NHA CCMA Exam - Frequently Missed Questions

When performing the palpatory method for obtaining blood pressure, which of the following indicates the level at which the medical assistant should inflate the cuff?

30 mm Hg above the radial pulse cessation

A MA is administering an IM injection into the gluteus medius of an adult patient. At which of the following angles should the assistant insert the needle?

90 degree angle

Which of the following items included on the CMS-1500 claim form should a MA recognize as indicating the medical necessity of a procedure

Diagnosis code

Which of the following techniques should a medical assistant use for the routine cleaning of EKG cables?

Disinfection

A MA is reviewing a pt's medical history prior to the pt's appointment. Which of the following lab results indicates the need to schedule an extension of the current visit?

Fasting blood glucose 168 mg/dL

A MA receives a chemical splash in her eyes. Which of the following actions should the assistant take first?

Flush the eyes with tepid water

Pt asking for surgical procedure cost

Give an estimate

The parent of a child who has pinworms is asking MA for more information about his child's condition. The MA should begin by explaining that pinworms are which of the following types of micro-organism?

Helminths --> "worms"

A MA is using a butterfly needle set to obtain a blood sample from a vein in a patient's hand. Which of the following actions should the MA take?

Hold the needle by its wings

A provider examines an older patient who is disabled and has a lesion on her arm. A MA should anticipate a referral for this patient to which of the following ancillary services?

Home health care

Suddenly unresponsive infant

Initiate CPR for 2 min then call for help

A MA is administering heparin subcutaneously to a patient. Which of the following actions should the assistant take?

Inject the medication slowly

A MA receives a denial of payment for a pt's cholecystectomy. The reason stated is "noncovered service." If this procedure was deemed emergent by the provider, which of the following actions should the assistant take?

Instruct the patient to contact the insurer about the denial of payment

A MA is transcribing a patient routine prescription for oxycodone. Which of the following methods should the MA use to process the prescription?

Provide the prescription in writing for the patient to take to the pharmacy

When getting informed consent, which should the MA do?

Provider should review alternative procedures with pt

Which of the following dressings should an MA use on a partial-thickness burn?

Non-adherent dressing --> exposed to air and heels

A MA is examining the skin on a pt's forearm where the pt reports developing a rash. The MA notes multiple solid elevations that are less than 0.5 cm in diameter. Which of the following terms should he use to document his observation in the patient's medical records?

Papules

An MA should follow the chain of custody guidelines for which of the following types of lab results?

Parentage testing

Which of the following is an ancillary service?

Pathology/radiation --> provide confirmation of diagnosis

How transcribe patient routine prescription?

Provide in writing so pt can take to pharmacy

A MA is performing an ear irrigation for an adult pt who has a cerumen impaction. Which of the following steps should the MA complete prior to administering the solution?

Pull the pinna of the ear up and back?

A MA is assisting a provider with an abdominal examination. When the provider palpates the major portion of the liver, the assistant should recognize that he is palpating which of the following abdominal quadrants?

Right upper

A MA is composing business correspondence using the simplified letter style. Which of the following features should the MA use?

Subject like in all capital letters

What is appropriate placement of electrodes?

Tabs downward on the arm to reduce tension and pulling on electrodes

In which of the following locations should a MA place the electrode for lead V4?

The fifth intercostal space, left midclavicular line

A MA has required a preauthorization for a pt's referral to a specialist. Which of the following is the reason for the claim submitted by the specialist to be denied?

The service is provided after the expiration date

Cryosurgery to cervix

water discharge for up to 1 week after

Spots on instruments after autoclave

mineral deposits from tap water

A MA is reinforcing teaching about a cardiac event monitor with a patient. Which of the following statements by the patient indicates an understanding of the procedure

"I will record any symptoms I experience in the event log"

A MA is measuring the vital signs on an adult patient. The MA should identify which of the following blood pressure readings as stage 2 hypertension?

