Solutions
Which of the following action plans is the first step in correcting inappropriate
blood usage in an emergency department?
A. in-service on ordering blood usage for the physicians
B. elimination of wasted blood
C. improvements in documentation
D. development of a new procurement procedure
ANSWER
A. in-service on ordering blood usage for the physicians
Which of the following is most appropriate in preparation for an external
survey of a healthcare facility?
A. Assign key staff to answer all questions.
B. Ask department heads to prepare a presentation for the survey team.
C. Educate staff about the types of questions they may be asked.
D. Set up teams to make a good showing for the survey.
ANSWER
C. Educate staff about the types of questions they may be asked.
The following table shows the percentage of hospital-acquired pressure
ulcers: Which of the following
should the healthcare quality professional do next?
A. Implement a new pressure ulcer protocol.
B. Re-educate staff.
C. Continue to track and trend the data.
D. Conduct a focused analysis of pressure ulcer cases
ANSWER
D. Conduct a focused analysis of pressure ulcer cases
,Leadership can best integrate performance improvement within an
organization through:
A. multidisciplinary teams.
B. newsletters.
C. focus groups.
D. seminars.
ANSWER
A. multidisciplinary teams
(best integrate performance improvement by promoting an interdisciplinary approach
to the process and including multiple subject matter experts.)
A medication error occurred and resulted in a severe adverse outcome. In
addition to informing the
patient and/or family, a healthcare quality professional should:
A. perform a regression analysis.
B. implement new technology.
C. reassign the employees involved.
D. conduct a root cause analysis.
ANSWER
D. conduct a root cause analysis.
(exploration of system and process issues should be the primary function of a root
cause analysis)
The primary purpose of an organization's quality improvement (QI) strategic
plan is to:
A. determine accountability for outcomes.
B. assess improvement opportunities.
C. define the future direction for quality.
D. explain the purpose of performance teams
ANSWER
C. define the future direction for quality.
(This is a function of having a QI strategic plan.)
Which of the following are the first steps when preparing for an initial
accreditation or certification survey
,of an organization?
A. Review the standards and determine readiness.
B. Appoint a survey coordinator and prepare a survey agenda.
C. Hire a consultant and conduct a mock survey.
D. Assess staff knowledge and plan staff training.
ANSWER
A. Review the standards and determine readiness.
(These actions are part of the gap analysis, which establishes a good baseline to
determine where to focus and how to prioritize efforts.)
The primary purpose of risk management trend analysis is to:
A. meet regulatory requirements.
B. provide required reports to liability carriers.
C. identify opportunities for improvements.
D. eliminate financial loss for organizations
ANSWER
C. identify opportunities for improvements.
(Risk management focuses on identification, assessment, and reduction of risk. The
goal is to protect the organization from losses, the key component of which is
proactive improvement to avoid and reduce risk.)
Which of the following elements must be present in order to evaluate the
effectiveness of a healthcare
organization's quality improvement program?
A. quantifiable objectives
B. support from the medical staff
C. well-defined organizational structure
D. integrated data collection
ANSWER
A. quantifiable objectives
(To evaluate effectiveness, an organization must have quantifiable objectives in
order to measure progress toward meeting goals)
, Balanced scorecards are useful because they
A. focus on the most significant strategic initiative.
B. evaluate the pros and cons of the governing body's priorities.
C. put strategy and vision at the center of an organization's effort.
D. concentrate on the performance of individual units.
ANSWER
C. put strategy and vision at the center of an organization's effort.
(The balanced scorecard is a management framework that translates an
organization's strategic objectives into a set of performance measures that are
measured, monitored, and changed, if necessary, to ensure that organization's
strategic goals are met.)
A t-test may be used to:
A. display the size of a sampling variation.
B. evaluate the effects of two different treatments.
C. evaluate differences among three or more treatments.
D. display a listing of the number of occurrences of a variable
ANSWER
B. evaluate the effects of two different treatments.
(A t-test is used to examine if the mean of two treatments are statistically different
from one another)
Which of the following should a Quality Council provide to best ensure
success of performance improvement teams?
A. facilitator and recorder
B. empowerment and training
C. indicators and a data analyst
D. standards and procedures
ANSWER
B. empowerment and training
Which of the following is the most effective way to integrate performance
improvement concepts throughout an organization?