RPSGT Industry Regulations & Compliance 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which organization administers the RPSGT credential and sets the standards for certification eligibility?
- American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM)
- Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (BRPT) (Correct answer)
- American Board of Sleep Medicine (ABSM)
- National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC)
Correct answer: Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (BRPT)
The BRPT is the credentialing body responsible for administering the RPSGT examination and maintaining certification standards.
Question 2: Under HIPAA's right of access, a patient requests a copy of their PSG report. The sleep center must respond within:
- 10 business days with no extensions allowed
- 30 calendar days, with one possible 30-day extension (Correct answer)
- 60 days with written notice
- 7 business days for electronic records only
Correct answer: 30 calendar days, with one possible 30-day extension
HIPAA requires covered entities to respond to patient access requests within 30 days, with one allowable 30-day extension if notice is provided.
Question 3: The False Claims Act (FCA) is relevant to sleep centers because it prohibits:
- Falsely advertising sleep study outcomes to patients
- Submitting fraudulent claims for payment to federal healthcare programs like Medicare (Correct answer)
- Misrepresenting a technologist's credentials to state boards
- Failing to disclose adverse events to the FDA
Correct answer: Submitting fraudulent claims for payment to federal healthcare programs like Medicare
The False Claims Act imposes liability on entities that knowingly submit false or fraudulent claims for payment to federal programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.
Question 4: An AASM-accredited sleep center must conduct an ongoing Quality Assurance (QA) program primarily to:
- Satisfy state insurance licensing requirements
- Monitor and improve the quality of patient care and technical performance (Correct answer)
- Replace the need for physician medical direction
- Meet IRS nonprofit status requirements
Correct answer: Monitor and improve the quality of patient care and technical performance
AASM accreditation standards require a formal QA program to continuously evaluate and improve clinical and technical quality within the sleep center.
Question 5: When disposing of paper records containing PSG data, a sleep lab must ensure:
- Records are placed in standard recycling bins after 7 years
- PHI is rendered unreadable through shredding, burning, or pulping (Correct answer)
- Records are deleted digitally but paper copies may be discarded normally
- Only records older than 10 years need secure disposal
Correct answer: PHI is rendered unreadable through shredding, burning, or pulping
HIPAA requires that PHI in paper form be rendered unreadable and unrecoverable before disposal, typically through shredding, burning, or pulping.
Question 6: A sleep technologist who administers a home sleep apnea test (HSAT) must ensure that the device used has received which regulatory clearance?
- AASM Technical Specifications Seal
- FDA 510(k) clearance or approval as a medical device (Correct answer)
- CMS Durable Medical Equipment (DME) certification only
- EPA environmental safety certification
Correct answer: FDA 510(k) clearance or approval as a medical device
HSAT devices are classified as medical devices and must receive FDA 510(k) clearance or approval before clinical use.
Question 7: If a sleep lab experiences a data breach affecting 600 patients, HIPAA's Breach Notification Rule requires notification to:
- Only the affected patients within 90 days
- Affected patients, the HHS Secretary, and prominent local media outlets (Correct answer)
- The FBI Cyber Division within 24 hours
- State health department only, not HHS
Correct answer: Affected patients, the HHS Secretary, and prominent local media outlets
Breaches affecting 500 or more individuals in a state require notification to affected individuals, the HHS Secretary, and prominent media outlets in the affected area.
RPSGT Industry Regulations & Compliance 5
Which organization administers the RPSGT credential and sets the standards for certification eligibility?