Chapter 9 Quiz

Advance preparation for the arrival of patients helps the day progress smoothly and in a relaxed manner. • True • False

True Advance preparation most assuredly helps the day run more smoothly and efficiently.

The medical assistant must take care not to offer medical advice to the patient. • True • False

True Medical assistants can never offer medical advice to patients.

If a patient has been waiting longer than ____________ minutes past his or her appointment time, the medical assistant should offer to reschedule the appointment. • 5 • 15 • 20 • 30

15 After 15 minutes of waiting, patients should be offered alternative appointments.

When scheduling a patient procedure, which information is important to have before scheduling? • Oral or written order from physician • Patient demographic information • Preauthorization or precertification from third-party payer • All are correct

All are correct

An incidental disclosure: • cannot reasonably be prevented. • is limited in nature. • occurs as a result of another use or disclosure that is permitted • All are correct

All are correct A disclosure that cannot reasonably be prevented, is limited in nature, and occurs as a result of another use or disclosure that is permitted is an incidental disclosure.

Which types of outpatient procedures might be scheduled by the physician's office? • MRIS • CT scans • Blood work • All are correct

All are correct Numerous types of outpatient procedures are scheduled by the physician's office, including MRIS, CT scans, blood work, day surgeries. radiologic tests, and others.

Patients may fail to appear for appointments because: • they have been pressed for a payment but do not have the funds to pay. • they are in denial and are having difficulty facing their illness. • they simply forget. • All are correct

All are correct Reasons patients fail to keep appointments include inability to pay, difficulty facing illness, and constant long wait times at the doctor's office.

Which of the following should be removed from the reception area as quickly as possible? • Talkative patients • Angry patients • Children • Patients' relatives

Angry patients Angry patients should be removed from the reception area, and their concerns should be addressed in a private room.

What is the best way to decide whether patients need special assistance in disrobing? • Ask all patients if you can be of assistance. • Wait for patients to request help. • Use special consideration with patients who have a disability. • Offer help to patients who appear ill or upset.

Ask all patients if you can be of assistance. Ask patients if they need assistance with disrobing or dressing. and always be willing to help.

Health records should never be left in the examination room to be picked up and read by a patient. When using an EHR, it is important to remember to log out of the computer when you are ready to leave the room. • Both statements are true. • Both statements are false. • The first statement is true; the second is false. • The first statement is false; the second is true.

Both statements are true. Health records should never be left in the examination room to be picked up and read by a patient. When using an EHR, it is important to remember to log out of the computer when you are ready to leave the room.

Medical assistants are not allowed to take the patient's personal and family histories. • True • False

False Medical assistants can take histories from the patient as long as the physician reviews the information with the patient during the examination.

Patients who are too talkative should be dismissed before they take up too much of his or her time. from the physician's care • True • False

False The medical assistant must tactfully deal with talkative patients.

If the patient brings a relative to the physician appointment, this implies that the patient consents to discussion of the patient's care with the relative. • True • False

False The medical assistant should never assume that the patient consents to discussion of his or her health with a friend or relative just because the person is with the patient for the office visit.

The medical assistant should offer assistance only to patients who are obviously handicapped. • True • False

False The medical assistant should offer to assist any patient who appears to need assistance.

The provider's habits should not influence appointment scheduling. • True • False

False The provider's habits can greatly influence the schedule; if he or she is often late, the schedule can be thrown off for the entire day. The medical assistant must take the provider's habits into account when scheduling appointments.

Which of the following is true concerning the scheduling of new patients? • Financial arrangements should be explained when the appointment is made if the patient is expected to pay at the time of service. • The patient should be offered only the times reserved for new patient appointments, without flexibility. • It should be assumed that the patient will look up directions to the office on the Internet. • The medical assistant should wait to obtain information about the chief complaint until the patient arrives for the appointment.

Financial arrangements should be explained when the appointment is made if the patient is expected to pay at the time of service. New patients must be clear on financial policies when they schedule their first appointment so that they can be prepared to pay for services that day.

Which type of scheduling system is often used in an urgent care setting? • Open office hours • Modified wave scheduling • Grouping procedures • Time patterns

Open office hours In an open office hours method, the facility is open at given hours of the day or evening, and the patients are told that they can come in at any time. This type of system is often used in an urgent care setting. Patients are then seen in the order in which they arrive, although a patient with an urgent condition may be seen ahead of those who arrived before them. Booking two patients to come in at the same time is sometimes used to work in a patient with an acute iliness or injury when there are no open appointments. This works out best if one of the patients needs lab work or another procedure done prior to seeing the provider. Grouping or categorizing of procedures is another method of scheduling that appeals to many practitioners.

When rescheduling an appointment, which of the following needs to occur? • Set the new appointment time. • Remove the first appointment day and time. • Schedule for the last appointment of the same day. • Set the new appointment time and remove the first appointment day and time.

Schedule for the last appointment of the same day. When rescheduling an appointment, make sure the first appointment day and time are removed from the appointment book, and then set the new appointment. Scheduling patients who often arrive late as the last patients of the day helps reduce the inconvenience on the schedule.

