HCAD 325 Quizzes 1-6

The term "Six Sigma" is derived from which of the following? a. 3.4 defects per million opportunities b. Six standard deviations c. Dr. Sigma, who developed the system d. A Greek fraternity

a. 3.4 defects per million opportunities

Which of the following is a reason that evidence-based medicine (EBM) has not been widely used in the past? a. All of these answers are correct b. Disagreement on the science underlying a guideline c. Resistance to change and reliance on habits d. Belief that all patients are unique, and EBM is "cookbook medicine"

a. All of these answers are correct

Which of the following describes process mapping? a. All of these answers are correct. b. An integral part of most improvement initiatives including Six Sigma, Lean, balanced scorecard, RCA, and FMEA c. A step used to understand and optimize a process d. A graphical depiction of a process showing inputs, outputs, and steps in the process

a. All of these answers are correct.

Which strategy is not considered part of "evidence-based medicine"? a. Correct coding of procedures and diagnoses b. Using patient care guidelines c. Using computerized medical records to identify optimal approaches to care d. Using shared decision-making tools for both patients and providers

a. Correct coding of procedures and diagnoses

Which of the following is not a goal of pay-for-performance systems? a. Encourage poor providers to leave the system b. Align payment incentives to support quality goals c. Provide incentives for efficiency d. Reverse the fee-for-service incentive to provide more services

a. Encourage poor providers to leave the system

The topmost perspective on the standard strategy map is which of the following? a. Financial b. Operations c. Learn and grow d. Customer

a. Financial

The primary function of the patient-centered medical home is which of the following? a. Having an organized team of care givers who focus on patients with chronic disease b. Providing group housing for patients with a similar disease c. Creating a dedicated data system for groups of patients with a similar disease d. Providing temporary care to traveling patients

a. Having an organized team of care givers who focus on patients with chronic disease

The just-in-time inventory system and the Toyota Production System were the foundation for which of the following? a. Lean production b. Total quality management c. Six Sigma d. Activity-based costing

a. Lean production

Public reporting of healthcare quality does not measure which of the following? a. Patient compliance b. The sickness level of patients c. Patient satisfaction d. Clinical outcomes

a. Patient compliance

Which of the following is not a measure of innovation? a. Product profitability b. New product introductions c. Percentage of sales from new products d. Time to break even (development cost = accumulated profit)

a. Product profitability

What is the primary problem with using traditional reporting tools to execute strategy? a. Reports do not connect to other reports or actions b. Reports are reviewed by different managers at different levels. c. Reports are created by different departments d. Reports are created for different time frames (weeks, months, etc.).

a. Reports do not connect to other reports or actions

Which public reporting strategy is the most effective in improving quality? a. Rewarding providers who have high scores or improvements b. Ranking providers by quality score c. Making risk adjustments to quality measures d. Making information understandable to consumers

a. Rewarding providers who have high scores or improvements

What is a necessary element of a system for mass production? a. Specialization of tasks b. Entry-level workforce c. Moving conveyor line d. Robots

a. Specialization of tasks

A project has been chartered, and it now needs to be done more quickly but at the same performance level. What effect will this have? a. The cost will increase b. More personnel will need to be added c. The duration of tasks on the critical path can be held constant. d. The cost will decrease

a. The cost will increase

Why is it important to have project milestones? a. They show the expected times for the major accomplishments in a project. b. They fix accountability for team member c. They indicate the critical path. d. They show all the detailed tasks

a. They show the expected times for the major accomplishments in a project.

Many changes in a healthcare system will be resisted and reinforced by feedback mechanisms, many of which are not clearly visible. a. True b. False

a. True

One of the most expensive aspects of all healthcare systems is the care of patients with chronic disease. a. True b. False

a. True

Reinforcing feedback prompts change that builds on itself and amplifies the outcome of a process. a. True b. False

a. True

Supply chain management encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing and procurement, conversion, and all logistics management activities. a. True b. False

a. True

Which of the following is the best example of custom care? a. Type II diabetes care b. Minute clinic c. Follow-up after cardiac surgery d. Laser eye surgery

a. Type II diabetes care

From the customer perspective, what is the most important question an organization should ask? a. What is the value proposition we are delivering to our customers? b. Are our patient experience scores improving? c. Are we increasing our market share? d. Are our physicians loyal?

a. What is the value proposition we are delivering to our customers?

