Quality Improvement and Compliance Flashcards
7 cards from real TRIVIUM practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Quality Improvement and Compliance flashcards as text
The EMTALA law requires hospitals with emergency departments to:
Answer: Screen and stabilize patients regardless of their ability to pay before transferring
EMTALA (Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act) mandates that hospitals screen all patients for emergency conditions and stabilize them before any transfer, regardless of insurance status.
In the context of infection control, 'standard precautions' apply to:
Answer: All patients regardless of their diagnosis or infection status
Standard precautions assume that all blood, body fluids, and non-intact skin are potentially infectious, and apply to every patient in every care setting.
Which of the following is an example of a 'lagging indicator' in healthcare quality?
Answer: Thirty-day hospital readmission rate
Lagging indicators measure outcomes that have already occurred (like 30-day readmissions), reflecting the result of past processes rather than predicting future ones.
A healthcare worker who suspects their organization is committing Medicare fraud is BEST protected under which law?
Answer: The False Claims Act's anti-retaliation provisions
The False Claims Act includes anti-retaliation provisions (qui tam) that protect whistleblowers who report fraudulent billing from termination, harassment, or demotion.
Which quality improvement concept focuses on eliminating waste and maximizing efficiency in healthcare processes?
Answer: Lean methodology
Lean methodology, derived from the Toyota Production System, focuses on identifying and eliminating waste (non-value-added steps) to streamline healthcare processes.
A hospital's compliance officer discovers that a department has been upcoding diagnosis codes to increase reimbursement. The FIRST action the compliance officer should take is:
Answer: Conduct a thorough internal investigation and document findings
The first step is to conduct a thorough internal investigation to understand the scope and nature of the issue before taking corrective action or external reporting.
The concept of 'informed consent' requires that a patient be provided with which of the following before agreeing to a procedure?
Answer: Information about the risks, benefits, alternatives, and the right to refuse
Informed consent requires disclosure of the procedure's risks, benefits, alternatives, and the patient's right to refuse, ensuring autonomous decision-making.