Which of the following scheduling systems reduces the number of calls to the office and is available to the patient 24 hours a day? • Computerized scheduling • Self-scheduling • Appointment book scheduling • Paper-based scheduling

Self-scheduling Software is available that allows the patient to self-schedule through secure links to the provider's appointment book. These systems will reduce the number of calls to the office and are available to the patient 24 hours a day. With computerized scheduling multiple users can access the appointment schedule at the same time minimizing the wait time for patients. Another advantage of computerized schedule is the reports that can be generated. Some appointment books show an entire week at a glance, and many are color coded, with a special color used for each day of the week. This is very helpful when the provider asks the patient to return.

Which information item is not included on the patient information form that new patients are required to complete? • Social Security number • Name and address of nearest relative • Name of spouse, if applicable • Summary of medical history

Summary of medical history Patient information forms usually do not contain medical histories: these are most often completed on separate forms

A parent or guardian must accompany all children under the age of 10 into the exam room with no exceptions. Minors need a parent to consent to treatment in most cases. • Both statements are true. • Both statements are false. • The first statement is true: the second is false. • The first statement is false; the second is true.

The first statement is false; the second is true. Usually, the parent or guardian accompanies the child into the exam room, but some exceptions exist, such as a case of suspected child abuse. Older children certainly can see the doctor without a parent. especially for routine visits, such as a school sports physical. However, minors still need a parent to consent to treatment in most cases

A process quired by some insurance carriers in which the provider obtains permission to perform certain procedures or services or refers a patient to a specialist is called a preauthorization. • True • False

True Preauthorization is a process required by some insurance carriers in which the provider obtains permission to perform certain procedures or services or refers a patient to a specialist.

Wave scheduling may involve several patients arriving at the same time. • True • False

True Several patients may arrive at the same time when the office uses wave scheduling.

A matrix is where something is created or takes shape. • True • False

True The environment where something is created or takes shape is called a matrix. A matrix also is a base on which to build.

The first step to scheduling a patients procedure is to obtain an oral or written order from the provider for the exact procedure to be performed. • True • False

True True, we cannot proceed without an order directly from the provider.

The principal advantage of using the wave method when designing the scheduling process is that it: • allows flexibility to accommodate the unpredictable. • gives priority to established patients. • provides more breaks for staff members • enables the physician to see more patients each day.

allows flexibility to accommodate the unpredictable. The wave method of appointment scheduling allows flexibility to accommodate the unpredictable.

The first prerequisite for scheduling an outpatient admission or procedure is: • a signed consent form. • the telephone number of the diagnostic or inpatient facility. • the patient's demographic information. • an oral or written order for the procedure from the physician.

an oral or written order for the procedure from the physician. All outpatient admissions and/or procedures begin with an order from the physician.

The way to organize appointment scheduling so that it best supports the success of the practice is to: • schedule as many patients as possible throughout the entire day. • allow frequent rest breaks. • include a lot of time for the physician's administrative activities • consider the preferences of the physician.

consider the preferences of the physician. The preferences and habits of the physician are prime concerns when scheduling appointments, and if these two elements are considered, the practice will be successful in most cases.

When a requested appointment time is not available, the medical assistant should: • explain why the time is not available and offer a substitute date and time. • insist that the patient accept the next available appointment. • immediately put the patient on a waiting list for that time slot. • suggest the patient see an alternate physician in the practice.

explain why the time is not available and offer a substitute date and time. The medical assistant should explain why requested times are not available and offer an alternative day and time the patient can see the physician.

When informing patients that you must postpone their appointments because of the absence of the provider, it is good practice to: • give them the option of seeing another provider. • explain exactly why the provider cannot see them. • offer them priority over patients already scheduled in the future • be extremely apologetic about the inconvenience.

give them the option of seeing another provider. If the provider will be absent from the office for a period of time. patients should be offered the names of alternative providers so that. they can continue their medical care if necessary,

The medical assistant should follow all the following practices regarding patient arrivals except: • personally escorting patients from reception to the appropriate room. • telling patients the specific items of clothing to remove. • explaining exactly how to put on the exam gown. • having patients wait in the examination room instead of the waiting room.

having patients wait in the examination room instead of the waiting room. Patients do not appreciate waiting in the examination rooms for any length of time. Once the patient is in the examination room, he or she should see the physician within just a few moments.

A person who fails to keep an appointment without giving advance notice is called a: • disruption. • no-show. • cancellation. • reschedule.

no-show. A no-show patient fails to keep a scheduled appointment without giving advance notice to the office.

A matrix in the schedule: • prevents overcrowding. • prevents booking of patients during meetings and hospital rounds. • is used only in large offices. • is done at the end of the day.

prevents booking of patients during meetings and hospital rounds. The matrix schedule keeps appointments from being scheduled at times when the physician or the facilities are not available.

The use of phonetic writing in the medical office can help you: • better understand medical abbreviations. • pronounce patients' names correctly • learn the meaning of medical terms. •take notes quickly and accurately.

pronounce patients' names correctly Patients appreciate having their names pronounced correctly. Medical assistants should write the name phonetically in a visible place on the medical record and refer to the record until they are comfortable pronouncing the patient's name correctly.

When the physician is scheduled at outside facilities, the medical assistant must be sure to allow time for: • emergencies • travel. • returning phone calls, • the physician's late arrival.

travel. The medical assistant must always allow travel time when the physician is seeing patients at outside facilities.