quality issue
18. Before a surgical procedure, an EHR specialist should obtain what to ensure payment of the claim by the third-party payer: → Preauthorization
19. Which EHR documentation method uses pre-built templates with checkboxes and drop-down menus to speed up charting? → Structured data entry
20. What is a 'cohort' in EHR-based population analytics? → A group of patients sharing common characteristics selected for analysis
21. The following are the advantages of electronic records in ambulances, except: → Procurement of facilities
22. Which of the following is an example of a static report? → Birth register for a particular day
23. Which federal rule finalized in 2020 requires EHR vendors to support FHIR-based APIs to prevent information blocking? → ONC 21st Century Cures Act Final Rule
24. Electronic Health Records help in the following except: → Case descriptions
25. Which tool within an EHR allows providers to run custom queries against patient data without programming expertise? → Ad hoc report builder
26. What is a nursing flowsheet used for in EHR clinical documentation? → Tracking patient vitals, assessments, and interventions over time in a tabular format
27. Which ONC certification criterion requires EHRs to support patient access to their data via a FHIR API? → §170.315(g)(10) Standardized API for patient and population services
28. Individually identifiable health information that is transmitted or maintained by electronic media or is transmitted or maintained in any other form or medium: → Protected health information
29. A patient presents to a provider’s office with a third-degree burn on his hand from cooking oil, which of the following should an EHR specialist code first? → Classification
30. What does CPT stand for in medical billing within the EHR? → Current Procedural Terminology