Which is not one of Fredrick Taylor's principles of scientific management? a. Training b. Employee work experiences c. Standard work d. Planning

b. Employee work experiences

The clinical delivery of healthcare is standardized throughout the United States of America. a. True b. False

b. False

What are the four perspectives used in the balanced scorecard? a. Operations, community, customers, employees b. Finance, operations, customers, employees c. Operations, customers, employees, quality d. Finance, operations, customers, patients

b. Finance, operations, customers, employees

What is the most important message from W. Edwards Deming's work? a. Special variation in a process must be identified and corrected. b. Improving quality will reduce expenses while increasing productivity and market share. c. There are 14 points needed for a high-quality system. d. Psychology is as important as engineering in process improvement.

b. Improving quality will reduce expenses while increasing productivity and market share.

Which of the following is not a financial strategy used by healthcare organizations? a. Reduce costs and improve productivity b. Increase customer satisfaction and retention c. Grow revenue d. Invest in physical assets and human capital

b. Increase customer satisfaction and retention

What is the most important tool that is used to implement a traditional strategic plan? a. The strategic plan document b. Management control and actions c. Financial reports d. Operational reports and statistics

b. Management control and actions

What is the ultimate goal of providing employees with training, supportive culture, and appropriate IT tools? a. Employee retention b. Meeting the organization's goals c. Employee satisfaction d. Employee productivity

b. Meeting the organization's goals

Which of the following is not a key tool for project management? a. Gantt chart b. Quality circles c. Critical path method d. Program evaluation and review technique

b. Quality circles

Which of the following was not a key strategy for successful healthcare organizations in the past? a. Attract talented clinicians b. Reduce costs c. Add new technology d. Find new methods to increase revenue

b. Reduce costs

Which of the following is the type of contracting with the highest risk? a. Cost reimbursement b. Time and materials c. Fixed price d. All of these answers have the same risk level

b. Time and materials

Which of the following is not an element of Wagner's chronic care model? a. Population-based research b. Use of generic medications c. Use of evidence-based medicine d. Custom treatment plans

b. Use of generic medications

Which of the following is an example of balancing feedback? a. Developing a blueprint for an ICU b. Using real-time physiological monitoring to control drug dosage c. Injecting a patient with a drug d. Hand washing

b. Using real-time physiological monitoring to control drug dosage

Which is not a characteristic of big data? a. Volume b. Very searchable c. Variety d. Velocity

b. Very searchable

A RASIC diagram is used to a. estimate the time for each team member's work on each task b. identify the role and responsibility of each team member for each task c. estimate the total cost of a project. d. find the critical path

b. identify the role and responsibility of each team member for each task

Prevention quality indicators are used for a. inclusion in hospital quality scorecards. b. identifying hospital admissions that could be prevented with effective outpatient care. c. calculating quality bonuses in Medicare. d. identifying patients in need of additional care.

b. identifying hospital admissions that could be prevented with effective outpatient care.

The goal of operations management is to a. develop new surgical procedures and use evidence-based guidelines. b. more effectively and efficiently produce and deliver the organization's products and services. c. identify employees and employee groups who have high performance in an organization. d. optimize the cost of products and services.

b. more effectively and efficiently produce and deliver the organization's products and services.

Tasks in a work breakdown should be a. no more than one day long b. no more than three weeks long c. no more than one week long d. no more than six weeks long

b. no more than three weeks long

Crashing a project can be accomplished by a. sending frequent updates to the stakeholder group b. shortening the duration of tasks on the critical path c. adding more staff to the project team d. eliminating tasks that have low value

b. shortening the duration of tasks on the critical path

Which of the following is a major problem with traditional fee-for-service systems? a. It does not offer incentives for high-quality care. b. It encourages providers to deliver more expensive services to maximize reimbursement. c. All of these answers are correct d. It facilitates fragmented and uncoordinated care delivery.

c. All of these answers are correct

Which of the following is not a priority of comparative effectiveness research? a. Improving healthcare systems b. Addressing disparities across patient populations c. Allocating Medicare payments d. Communicating and disseminating research

c. Allocating Medicare payments

Which of the following is not a quality certification or award? a. Baldrige Award b. ISO 9000 c. Coventry Award d. ISO 9001

c. Coventry Award

Which of the following is the best method for selecting among competing projects? a. Rank each project based on duration and do the shortest projects first. b. Do projects that involve your best employees c. Develop a matrix of criteria that are important, and then rank each project. d. Do projects with the best financial return

c. Develop a matrix of criteria that are important, and then rank each project.