150/95

A MA is preparing 1 g/kg of activated charcoal for a patient who weighs 176 lb. How many grams should the assistant prepare?

79g

A MA is caring for a child who has varicella zoster virus. The MA should recognize that varicella is transferred through which of the following modes of transmission?

Airborne

A MA is administering eye ointment to a patient. Which of the following actions should the MA take?

Apply a thin ribbon of ointment along the conjuctival sac, inner canthus --> outer canthus

A MA is checking a patient's hearing using the Weber test. Which of the following actions should the MA take?

Ask the patient if he hears the vibration louder in one ear than the other

A MA is preparing sterilization for hemostats before an invasive procedure. Which of the following techniques should the assistant use?

Autoclave

When should the code on glucose cuvettes be compared to the code on the glucometer?

Before a patient is tested

Which of the following lab values should a MA immediately report to a patient's provider?

Blood glucose 500 mg/dL

A pt loses consciousness. The EKG tracing reveals ventricular fibrillation. Which step should MA take first?

Call for help and begin CPR

A MA is faxing a prescription to a pt's pharmacy. Which of the following actions should the MA take?

Call the pharmacy to conform receipt of the faxed prescription

When using a centrifuge, a MA must do which of the following to ensure safety and accuracy?

Cap the tubes to avoid emission of aerosols

A MA is measuring a patient's oxygen saturation with a pulse oximeter. Which of the following actions should the MA take?

Check capillary refill

An MA is preparing a patient who has intermittent peripheral cyanosis for an examination by the provider. The assistant should understand that healthy perfusion of the hands and feet depends on adequate interaction between which of the following two body systems?

Circulatory and respiratory

A MA is adminstering an intramuscular immunization to a pt. Which of the following actions should the MA take?

Cleanse the site using a back and forth motion

A MA should use which of the following solutions to prepare a patient's skin prior to drawing blood cultures?

Clorhexadine

A clinic schedules cardiac patients on Mondays and Wednesdays and all oncology patients on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Which of the following types of scheduling is the clinic using?

Cluster scheduling

Which of the following is a medical assistant's role in pulmonary function testing

Coach the patient through the test

A MA is preparing a community resource library. Which of the following actions should the MA take first?

Compile a list of local community agencies

Health hx and lab results

Enter into database of POMR

Burn and what required on CMS claim form?

Current procedural terminology code

Instrument for vaginal exam for pap test

Cytobrush - obtains specimen

A MA is preparing to create a report about patients who have a family history of breast cancer. Which of the following types of software will allow the assistant to sort, retrieve, and combine information for this report?

Database management

Which of the following information should the MA enter into the appointment calendar when scheduling a patient for a skin rash?

Daytime phone number

A MA is speaking with a patient who recently received a terminal diagnosis. The patient states, "I regret not taking better care of myself. Now, I won't be able to accomplish what I wanted to do with my life." The assistant should identify that the patient is in which of the following stages of grief?

Depression

A provider places an open sharps container in the linen hamper by mistake. Which of the following is the appropriate action for the MA to take?

Dispose the linen hamper's contents as a biohazard

Bandaging a wound

Distal to proximal

A MA is preparing to calculate a pt's heart rate from an EKG tracing. Which of the following methods should the MA use for this calculation?

Divide 1500 by the number of small boxes between two R waves

The primary code in the CPT coding system consists of how many digits?

Five digits

At what time of day will a patient's body temperature be at its lowest

In the morning

Which of the following EKG artifacts is caused by a disconnected electrode and results in the tracing going into the margins of the paper?

Interrupted baseline

Which of the following routes of administration should a medical assistant use when performing a tuberculin skin test?

Intradermal

A medical assistant is writing a piece of professional correspondence to a consulting provider. In which of the following ways should the assistant record the date on the letter?

January 1, 2020

A MA is reviewing a pt's recent medical history and notes that she has a healing fracture of the distal femur. Where on the patient's body should the assistant expect to find the injury?

Just above the knee

Which of the following groups of EKG leads are bipolar?

