MHA - Master of Healthcare Administration Healthcare Information Technology Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A physician practice is told by its certified EHR vendor that establishing an interface to send data to a local, unaffiliated hospital's system will cost a prohibitively expensive, non-standard implementation fee. This practice is most likely to be a violation of which federal regulation?
- The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule
- The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act
- The 21st Century Cures Act (Correct answer)
- The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (PSQIA)
Correct answer: The 21st Century Cures Act
The 21st Century Cures Act established rules against "information blocking," which is defined as a practice likely to interfere with, prevent, or materially discourage access, exchange, or use of electronic health information. Charging excessive fees that make data exchange impractical is a common example of information blocking prohibited by this act.
Question 2: Which of the following is the BEST example of a Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) function integrated within an Electronic Health Record (EHR)?
- Generating a patient's bill after a hospital stay.
- Allowing a patient to view their lab results through a secure online portal.
- Alerting a physician to a potential drug-drug interaction when prescribing a new medication. (Correct answer)
- Scheduling a follow-up appointment for a patient upon discharge.
Correct answer: Alerting a physician to a potential drug-drug interaction when prescribing a new medication.
A Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) provides clinicians with knowledge and person-specific information, intelligently filtered or presented at appropriate times, to enhance health and healthcare. Alerting a physician about a potential drug interaction at the point of prescribing is a classic and critical CDSS function designed to improve patient safety. The other options are revenue cycle, patient engagement, and practice management functions, respectively.
Question 3: A hospital's IT systems have been encrypted by a ransomware attack, rendering the EHR and other critical systems inaccessible. From a healthcare administrator's perspective, what is the most critical IMMEDIATE action?
- Paying the ransom to receive the decryption key as quickly as possible.
- Activating the organization's downtime procedures and business continuity plan. (Correct answer)
- Notifying all affected patients that their protected health information has been breached.
- Contacting law enforcement to report the crime and request assistance.
Correct answer: Activating the organization's downtime procedures and business continuity plan.
When a ransomware attack disables critical systems, the immediate priority is to ensure the continuity of safe patient care. This requires activating well-rehearsed downtime procedures and the organization's business continuity plan to revert to manual or backup processes. Reporting, investigation, and decisions about payment are crucial but secondary to maintaining patient safety and core operations.
Question 4: A health system based in New York wants to offer telehealth consultations to patients located in Florida. Which of the following represents the most significant, long-standing regulatory barrier to providing this interstate service?
- The high cost of HIPAA-compliant video conferencing technology.
- Variable reimbursement rates for telehealth services from private insurers.
- State-specific medical licensure requirements. (Correct answer)
- A lack of patient interest in receiving care from out-of-state providers.
Correct answer: State-specific medical licensure requirements.
The most significant regulatory barrier to interstate telehealth is that physicians and other licensed providers must typically hold a valid license in the state where the patient is physically located at the time of the consultation. Navigating the complex, expensive, and time-consuming process of obtaining and maintaining licenses in multiple states is a major challenge for health systems looking to expand their virtual care footprint.
Question 5: What was the primary goal of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009?
- To establish national standards for the security of electronic health information.
- To promote the adoption and 'Meaningful Use' of electronic health records through financial incentives. (Correct answer)
- To allow the sharing of patient safety data through Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs).
- To mandate the public reporting of hospital quality metrics on the Hospital Compare website.
Correct answer: To promote the adoption and 'Meaningful Use' of electronic health records through financial incentives.
The primary goal of the HITECH Act was to stimulate the adoption of certified electronic health records (EHRs) and supporting technology in the United States. It created the 'Meaningful Use' program, which provided billions of dollars in financial incentives to healthcare providers who demonstrated they were using EHRs to achieve goals like improving care coordination, quality, and patient engagement.
Question 6: An Accountable Care Organization (ACO) is focused on reducing preventable hospital readmissions for its large population of patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). Which health IT capability is most crucial for effectively managing this population?
- A patient portal that allows patients to message their providers securely.
- A robust Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) for sharing medical images.
- A data analytics platform capable of risk-stratifying patients and identifying care gaps. (Correct answer)
- An e-prescribing module integrated with national pharmacy databases.
Correct answer: A data analytics platform capable of risk-stratifying patients and identifying care gaps.
Population health management, which is central to the ACO model, depends on analyzing data from across the patient population to identify and intervene with high-risk individuals. A data analytics platform can aggregate clinical and claims data to risk-stratify the CHF population, identifying patients most likely to be readmitted so that care management resources can be targeted to them effectively.
MHA - Master of Healthcare Administration Healthcare Information Technology Questions and Answers
A physician practice is told by its certified EHR vendor that establishing an interface to send data to a local, unaffiliated hospital's system will cost a prohibitively expensive, non-standard implementation fee.
This practice is most likely to be a violation of which federal regulation?