Janice keeps finding errors in her Medicare billing process. Which root cause tool would not be useful in helping her reach her goal of improving the system? a. Failure mode and effects analysis b. Five whys technique c. Employee engagement survey d. Cause-and-effect diagram

c. Employee engagement survey

Janice has a problem with her accounts receivable system. She has framed the problem as slow payments from Medicare. What should be her next step? a. Gathering detailed data on the Medicare billing process b. Meeting with the Medicare fiscal intermediary c. Generating or determining possible courses of action and evaluating those alternatives d. Choosing the best solution from a range of options that have been generated by her staff

c. Generating or determining possible courses of action and evaluating those alternatives

Which of the following is not a trend that provides opportunity for improvement in the US health system? a. More powerful data and analytics tools b. Adoption of precision medicine tools such as pharmacogenetics c. Individual providers avoiding mergers, partnerships, and acquisitions d. Automation, robots, and the internet replacing human labor

c. Individual providers avoiding mergers, partnerships, and acquisitions

Frank and Lillian Gilbreth were practitioners of scientific management. They also had 12 children. Which scientific management technique did they use while raising their children? a. They had each child set and clean up their own place at the dining table. b. They had each child have the same haircut. c. They bought only one type of sock for all their children, thereby avoiding sorting. d. They had each child care for a different section of their lawn.

c. They bought only one type of sock for all their children, thereby avoiding sorting.

In general, a decision tree is used for what purpose? a. To determine the financial impact of a specific course of action b. To illustrate the logic in a decision for review by senior management c. To examine and evaluate decisions in a structured manner d. To expand the risk profiles of tasks in a process map

c. To examine and evaluate decisions in a structured manner

Agile project management should be used when a. it is a small project b. the project team will have many different members c. the exact performance characteristics are unknown at the beginning of the project d. the project involves software development

c. the exact performance characteristics are unknown at the beginning of the project

A diamond is used in process map a. to indicate a valuable step in the process. b. to show delays. c. to show those points in the process where alternative paths can be followed. d. to show transports.

c. to show those points in the process where alternative paths can be followed.

Approximately what portion of the US GDP will be consumed by healthcare in 2025? a. 7 percent b. 11 percent c. 15 percent d. 20 percent

d. 20 percent

What element is not necessary to use optimization tools such as linear programming? a. Constraints that limit the values that the decision variables can take on b. The controllable inputs or decision variables that affect the value of the objective function c. An objective function—the quantity that needs to be minimized or maximized d. A process map connecting the elements that are impacted by the decision

d. A process map connecting the elements that are impacted by the decision

Elements of the clinical microsystem include which of the following? a. The team of health professionals who provide clinical care b. The tools the team has at its disposal to treat the patient c. The logic for determining the appropriate treatments and processes to deliver care d. All of the above

d. All of the above

Which of the following healthcare aims is included in the Institute of Medicine's Crossing the Quality Chasm? a. Safe b. Timely c. Equitable d. All of the above

d. All of the above

What does the word "balanced" mean in the term balanced scorecard? a. Marketing, operations, and finance all have equal representation in the executive suite b. An organization has a balanced set of initiatives throughout its strategic plan c. Employees are located in an even distribution within the facility d. An organization executes strategy by viewing itself from a set of balanced perspectives

d. An organization executes strategy by viewing itself from a set of balanced perspectives

