(WGU D514) MHA 5600 Analytical Methods of Healthcare
Leaders Objective Assessment Guide Latest Update
2025/2026.
In conversations with her patients, a physical therapist notices that patients who are on
Workman's Compensation and have supportive supervisors, eager for them to return to
work, have more positive outcomes in rehabilitation than those patients whose
supervisors have a negative attitude toward their employee's injury: insisting they not
return to work until they are at 100% because if anything less they are "useless to the
job".
What type of test could the therapist use to see if these two factors have a measurable
relationship? – ANSWER Linear regression
Data analysts at a large metropolitan hospital need to determine risk factors associated
with readmission within 30 days via the hospital's emergency room among patients with
COPD. The variables of interest include age, gender, race/ethnicity, insurance status,
and family support. Which statistical technique should be used? – ANSWER
Regression analysis
Several community health centers across a rural state are gathering data on their pre-
diabetic patients and using A1c levels as a baseline measurement to include patients in
a research project. Three different interventions will be applied.
One group of patients will receive a special diet to follow; the second group will work
with physical therapists on a regular exercise program; the third group will follow the diet
and engage in the exercise.
Which statistical test will be appropriate to use to determine which treatment is most
effective in controlling pre-diabetes? – ANSWER ANOVA
A hospital CFO is analyzing the cost benefits of using the patient reminder system,
which was implemented over a year ago, to see if the automated system results in less
missed appointments ("no-shows").
She is comparing quarterly reports from this past year on volume of patients who did not
show up to their appointments, to the volume of patients of the previous year, who did
not show up to their appointments, to see if the automated system has proven effective.
She is considering other variables as she reviews the data, but is primarily analyzing the
number of "no-show" patients from last year's quarterly reports to this year's. –
ANSWER time series
There are two standard treatments for children with ADHD who display a specific set of
characteristics. One treatment is a cognitive behavioral intervention, and the other is a
dietary and biomedical intervention. Both treatments have equally strong clinical
, evidence supporting their efficacy. A researcher proposes a comparison of the two
interventions to determine which is preferable. The children will be randomized to one of
two groups: half of the children will receive the cognitive behavioral intervention and the
other half of the children will receive the dietary and biomedical intervention. Which test
is appropriate to determining the preferable treatment? – ANSWER Cross-sectional
The vice president, CMO, and Operations Team collected data on resources used by
patients who have undergone coronary bypass and the length of stays for a defined
population of patients who received CABG surgery. Since the raw data is complex to
discuss and evaluate, the team will use descriptive statistics to analyze the data to
support their decisions for recommendations.
Which of the following descriptive statistics could prove the most useful? – ANSWER
The mean (average) length of stay and
The mean number of providers seeing each patient each day
Operates through CDC; the National Health Care Surveys are designed to answer key
questions of interest to health care policy makers, public health professionals, and
researchers. – ANSWER National Healthcare Survey
Operates through the CDC: data on birth, death, marriages, divorces, and fetal deaths. –
ANSWER National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)
Incidence and prevalence of diseases, survival statistics, high-risk populations, trends
over time. Data gathered from medical records, surveys, interviews. NCHS has
responsibility for these databases. – ANSWER Public Health Databases
This database is queried as part of the physician credentialing process when applying
for medical staff privileges and every two years afterward. It contains data on medical
malpractice, adverse licensure actions, suspensions, certain professional review
actions, such as denial of medical staff privileges. – ANSWER National Practitioner
Data Bank (NPDB)
Acute care and skilled nursing facility claims data. Demographics on patient, information
on provider, on Medicare coverage for the claim, total charges, charges broken down,
codes and diagnostic related group (DRG) data. Only contains data on Medicare
patients. – ANSWER Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MEDPAR)
Medical screening and medical are two fundamental strategies for
optimizing employee health. Medical screening is only one component of a
comprehensive medical program. The fundamental purpose of
screening is early diagnosis and treatment of the individual and thus has a clinical
focus. – ANSWER Surveillance records
Leaders Objective Assessment Guide Latest Update
2025/2026.
