Epic Skills Assessment Data and Chart Interpretation Questions and Answers 3

Question 1

A dual-axis chart shows hospital admissions (bars, left axis) and average length of stay (line, right axis) over 6 months. In month 3, admissions spike but LOS drops. What is the most likely interpretation?

Accepted Answer

More patients were admitted but discharged faster

Answer

Higher admissions with lower LOS suggests the hospital processed more patients and discharged them more quickly — possibly due to improved efficiency or a higher proportion of lower-acuity cases.

Question 2

In a data table, a cell shows 'NULL'. What does this typically indicate in a healthcare database context?

Accepted Answer

The value is unknown or not recorded

Answer

NULL in a database means the value is absent, unknown, or not applicable — it is not the same as zero or empty string.

Question 3

A report shows readmission rates: Hospital A=8.2%, Hospital B=11.5%, Hospital C=7.9%, National Average=10.1%. Which hospital performs BELOW the national average (better performance)?

Accepted Answer

Hospital A and Hospital C

Answer

For readmissions, lower is better. Hospitals A (8.2%) and C (7.9%) are both below the national average of 10.1%. Hospital B (11.5%) is above average.

Question 4

A stacked bar chart shows payer mix: Private Insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, Self-Pay. The 'Private Insurance' segment shrinks across 4 years while 'Medicare' grows. What is the most likely implication?

Accepted Answer

The patient population is aging

Answer

Growing Medicare share and shrinking private insurance typically indicates that a larger proportion of patients are elderly (65+), who are Medicare-eligible.

Question 5

An XY chart shows two variables with r = -0.87. What does this correlation coefficient indicate?

Accepted Answer

Strong negative correlation

Answer

r = -0.87 indicates a strong negative correlation: as one variable increases, the other tends to decrease significantly.

Epic Skills Assessment Practice Test

Epic Skills Assessment Practice Test

Epic Skills Assessment Data and Chart Interpretation Questions and Answers 3