Which of the following is not a good meeting behavior as a member of project team? a. Actively listen b. Accept feedback easily c. Contribute to the discussion d. Challenge poor ideas

d. Challenge poor ideas

The scope of a project is defined by which of the following? a. Time, cost, and number of employees affected b. Cost, time, and the critical path c. Performance, quality, and cost d. Cost, time, and performance

d. Cost, time, and performance

Which goal cannot be reached with operations management techniques? a. Improving quality b. Controlling costs c. Improving the level of service d. Developing new clinical treatments

d. Developing new clinical treatments

Janice has decided to make significant changes in her Medicare billing process. She employs force field analysis to help her decide if these changes can be implemented successfully. Which two factors has she considered in this analysis? a. Culture and employee engagement b. Senior management support and Medicare cooperation c. Financial resources and the critical path in her project plan d. Driving forces and restraining forces

d. Driving forces and restraining forces

What is PMI formal project management? a. A method to develop a strategic plan b. Tools to optimize processes c. Project management tools for IT and construction projects d. Evidence-based procedures to deliver desired results on time and within budget

d. Evidence-based procedures to deliver desired results on time and within budget

Which part of a system flows from output to input and controls the quality of the system? a. Capital b. Transformation process c. Goods or services d. Feedback

d. Feedback

Which of the following best describes clinical decision support? a. Evidence-based clinical protocols b. Additional funds to install computerized records c. Phone hotlines to expert clinicians d. Guidelines and prompts that are built into electronic health records

d. Guidelines and prompts that are built into electronic health records

As Janice observes all the steps in her Medicare billing process, she notes that only one staff member is doing coding reviews and that individual is always behind. She decides to add a staff member to also do coding reviews. What has Janice just done? a. Identified the bottleneck b. Identified the need for an employee engagement survey b. Identified the bottleneck and subordinated everything else to the constraint c. Identified the need for an employee engagement survey d. Identified and elevated the constraint

d. Identified and elevated the constraint

Cross-functional (swim lane) process maps are used for which of the following? a. Sorting each task on a scale of importance in achieving optimal performance of the process b. Identifying the roles of each member of the process improvement team c. Identifying activities in a process that are on the critical path d. Identifying the tasks that are accomplished by each individual or department in a process

d. Identifying the tasks that are accomplished by each individual or department in a process

Which of the following is the best example of standard care? a. Follow-up after cardiac surgery b. Type II diabetes care c. Reconstructive surgery d. Minute clinic

d. Minute clinic

Which of the following is not a characteristic of a project? a. Is done one time b. Has a specified scope of work c. Has a specified budget d. Results in cost savings

d. Results in cost savings

What is the primary purpose of the balanced scorecard? a. To track key production indicators b. To report operating statistics on the organization's website c. To solve an immediate crisis d. To effectively implement strategy

d. To effectively implement strategy

Which of the following is not a part of evidence-based medicine? a. Effective dissemination and implementation b. Medical research c. Clinical protocols d. Total quality management groups

d. Total quality management groups

Which is the most useful level of the knowledge hierarchy for making management decisions? a. Data b. Understanding c. Information d. Wisdom

d. Wisdom

Which of the following is the most detailed level in a work breakdown? a. Sub-task b. Personnel time percentage c. Task d. Work package

d. Work package

Vincent Valley Hospital is a. located in Illinois. b. facing serious financial problems. c. developing an accountable care organization. d. a fictional, but realistic, healthcare system used to illustrate the effective use of operations management tools and techniques.

d. a fictional, but realistic, healthcare system used to illustrate the effective use of operations management tools and techniques.

The critical path is used to a. determine if the predecessors' relationships are incorrect b. determine which tasks have the greatest risk of not being done on time c. determine the total cost of a project d. determine which tasks are linked and, if accomplished on time, will result in the shortest duration for the project

d. determine which tasks are linked and, if accomplished on time, will result in the shortest duration for the project

A change control policy is important a. someone needs to be assigned the accountability. b. financial resources may change c. project personnel may change d. no project is ever completed exactly as it was initially planned

d. no project is ever completed exactly as it was initially planned

Janice's new system to improve her Medicare accounts receivable system does not perform as expected. Janice's team had applied system changes that they had copied from their Medicaid billing system. This type of failure is known as __________________. a. overconfidence in your judgment b. group failure c. shooting from the hip d. shortsighted shortcuts

d. shortsighted shortcuts