Data and Chart Interpretation Questions and Answers Flashcards
6 cards from real Epic Skills Assessment practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Data and Chart Interpretation Questions and Answers flashcards as text
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?
Answer: More patients were admitted but discharged faster
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.
In a data table, a cell shows 'NULL'. What does this typically indicate in a healthcare database context?
Answer: The value is unknown or not recorded
NULL in a database means the value is absent, unknown, or not applicable — it is not the same as zero or empty string.
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)?
Answer: Hospital A and Hospital C
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.
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?
Answer: The patient population is aging
Growing Medicare share and shrinking private insurance typically indicates that a larger proportion of patients are elderly (65+), who are Medicare-eligible.
An XY chart shows two variables with r = -0.87. What does this correlation coefficient indicate?
Answer: Strong negative correlation
r = -0.87 indicates a strong negative correlation: as one variable increases, the other tends to decrease significantly.
A report exported from Epic shows that the same MRN appears in multiple rows with different encounter dates. What does this represent?
Answer: Multiple visits by the same patient
An MRN (Medical Record Number) uniquely identifies a patient across all visits. Multiple rows with the same MRN but different encounter dates represent multiple separate visits by the same patient.