Page 62 - ractice Exam Questions and rationales

The patient is given an incorrect dose of acetaminophen (Tylenol) in the medical office. The
medical assistant should complete an incident report in this situation in order to

A. ensure it becomes part of the patient’s medical record.

B. understand the circumstances and prevent future occurrences.

C. begin disciplinary action against the responsible employee.

D. prevent legal action against the practice.

Your response:
understand the circumstances and prevent future occurrences.
Correct response:
understand the circumstances and prevent future occurrences.
Rationale: The reporting of medical errors is essential to patient safety improvement and risk
management in all health care settings. Incident reports are not part of a patient’s medical
record, but may be used in litigation. It should not be documented in the patient’s medical record
that an incident report was submitted.
Prior to purging and destroying paper medical charts, a medical office assistant should consult
which of following guidelines?

A. Municipal

B. AMA

C. OSHA

D. State and Federal

Your response:
State and Federal
Correct response:
State and Federal
Rationale: Medical chart retention can be tricky. Generally, State guidelines are more restrictive
than Federal guidelines. Federal and State rules apply in any case and it is important to
understand both sets of guidelines. Different rules apply to different States based on each State’s
guidelines. For instance, some States may require that patients be notified upon destruction of
the paper medical chart (including the method of destruction) and abstract file creation.
When preparing a site with alcohol for venipuncture, the medical assistant should cleanse in
which of the following motions?

A. back and forth

B. up and down