HAC Clinical Decision Support Systems 3

Question 1

Which governance body is typically responsible for reviewing and approving new CDSS alerts before deployment in a hospital?

Accepted Answer

Clinical informatics or pharmacy and therapeutics committee

Answer

Clinical informatics committees or pharmacy and therapeutics committees typically govern CDSS content, reviewing evidence, clinical appropriateness, and workflow impact before deployment.

Question 2

A CDSS uses a Bayesian network to estimate sepsis probability. What is the main advantage of this approach over a simple rule-based system?

Accepted Answer

It can quantify uncertainty and update predictions as new data arrives

Answer

Bayesian networks can represent probabilistic relationships and update predictions dynamically as new clinical data becomes available, handling uncertainty more rigorously than deterministic rules.

Question 3

What does 'alert tiering' mean in CDSS design?

Accepted Answer

Categorizing alerts by severity so high-risk alerts are more interruptive than low-risk ones

Answer

Alert tiering assigns different interruption levels—such as hard stops, soft stops, or informational banners—based on clinical severity to reduce alert fatigue while preserving attention for critical warnings.

Question 4

Which regulatory framework most directly governs clinical decision support software that qualifies as a medical device in the US?

Accepted Answer

FDA 21st Century Cures Act provisions on software

Answer

The 21st Century Cures Act established criteria distinguishing non-device CDS software from software requiring FDA oversight as a medical device, based on its intended use and decision autonomy.

Question 5

A CDSS recommends antibiotic selection based on local antibiogram data. Which type of clinical knowledge does this primarily represent?

Accepted Answer

Population-level contextual knowledge

Answer

Local antibiogram data represents population-level contextual knowledge about regional pathogen resistance patterns that informs clinical decisions for individual patients.

(HAC) Healthcare Analytics Certification Practice Test

(HAC) Healthcare Analytics Certification Practice Test

HAC Clinical Decision Support Systems 3