Leads I, II, and III

A MA is removing sutures from a patient who has a laceration on his left lower leg. After setting up the sterile field, which of the following actions should the assistant take?

Lift the first knot away from the skin

Which of the following positions is appropriate for a pelvic examination?

Lithotomy

A MA is administering an intradermal injection for allergy testing. Which of the following actions should the assistant take?

Locate the area two to three finger-widths below the antecubital space

A MA is testing a patient's visual acuity a Snellen chart. Which of the following actions should the MA take?

Make sure the patient does not lean forward

MA is collecting blood to test cholesterol levels, what should they do?

Make sure they haven't eaten for 12 hours

Epstein-Barr virus

Mononucleosis

Which of the following indicates how a patient's medical records will be used and disclosed by a medical office?

Notice of privacy practices

Patient demographics

Occupation

Where should an MA place the electrode for lead V5?

On the left anterior axillary line, horizontal to V4

A patient arrives at a clinic with a bill for x-rays that were required due to an injury at the patient's place of employment. The patient has private insurance and is eligible for workers' compensation. The assistant should recognize that which of the following parties is responsible for payment of this bill?

Paid in full by workers' compensations. Any remaining balances should be written off by clinic

A MA is obtaining a blood pressure measurement from an adult patient. Which of the following actions should the assistant take to ensure an accurate reading?

Place the stethoscope's diaphragm over the patient's palpated artery

A MA is measuring the circumference of an infant's head. Which of the following actions should the assistant take?

Place the zero mark of the measuring tape against the infant's forehead

When of the following actions should a MA take when obtaining the length of an infant during a well-child visit?

Position the infant on his back

Which of the following lab results should the MA recognize is abnormal?

Potassium 3mEq/L

A MA is reviewing lab requisitions. For which of the following patient conditions should the MA perform a capillary collection rather than a venipuncture

Previous thromboses

An MA receives derogatory email from pt. What should they do?

Print email, make notes about topics to be addressed prior to formulating a response

A patient is seen in an urgent care center for a laceration to the left foot. The provider evaluates the injury, determines sutures are not needed, applies a dressing, and releases the patient. Which of the following levels of exam should a MA use for the procedural coding for this visit?

Problem-focused examination

Which of the following routes for taking a patient's temperature is the most accurate?

Rectal

Epinephrine role in local anesthetics?

Reduce bleeding

A MA is collecting a health history from an older adult patient who exhibits moderate hearing loss. Which of the following actions should the MA take?

Remain within the patient's view to allow lip-reading

Which of the following methods is used to notify a provider of the denial of a claim by an insurance carrier?

Remittance advice

An MA is preparing a patient who has congestive heart failure for an examination with the provider. Which of the following manifestations should the assistant expect?

Shortness of breath

In which of the following positions should an MA place a healthy patient in preparation for a rectal examination?

Sims'

Which of the following medical record documentation templates is organized by the entity that supplied the data?

Source-oriented

When informed consent is required for a procedure, which of the following steps should occur prior to the patient signing the form?

The provider should review alternative procedures with the patient

When informed consent is required for a procedure, which of the following steps should occur to prior to the patient signing the form?

The provider should review alternative procedures with the patient

A MA is witnessing a patient sign an informed consent form. Which of the following is the responsibility of the assistant acting as a witness?

Validate the patient's signatures

When preparing a patient for Holter monitoring, which of the following actions should an MA take?

Vigorously dry the patient's skin prior to electrode placement

A MA is preparing to perform a capillary collection from an older adult patient who has poor circulation in his hands. Which of the following techniques should the assistant use to increase circulation at the collection site?

Warm the patient's hand

Most flexibility

Wave scheduling

Which of the following techniques should a MA use when bandaging a wound?

Wrap the would from distal to proximal

Urticaria

hives or wheals, raised lesions

Clia waived test

human chorionic gonadotropin test

Category II code

tracks provider performance measures

Vulvovaginal candidiasis

yeast infection