LATEST PATHOLOGY - CLINICAL
INFORMATICS CERTIFICATION EXAM
OFFERED BY AMERICAN BOARD OF
PATHOLOGY (ABMS) | COMPLETE EXAM Q&A
WITH RATIONALES
1. A clinical laboratory is implementing a new
laboratory information system (LIS). Which of the
following is the most critical first step in the
implementation process?
A) Installing the hardware
B) Data migration from the legacy system
C) Requirements analysis and gap analysis
D) End-user training
Correct answer: C
Rationale: Requirements analysis and gap analysis
define what the system must do and identify
mismatches between vendor capabilities and
institutional needs. This must occur before
installation, data migration, or training.
2. A hospital is transitioning from manual result entry
to an auto-verification system for complete blood
count (CBC) results. Which of the following delta
,check rules would be most appropriate to detect a
mislabeled specimen?
A) A 50% decrease in hemoglobin from the previous
day
B) A 10% increase in platelet count from the previous
day
C) A 5% increase in mean corpuscular volume (MCV)
from the previous day
D) A 1% change in red blood cell distribution width
(RDW)
Correct answer: A
Rationale: Delta checks compare current results to
prior results. A 50% drop in hemoglobin is highly
suspicious for specimen mislabeling or pre-analytical
error. Auto-verification rules must flag such changes
for manual review.
3. A pathology department is implementing barcode-
based tracking for surgical pathology specimens. At
which of the following points is barcode scanning
most critical to prevent identification errors?
A) Only at specimen accessioning
B) At accessioning, grossing, embedding, microtomy,
and slide labeling
,C) Only at the time of slide interpretation by the
pathologist
D) Only at the time of report sign-out
Correct answer: B
Rationale: Barcode scanning should occur at every
step of the workflow (specimen receipt, grossing,
embedding, microtomy, slide labeling, and
interpretation) to ensure positive patient
identification throughout the entire process and
prevent specimen mix-ups.
4. A clinical informaticist is designing a clinical
decision support (CDS) alert for duplicate laboratory
test ordering. Which of the following alert fatigue
mitigation strategies is most effective?
A) Display the alert as a modal pop-up that requires
response
B) Require the provider to type a reason for
overriding the alert
C) Use interruptive alerts for all duplicate orders
regardless of time interval
D) Disable all duplicate order alerts
Correct answer: B
, Rationale: Requiring a reason for override reduces
alert fatigue by making the user actively engage.
Modal pop-ups (A) increase fatigue. Appropriate
time-based filtering (e.g., duplicate within 24 hours)
also reduces fatigue. Disabling alerts (D) removes
safety.
5. A laboratory is validating a middleware auto-
verification rule set for chemistry results. What is the
most appropriate metric to assess the safety of auto-
verification rules?
A) Auto-verification rate (percentage of results auto-
verified)
B) False negative rate (abnormal results incorrectly
auto-verified as normal)
C) Turnaround time reduction
D) User satisfaction survey score
Correct answer: B
Rationale: False negative rate is the most critical
safety metric — abnormal results that are incorrectly
auto-verified could lead to missed diagnosis or
delayed care. High auto-verification rate (A) is a
throughput metric but not a safety metric.
INFORMATICS CERTIFICATION EXAM
OFFERED BY AMERICAN BOARD OF
PATHOLOGY (ABMS) | COMPLETE EXAM Q&A
WITH RATIONALES
1. A clinical laboratory is implementing a new
laboratory information system (LIS). Which of the
following is the most critical first step in the
implementation process?
A) Installing the hardware
B) Data migration from the legacy system
C) Requirements analysis and gap analysis
D) End-user training
Correct answer: C
Rationale: Requirements analysis and gap analysis
define what the system must do and identify
mismatches between vendor capabilities and
institutional needs. This must occur before
installation, data migration, or training.
2. A hospital is transitioning from manual result entry
to an auto-verification system for complete blood
count (CBC) results. Which of the following delta
,check rules would be most appropriate to detect a
mislabeled specimen?
A) A 50% decrease in hemoglobin from the previous
day
B) A 10% increase in platelet count from the previous
day
C) A 5% increase in mean corpuscular volume (MCV)
from the previous day
D) A 1% change in red blood cell distribution width
(RDW)
Correct answer: A
Rationale: Delta checks compare current results to
prior results. A 50% drop in hemoglobin is highly
suspicious for specimen mislabeling or pre-analytical
error. Auto-verification rules must flag such changes
for manual review.
3. A pathology department is implementing barcode-
based tracking for surgical pathology specimens. At
which of the following points is barcode scanning
most critical to prevent identification errors?
A) Only at specimen accessioning
B) At accessioning, grossing, embedding, microtomy,
and slide labeling
,C) Only at the time of slide interpretation by the
pathologist
D) Only at the time of report sign-out
Correct answer: B
Rationale: Barcode scanning should occur at every
step of the workflow (specimen receipt, grossing,
embedding, microtomy, slide labeling, and
interpretation) to ensure positive patient
identification throughout the entire process and
prevent specimen mix-ups.
4. A clinical informaticist is designing a clinical
decision support (CDS) alert for duplicate laboratory
test ordering. Which of the following alert fatigue
mitigation strategies is most effective?
A) Display the alert as a modal pop-up that requires
response
B) Require the provider to type a reason for
overriding the alert
C) Use interruptive alerts for all duplicate orders
regardless of time interval
D) Disable all duplicate order alerts
Correct answer: B
, Rationale: Requiring a reason for override reduces
alert fatigue by making the user actively engage.
Modal pop-ups (A) increase fatigue. Appropriate
time-based filtering (e.g., duplicate within 24 hours)
also reduces fatigue. Disabling alerts (D) removes
safety.
5. A laboratory is validating a middleware auto-
verification rule set for chemistry results. What is the
most appropriate metric to assess the safety of auto-
verification rules?
A) Auto-verification rate (percentage of results auto-
verified)
B) False negative rate (abnormal results incorrectly
auto-verified as normal)
C) Turnaround time reduction
D) User satisfaction survey score
Correct answer: B
Rationale: False negative rate is the most critical
safety metric — abnormal results that are incorrectly
auto-verified could lead to missed diagnosis or
delayed care. High auto-verification rate (A) is a
throughput metric but not a safety metric.