In conversations with her patients, a physical therapist notices that patients who are on
Workman's Compensation and have supportive supervisors, eager for them to return to
work, have more positive outcomes in rehabilitation than those patients whose
supervisors have a negative attitude toward their employee's injury: insisting they not
return to work until they are at 100% because if anything less they are "useless to the
job".
What type of test could the therapist use to see if these two factors have a measurable
relationship? – ANSWER Linear regression
Data analysts at a large metropolitan hospital need to determine risk factors associated
with readmission within 30 days via the hospital's emergency room among patients with
COPD. The variables of interest include age, gender, race/ethnicity, insurance status,
and family support. Which statistical technique should be used? – ANSWER
Regression analysis
Several community health centers across a rural state are gathering data on their pre-
diabetic patients and using A1c levels as a baseline measurement to include patients in
a research project. Three different interventions will be applied.
One group of patients will receive a special diet to follow; the second group will work
with physical therapists on a regular exercise program; the third group will follow the diet
and engage in the exercise.
Which statistical test will be appropriate to use to determine which treatment is most
effective in controlling pre-diabetes? – ANSWER ANOVA
A hospital CFO is analyzing the cost benefits of using the patient reminder system,
which was implemented over a year ago, to see if the automated system results in less
missed appointments ("no-shows").
She is comparing quarterly reports from this past year on volume of patients who did not
show up to their appointments, to the volume of patients of the previous year, who did
not show up to their appointments, to see if the automated system has proven effective.
She is considering other variables as she reviews the data, but is primarily analyzing the
number of "no-show" patients from last year's quarterly reports to this year's. –
ANSWER time series
There are two standard treatments for children with ADHD who display a specific set of
characteristics. One treatment is a cognitive behavioral intervention, and the other is a
dietary and biomedical intervention. Both treatments have equally strong clinical
, evidence supporting their efficacy. A researcher proposes a comparison of the two
interventions to determine which is preferable. The children will be randomized to one of
two groups: half of the children will receive the cognitive behavioral intervention and the
other half of the children will receive the dietary and biomedical intervention. Which test
is appropriate to determining the preferable treatment? – ANSWER Cross-sectional
The vice president, CMO, and Operations Team collected data on resources used by
patients who have undergone coronary bypass and the length of stays for a defined
population of patients who received CABG surgery. Since the raw data is complex to
discuss and evaluate, the team will use descriptive statistics to analyze the data to
support their decisions for recommendations.
Which of the following descriptive statistics could prove the most useful? – ANSWER
The mean (average) length of stay and
The mean number of providers seeing each patient each day
Operates through CDC; the National Health Care Surveys are designed to answer key
questions of interest to health care policy makers, public health professionals, and
researchers. – ANSWER National Healthcare Survey
Operates through the CDC: data on birth, death, marriages, divorces, and fetal deaths. –
ANSWER National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)
Incidence and prevalence of diseases, survival statistics, high-risk populations, trends
over time. Data gathered from medical records, surveys, interviews. NCHS has
responsibility for these databases. – ANSWER Public Health Databases
This database is queried as part of the physician credentialing process when applying
for medical staff privileges and every two years afterward. It contains data on medical
malpractice, adverse licensure actions, suspensions, certain professional review
actions, such as denial of medical staff privileges. – ANSWER National Practitioner
Data Bank (NPDB)
Acute care and skilled nursing facility claims data. Demographics on patient, information
on provider, on Medicare coverage for the claim, total charges, charges broken down,
codes and diagnostic related group (DRG) data. Only contains data on Medicare
patients. – ANSWER Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MEDPAR)
Medical screening and medical are two fundamental strategies for
optimizing employee health. Medical screening is only one component of a
comprehensive medical program. The fundamental purpose of
screening is early diagnosis and treatment of the individual and thus has a clinical
focus. – ANSWER Surveillance records
