OEC Quality Control & Process Improvement 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Accurate and complete patient care reports (PCRs) contribute to quality improvement PRIMARILY by:
- Increasing the patrol's liability exposure
- Providing data to identify trends, protocol gaps, and training needs (Correct answer)
- Replacing the need for radio communication during rescues
- Satisfying only administrative filing requirements
Correct answer: Providing data to identify trends, protocol gaps, and training needs
PCRs are the primary data source for identifying care trends, protocol adherence rates, and systemic training needs in a CQI program.
Question 2: A patrol reviews data showing response times have increased by 30% over two seasons. The BEST quality improvement step is to:
- Blame individual patrollers for being slow
- Analyze contributing factors such as staffing, communication, or terrain coverage gaps (Correct answer)
- Discontinue tracking response times
- Increase the number of runs each patroller must ski per shift
Correct answer: Analyze contributing factors such as staffing, communication, or terrain coverage gaps
Root-cause analysis of contributing systemic factors—not individual blame—is the correct CQI approach to an adverse trend.
Question 3: Which of the following is an example of a PROCESS measure in OEC quality improvement?
- Patient mortality rate
- Percentage of spinal immobilizations performed according to protocol (Correct answer)
- Number of patrollers on the hill each day
- Total annual rescue count
Correct answer: Percentage of spinal immobilizations performed according to protocol
A process measure evaluates whether a specific care step is being performed correctly, such as protocol adherence for spinal immobilization.
Question 4: Peer review in an OEC patrol setting is BEST defined as:
- Patrollers rating each other's skiing ability
- Evaluation of a patroller's patient care by equally qualified colleagues to ensure standards are met (Correct answer)
- An annual written exam administered by the patrol director
- A review conducted only by outside agencies
Correct answer: Evaluation of a patroller's patient care by equally qualified colleagues to ensure standards are met
Peer review involves qualified colleagues evaluating care delivery to identify strengths and areas for improvement within a supportive framework.
Question 5: A 'near miss' incident report is valuable to a quality improvement program because it:
- Provides grounds to discipline the patroller involved
- Reveals hazards and system weaknesses before they cause patient harm (Correct answer)
- Is required only when a patient files a formal complaint
- Documents that no error actually occurred
Correct answer: Reveals hazards and system weaknesses before they cause patient harm
Near-miss reporting identifies system vulnerabilities and latent hazards before they result in actual patient harm, allowing proactive corrective action.
Question 6: Which of the following BEST supports a non-punitive safety culture in an OEC patrol?
- Publicly posting the names of patrollers who make errors
- Encouraging voluntary error reporting without fear of automatic disciplinary action (Correct answer)
- Removing all protocols to avoid blame when errors occur
- Requiring patrollers to sign liability waivers before each shift
Correct answer: Encouraging voluntary error reporting without fear of automatic disciplinary action
Voluntary, non-punitive reporting systems encourage honest disclosure of errors and near misses, which is essential for effective quality improvement.
Question 7: In an OEC quality improvement context, 'outcome measures' assess:
- Whether protocols were followed during care
- The end results of care, such as patient condition at transfer (Correct answer)
- How quickly equipment was restocked after a rescue
- The number of skill stations completed in a training session
Correct answer: The end results of care, such as patient condition at transfer
Outcome measures evaluate the results of care—such as patient status at handoff—rather than whether specific process steps were followed.
OEC Quality Control & Process Improvement 3
Accurate and complete patient care reports (PCRs) contribute to quality improvement PRIMARILY by: