CAHIMS Exam Review Test Bank 3
Certified Associate in Healthcare Information and
Management Systems (CAHIMS)
500 Actual Questions & Correct Answers With Rationales|
CAHIMS Certification Exam Prep 2026-2027
SECTION 1: HUMAN FACTORS AND USABILITY (Questions 1-50)
1. Gracie Ambrose is a critical care nurse in a suburban acute care hospital. She was
recently hired and has gone through an extensive orientation process, including instruction
on the hospital's EMR system. However, Gracie feels she is in "information overload" mode
because she has so many new things to remember. She has just changed the rate on an
infusion pump (IV) for one of her patients. When she documents the rate change, she
accidentally enters a much higher rate than what she actually set the pump to. She realizes
this after she clicks the check mark on the screen that finalizes the change. She tries to
modify the rate by right-clicking and double-clicking. Nothing she tries gives her an option
for modifying the rate change. The software Gracie is using seems to lack which of the
following usability aspects?
A) Naturalness
B) Forgiveness
C) Sustainability
D) Efficient interactions
Correct Answer: B) Forgiveness
Rationale: Forgiveness in usability refers to the system's ability to allow users to recover
from errors easily. Gracie cannot correct her data entry mistake, indicating the system
lacks forgiving features such as undo, edit, or confirmation dialogs. Naturalness refers to
how intuitive the interface feels. Sustainability is not a standard usability heuristic. Efficient
interactions refer to speed and productivity, not error recovery.
2. Identify which of the following purposes are important in human factors research. Select
Yes or No for each option.
- An increased emphasis on quality control
- Greater use of technology by many different categories of users
- A growing emphasis on safety
1
,- An emphasis on original designs
- The damage to humans from technology errors
Correct Answers:
- Quality control: Yes
- Greater use of technology by many different categories of users: Yes
- Growing emphasis on safety: Yes
- Emphasis on original designs: No
- Damage to humans from technology errors: Yes
Rationale: Human factors research focuses on improving safety, quality, and usability,
especially as technology is adopted by diverse user groups. Original designs are not a
primary purpose; rather, human factors emphasize iterative improvement and user-
centered adaptation. Understanding and preventing harm from technology errors is a core
concern.
3. True or false? Bias can be a contributing factor to rule-based mistakes.
Correct Answer: False
Rationale: Bias is more commonly associated with knowledge-based mistakes, where
individuals apply incorrect heuristics or assumptions when facing novel situations. Rule-
based mistakes occur when a person applies the wrong rule or misapplies a correct rule,
often due to memory lapses or misidentification, not bias.
4. True or false? Medical devices are mechanical or electromechanical. Simple devices, such
as a tongue depressor, are not considered medical devices.
Correct Answer: False
Rationale: Medical devices encompass a wide spectrum, from very simple instruments like
tongue depressors and thermometers to highly complex machines like MRI scanners and
robotic surgical systems. The FDA defines a medical device as any instrument, apparatus,
implement, machine, contrivance, implant, or similar article intended for use in the
diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease.
5. Physical ergonomics is most often associated with which of the following?
A) The workplace
B) The work-rest cycle
C) Cognitive capacity
2
,D) Effort
Correct Answer: A) The workplace
Rationale: Physical ergonomics focuses on the physical aspects of the work environment,
including posture, manual handling, repetitive movements, and workstation design. While
work-rest cycles and effort are related concepts, they are sub-components of the broader
physical workplace design. Cognitive capacity is associated with cognitive ergonomics.
6. Which of the following is the biggest impediment in involving a hospital's healthcare
professionals in the user-centered design process?
A) They are not familiar with healthcare systems design.
B) They are not familiar with the UCD process.
C) Their skill sets are generally better suited to testing than to developing the system.
D) They have limited amounts of time to dedicate to the development process.
Correct Answer: D) They have limited amounts of time to dedicate to the development
process.
Rationale: Healthcare professionals face significant time constraints due to patient care
responsibilities. While lack of familiarity with UCD or system design may be barriers, the
most critical impediment is the limited availability of clinicians to participate in design
activities. Their primary role is patient care, making it difficult to allocate time for system
development.
7. Which of the following is a process that cognitive task analysis (CTA) uses to gauge the
complexity of a system?
A) Eliciting the opinions of experts
B) Breaking a task into subtasks
C) Classifying only the cognitive processes that result in observable physical actions
D) Using real-time analysis
Correct Answer: B) Breaking a task into subtasks
Rationale: Cognitive task analysis involves decomposing complex tasks into smaller, more
manageable subtasks to understand the cognitive demands, decision points, and
information requirements. This hierarchical decomposition helps identify where errors are
likely to occur and how the system can be improved to support cognitive processes.
8. True or false? Stress diminishes the physical and mental resources to perform effectively.
3
, Correct Answer: True
Rationale: Stress activates the body's fight-or-flight response, which can deplete cognitive
resources, impair decision-making, reduce working memory capacity, and increase error
rates. Chronic stress particularly affects attention, concentration, and the ability to process
complex information, all of which are critical in healthcare settings.
9. Humans perceive more stimuli than they can possibly process. Which of the following is
not a mechanism that affects their attention?
A) Effort
B) Salience
C) Cognition
D) Expectancy and value
Correct Answer: C) Cognition
Rationale: Cognition is a broad term encompassing all mental processes and is not a
specific attention mechanism. Specific mechanisms that affect attention include salience
(stimulus stands out), effort (mental workload required), and expectancy/value (how
relevant or important the stimulus is). Cognition is too general an answer in this context.
10. Human factors is a field of study that is directed by concepts and principles from
engineering and what other field?
