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EPIC TRAINING COG170 EXAM
SIMULATION 2025/2026: FULL
PRACTICE TEST : QUESTIONS AND
RATIONALES/GRADED A+
UPDATE 100% CORRECT
SECTION 1: PATIENT IDENTIFICATION & DATA INTEGRITY
(Questions 1-10)
1. In EPIC Cogito, what is the primary danger of merging two patient records
that belong to different individuals?
A. Increased storage space usage
B. Corruption of clinical data and patient safety events – Rationale: Merging
incorrect patients links data across unrelated individuals, causing wrong medication
lists, allergies, and lab results, leading to potential harm.
C. Faster reporting speed
D. Automatic deletion of duplicate records
2. Which tool is the foundation of patient matching within EPIC’s Master
Patient Index (MPI)?
A. Social Security Number only
B. Probabilistic and deterministic matching algorithms – Rationale: EPIC uses both
methods—deterministic (exact match on name/DOB) and probabilistic (weighted
scoring on multiple fields)—to achieve high-confidence matches.
,C. Fingerprint biometrics
D. Insurance ID number alone
3. A report shows two MRNs for the same patient. What is the recommended
first step in Cogito?
A. Delete the older MRN immediately
B. Initiate a potential duplicate review via the Patient Merge tool – Rationale:
EPIC requires a review workflow to confirm duplicates before merging, preserving audit
trails and preventing errors.
C. Ignore the duplicate unless a clinical alert fires
D. Notify only the billing department
4. Which field carries the highest weight in EPIC’s default patient matching
logic?
A. Phone number
B. Full legal name and date of birth – Rationale: Name + DOB combination is the
highest-weighted due to low variability and high uniqueness.
C. Email address
D. Home address
5. What is required before merging two records that have active encounters?
A. No special action is needed
B. Resolve or close at least one of the encounters – Rationale: EPIC prevents
merging records with open encounters to avoid active treatment disruption. Encounters
must be discharged or administratively closed.
C. Only merge if both are outpatient
D. Merge is automatic for high scores
6. An analyst notices a patient has two distinct MRNs but the same name and
DOB. What is the most likely root cause?
A. Intentional identity fraud
B. Data entry variation (e.g., nicknames, misspellings, or missing middle
initial) – Rationale: Common causes include “Jon” vs “Jonathan,” transposed digits, or
using maiden name vs married name.
, C. EPIC system glitch
D. Patient requested separate records
7. How does EPIC flag a record as “possible duplicate” without auto-merging?
A. Changes MRN color to red
B. Generates a Best Practice Advisory (BPA) during registration – Rationale: BPAs
alert registrars to potential matches in real time, requiring review before proceeding.
C. Sends an email to the CIO
D. Deletes the newer record
8. Which report in Cogito measures the effectiveness of patient matching?
A. Revenue Cycle Dashboard
B. Duplicate Rate and Overlay Report – Rationale: This report identifies potential
duplicate creation rates and overlay situations (wrong data written to correct record).
C. Surgical Turnover Report
D. Ambulatory Visit Summary
9. What is an “overlay” in EPIC patient identity terms?
A. Two patients sharing an insurance plan
B. Data from Patient A incorrectly written into Patient B’s correct
MRN – Rationale: More dangerous than duplicates—overlays happen when a registrar
selects an existing MRN but updates it with new patient’s demographics.
C. A graphical user interface theme
D. A type of clinical order set
10. After merging two patient records, what happens to the source (duplicate)
MRN?
A. It is permanently deleted from the database
B. It is retired/inactivated but remains for audit/historical reference – Rationale:
EPIC retains the old MRN in a cross-reference table so historical claims and external
records can still be linked.
C. It becomes available for reuse
D. It is encrypted and hidden
EPIC TRAINING COG170 EXAM
SIMULATION 2025/2026: FULL
PRACTICE TEST : QUESTIONS AND
RATIONALES/GRADED A+
UPDATE 100% CORRECT
SECTION 1: PATIENT IDENTIFICATION & DATA INTEGRITY
(Questions 1-10)
1. In EPIC Cogito, what is the primary danger of merging two patient records
that belong to different individuals?
A. Increased storage space usage
B. Corruption of clinical data and patient safety events – Rationale: Merging
incorrect patients links data across unrelated individuals, causing wrong medication
lists, allergies, and lab results, leading to potential harm.
C. Faster reporting speed
D. Automatic deletion of duplicate records
2. Which tool is the foundation of patient matching within EPIC’s Master
Patient Index (MPI)?
A. Social Security Number only
B. Probabilistic and deterministic matching algorithms – Rationale: EPIC uses both
methods—deterministic (exact match on name/DOB) and probabilistic (weighted
scoring on multiple fields)—to achieve high-confidence matches.
,C. Fingerprint biometrics
D. Insurance ID number alone
3. A report shows two MRNs for the same patient. What is the recommended
first step in Cogito?
A. Delete the older MRN immediately
B. Initiate a potential duplicate review via the Patient Merge tool – Rationale:
EPIC requires a review workflow to confirm duplicates before merging, preserving audit
trails and preventing errors.
C. Ignore the duplicate unless a clinical alert fires
D. Notify only the billing department
4. Which field carries the highest weight in EPIC’s default patient matching
logic?
A. Phone number
B. Full legal name and date of birth – Rationale: Name + DOB combination is the
highest-weighted due to low variability and high uniqueness.
C. Email address
D. Home address
5. What is required before merging two records that have active encounters?
A. No special action is needed
B. Resolve or close at least one of the encounters – Rationale: EPIC prevents
merging records with open encounters to avoid active treatment disruption. Encounters
must be discharged or administratively closed.
C. Only merge if both are outpatient
D. Merge is automatic for high scores
6. An analyst notices a patient has two distinct MRNs but the same name and
DOB. What is the most likely root cause?
A. Intentional identity fraud
B. Data entry variation (e.g., nicknames, misspellings, or missing middle
initial) – Rationale: Common causes include “Jon” vs “Jonathan,” transposed digits, or
using maiden name vs married name.
, C. EPIC system glitch
D. Patient requested separate records
7. How does EPIC flag a record as “possible duplicate” without auto-merging?
A. Changes MRN color to red
B. Generates a Best Practice Advisory (BPA) during registration – Rationale: BPAs
alert registrars to potential matches in real time, requiring review before proceeding.
C. Sends an email to the CIO
D. Deletes the newer record
8. Which report in Cogito measures the effectiveness of patient matching?
A. Revenue Cycle Dashboard
B. Duplicate Rate and Overlay Report – Rationale: This report identifies potential
duplicate creation rates and overlay situations (wrong data written to correct record).
C. Surgical Turnover Report
D. Ambulatory Visit Summary
9. What is an “overlay” in EPIC patient identity terms?
A. Two patients sharing an insurance plan
B. Data from Patient A incorrectly written into Patient B’s correct
MRN – Rationale: More dangerous than duplicates—overlays happen when a registrar
selects an existing MRN but updates it with new patient’s demographics.
C. A graphical user interface theme
D. A type of clinical order set
10. After merging two patient records, what happens to the source (duplicate)
MRN?
A. It is permanently deleted from the database
B. It is retired/inactivated but remains for audit/historical reference – Rationale:
EPIC retains the old MRN in a cross-reference table so historical claims and external
records can still be linked.
C. It becomes available for reuse
D. It is encrypted and hidden
