RHIT Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield RHIT facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. A correlation coefficient of -0.85 between two healthcare variables indicates: → A strong negative relationship
2. Which coding guideline applies when a patient is admitted for a complication of a surgical procedure performed during a prior hospitalization? → Code the complication as the principal diagnosis
3. What is the standard length of time an adult acute care hospital must retain medical records according to most state regulations? → Varies by state but commonly 10 years after last encounter
4. Which federal regulation protects the confidentiality of substance abuse treatment records? → 42 CFR Part 2
5. Which standard terminology is most commonly used to capture clinical concepts for interoperability across health systems? → SNOMED CT
6. Which coding system is used primarily for outpatient and physician office procedure coding in the United States? → CPT (Current Procedural Terminology)
7. Which HL7 standard uses a document-centric XML-based approach for clinical document exchange? → HL7 CDA
8. In a frequency distribution of patient ages, the most frequently occurring age is 45. What statistical term describes this? → Mode
9. Under the HIPAA Privacy Rule, which of the following does NOT require patient authorization for disclosure? → Disclosure to a public health authority for disease reporting
10. A health information manager calculates a hospital's net autopsy rate. Which deaths are EXCLUDED from the denominator? → Deaths where the bodies were removed before an autopsy could be performed
11. Which document notifies patients about how their PHI may be used and disclosed? → Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP)
12. What is 'data provenance' in health informatics? → The documented history of data's origin, movement, and transformation
13. Under HIPAA, which transaction standard is used for electronic claim submission from providers to payers? → ASC X12 837
14. Which of the following best describes 'addressable' implementation specifications under the HIPAA Security Rule? → They must be implemented if reasonable and appropriate, or an equivalent alternative used
15. In the absence of a more stringent state law, the CMS Conditions of Participation require hospitals to retain medical records for a minimum of how many years? → 5 years
16. Which of the following is a characteristic of the problem-oriented medical record (POMR)? → Care is organized around a numbered problem list with SOAP-format progress notes
17. Which documentation is required to code a surgical complication in an inpatient record? → Physician documentation linking the condition to the surgical procedure
18. Under HIPAA, what is a Business Associate Agreement (BAA)? → A written contract ensuring vendors who access PHI protect it in accordance with HIPAA
19. When coding a patient with type 2 diabetes mellitus and diabetic chronic kidney disease stage 3, what is the correct coding approach? → Code the diabetes with CKD combination code, then add the CKD stage code
20. A patient undergoes a laparoscopic appendectomy that is converted to an open procedure. How should this be coded in CPT? → Code only the open appendectomy
21. What is the purpose of role-based access control (RBAC) in an EHR system? → To restrict system access based on a user's job function
22. Which organization publishes the data quality management model widely referenced in health information management? → AHIMA
23. In the context of the Medicare Severity Diagnosis Related Group (MS-DRG) system, what does a higher relative weight indicate? → The case requires more resources and generates higher reimbursement
24. A hospital employee looks up a celebrity patient's record out of curiosity. What type of HIPAA violation is this? → An impermissible access/use of PHI that violates the minimum necessary standard
25. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which category of HIM employee is entitled to overtime pay when working more than 40 hours per week? → Non-exempt hourly coders
26. Which type of cost remains constant regardless of the volume of health records processed, such as a fixed monthly software license fee? → Fixed cost
27. In healthcare information systems, 'throughput' refers to: → The volume of transactions or data a system can process in a given time period
28. Which HIPAA provision allows patients to request corrections to their medical records? → Right to amend
29. Which of the following activities is considered a healthcare 'operation' under HIPAA, allowing for the use and disclosure of PHI without patient authorization? → Conducting internal quality assessment and improvement activities
30. When a covered entity discovers a potential HIPAA breach, the Breach Notification Rule requires that the affected individual be notified within how many days? → 60 days