Epic Skills Assessment Role-Based Scenario Problems 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A nurse receives an In Basket message from a physician requesting that she discontinue a patient's IV heparin drip. The nurse is unfamiliar with this patient. What should she do first?
- Discontinue the drip immediately per the physician's request
- Pull up the patient's chart in Epic and review current anticoagulation status before acting (Correct answer)
- Ignore the message since she is not assigned to that patient
- Transfer the message to a colleague without reading it
Correct answer: Pull up the patient's chart in Epic and review current anticoagulation status before acting
Before acting on any clinical instruction, the nurse must review the patient's current chart to understand context and ensure the action is safe.
Question 2: A radiology technologist sees that a STAT CT order in Epic has been waiting for 90 minutes without being acted on. What is the appropriate escalation step?
- Cancel the order and re-enter it as routine
- Notify the charge technologist and contact the ordering department to confirm patient status and priority (Correct answer)
- Wait longer since STAT does not have a strict time requirement
- Document the delay in a sticky note and proceed with other patients
Correct answer: Notify the charge technologist and contact the ordering department to confirm patient status and priority
STAT orders have defined turnaround expectations, and a 90-minute delay requires immediate escalation to leadership and the ordering team.
Question 3: A front-desk scheduler accidentally creates a duplicate patient record in Epic. What is the correct next step?
- Delete the duplicate record immediately
- Continue using both records to avoid delays
- Report the duplicate to the HIM or medical records team for an enterprise merge (Correct answer)
- Merge the records manually by copying notes between charts
Correct answer: Report the duplicate to the HIM or medical records team for an enterprise merge
Duplicate records must be reported to HIM for an authorized enterprise merge (MPI correction) to prevent data fragmentation and patient safety risks.
Question 4: A hospitalist physician needs to see all lab results ordered by any provider during a patient's current inpatient stay. Which Epic tool is most efficient for this?
- Review of Systems documentation
- Results Review tab filtered by encounter (Correct answer)
- Discharge instructions
- Care Everywhere
Correct answer: Results Review tab filtered by encounter
The Results Review tab in Epic allows clinicians to view all ordered lab and imaging results within a specific encounter in a consolidated view.
Question 5: A health unit coordinator (HUC) transcribes a verbal order in Epic but notices the physician's cosignature window is about to expire. What should the HUC do?
- Sign the order on behalf of the physician
- Extend the cosignature deadline in Epic settings
- Alert the physician immediately that their cosignature is required before expiration (Correct answer)
- Delete the order and have the physician re-enter it
Correct answer: Alert the physician immediately that their cosignature is required before expiration
The HUC must notify the physician that the cosignature is required within the defined time window to maintain compliance and order validity.
Question 6: A case manager using Epic needs to document that a patient requires a skilled nursing facility (SNF) placement before discharge. Where is this information best captured?
- Physician progress note
- Discharge Disposition field and Care Management plan in Epic (Correct answer)
- Pharmacy reconciliation section
- Patient education tab
Correct answer: Discharge Disposition field and Care Management plan in Epic
Discharge disposition and post-acute care needs are documented in the care management or discharge planning section of Epic, not in clinical notes.
Question 7: An outpatient medical assistant (MA) performs a medication reconciliation in Epic at the start of a visit but the patient says they stopped taking one of their medications three months ago. What should the MA do?
- Leave the medication active since the physician will review it later
- Delete the medication from the list without documenting why
- Mark the medication as discontinued with the date and reason, then flag it for physician review (Correct answer)
- Add a sticky note on the desktop
Correct answer: Mark the medication as discontinued with the date and reason, then flag it for physician review
Discontinued medications should be updated with the date and reason in the medication list, and the physician should be alerted to confirm the change.
Epic Skills Assessment Role-Based Scenario Problems 4
A nurse receives an In Basket message from a physician requesting that she discontinue a patient's IV heparin drip.
The nurse is unfamiliar with this patient.
What should she do first?