Informatics Nurse Test Health Information Exchange 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is Health Information Exchange (HIE)?
- The physical transfer of paper patient records between hospitals
- The electronic sharing of patient health information across different organizations (Correct answer)
- A billing system shared between insurance companies
- A federal database storing all US patient records
Correct answer: The electronic sharing of patient health information across different organizations
HIE is the electronic movement of health-related information among organizations according to nationally recognized standards to improve care quality and efficiency.
Question 2: Which of the following is a type of HIE model where a central repository stores patient data from multiple organizations?
- Federated HIE
- Centralized HIE (Correct answer)
- Hybrid HIE
- Direct messaging
Correct answer: Centralized HIE
In a centralized HIE, a single shared data repository stores clinical data contributed by all participating organizations.
Question 3: The Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) was established to:
- Replace Medicare billing codes
- Create a nationwide framework for electronic health information exchange (Correct answer)
- Mandate paper record retention policies
- Regulate medical device software
Correct answer: Create a nationwide framework for electronic health information exchange
TEFCA establishes a common set of principles and minimum terms for trust among health information networks to enable nationwide HIE.
Question 4: Under HIPAA, sharing patient data through an HIE requires that the:
- Hospital CEO approves every transaction
- Data exchange complies with minimum necessary and permitted use standards (Correct answer)
- All data be de-identified regardless of purpose
- Patient must pay a fee for each information request
Correct answer: Data exchange complies with minimum necessary and permitted use standards
HIPAA requires that only the minimum necessary information be exchanged and that disclosures fall within a permitted purpose such as treatment.
Question 5: In a federated HIE architecture, patient data is:
- Copied and stored in a central warehouse
- Kept at each participating organization and queried on demand (Correct answer)
- Only accessible by government agencies
- Stored exclusively on portable media
Correct answer: Kept at each participating organization and queried on demand
In a federated model, data remains stored locally at each organization's system and is retrieved in real time when a query is made.
Question 6: A Master Patient Index (MPI) is used in HIE to:
- Track insurance claim submissions
- Match and link patient records from different organizations to a single identity (Correct answer)
- Assign ICD-10 codes to diagnoses
- Manage nursing staff credentials
Correct answer: Match and link patient records from different organizations to a single identity
An MPI uses matching algorithms to identify and link records that belong to the same patient across different health information systems.
What is Health Information Exchange (HIE)?