A) Industrial psychology
B) Operations research
C) Cognitive psychology
D) Human decision making
Correct Answer: C) Cognitive psychology
Rationale: Human factors is fundamentally an interdisciplinary field drawing from
engineering and cognitive psychology. Cognitive psychology provides understanding of
human information processing, perception, memory, attention, and decision-making, which
are essential for designing systems that align with human capabilities and limitations.
11. Darius Benefield is a resident at a large teaching hospital. He is viewing a patient
summary that contains patient demographics; the patient's allergy list and problem list; a
list of the patient's most recent medical imaging orders; and a list of laboratory orders with
various statuses, including ordered, processing, and completed. Before seeing his patient,
4
Certified Associate in Healthcare Information and
Management Systems (CAHIMS)
500 Actual Questions & Correct Answers With Rationales|
CAHIMS Certification Exam Prep 2026-2027
SECTION 1: HUMAN FACTORS AND USABILITY (Questions 1-50)
1. Gracie Ambrose is a critical care nurse in a suburban acute care hospital. She was
recently hired and has gone through an extensive orientation process, including instruction
on the hospital's EMR system. However, Gracie feels she is in "information overload" mode
because she has so many new things to remember. She has just changed the rate on an
infusion pump (IV) for one of her patients. When she documents the rate change, she
accidentally enters a much higher rate than what she actually set the pump to. She realizes
this after she clicks the check mark on the screen that finalizes the change. She tries to
modify the rate by right-clicking and double-clicking. Nothing she tries gives her an option
for modifying the rate change. The software Gracie is using seems to lack which of the
following usability aspects?
A) Naturalness
B) Forgiveness
C) Sustainability
D) Efficient interactions
Correct Answer: B) Forgiveness
Rationale: Forgiveness in usability refers to the system's ability to allow users to recover
from errors easily. Gracie cannot correct her data entry mistake, indicating the system
lacks forgiving features such as undo, edit, or confirmation dialogs. Naturalness refers to
how intuitive the interface feels. Sustainability is not a standard usability heuristic. Efficient
interactions refer to speed and productivity, not error recovery.
2. Identify which of the following purposes are important in human factors research. Select
Yes or No for each option.
- An increased emphasis on quality control
- Greater use of technology by many different categories of users
- A growing emphasis on safety
1
,- An emphasis on original designs
- The damage to humans from technology errors
Correct Answers:
- Quality control: Yes
- Greater use of technology by many different categories of users: Yes
- Growing emphasis on safety: Yes
- Emphasis on original designs: No
- Damage to humans from technology errors: Yes
Rationale: Human factors research focuses on improving safety, quality, and usability,
especially as technology is adopted by diverse user groups. Original designs are not a
primary purpose; rather, human factors emphasize iterative improvement and user-
centered adaptation. Understanding and preventing harm from technology errors is a core
concern.
3. True or false? Bias can be a contributing factor to rule-based mistakes.
Correct Answer: False
Rationale: Bias is more commonly associated with knowledge-based mistakes, where
individuals apply incorrect heuristics or assumptions when facing novel situations. Rule-
based mistakes occur when a person applies the wrong rule or misapplies a correct rule,
often due to memory lapses or misidentification, not bias.
4. True or false? Medical devices are mechanical or electromechanical. Simple devices, such
as a tongue depressor, are not considered medical devices.
Correct Answer: False
Rationale: Medical devices encompass a wide spectrum, from very simple instruments like
tongue depressors and thermometers to highly complex machines like MRI scanners and
robotic surgical systems. The FDA defines a medical device as any instrument, apparatus,
implement, machine, contrivance, implant, or similar article intended for use in the
diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease.
5. Physical ergonomics is most often associated with which of the following?
A) The workplace
B) The work-rest cycle
C) Cognitive capacity
2
,D) Effort
Correct Answer: A) The workplace
Rationale: Physical ergonomics focuses on the physical aspects of the work environment,
including posture, manual handling, repetitive movements, and workstation design. While
work-rest cycles and effort are related concepts, they are sub-components of the broader
physical workplace design. Cognitive capacity is associated with cognitive ergonomics.
6. Which of the following is the biggest impediment in involving a hospital's healthcare
professionals in the user-centered design process?
A) They are not familiar with healthcare systems design.
B) They are not familiar with the UCD process.
C) Their skill sets are generally better suited to testing than to developing the system.
D) They have limited amounts of time to dedicate to the development process.
Correct Answer: D) They have limited amounts of time to dedicate to the development
process.
Rationale: Healthcare professionals face significant time constraints due to patient care
responsibilities. While lack of familiarity with UCD or system design may be barriers, the
most critical impediment is the limited availability of clinicians to participate in design
activities. Their primary role is patient care, making it difficult to allocate time for system
development.
7. Which of the following is a process that cognitive task analysis (CTA) uses to gauge the
complexity of a system?
A) Eliciting the opinions of experts
B) Breaking a task into subtasks
C) Classifying only the cognitive processes that result in observable physical actions
D) Using real-time analysis
Correct Answer: B) Breaking a task into subtasks
Rationale: Cognitive task analysis involves decomposing complex tasks into smaller, more
manageable subtasks to understand the cognitive demands, decision points, and
information requirements. This hierarchical decomposition helps identify where errors are
likely to occur and how the system can be improved to support cognitive processes.
8. True or false? Stress diminishes the physical and mental resources to perform effectively.
3
, Correct Answer: True
Rationale: Stress activates the body's fight-or-flight response, which can deplete cognitive
resources, impair decision-making, reduce working memory capacity, and increase error
rates. Chronic stress particularly affects attention, concentration, and the ability to process
complex information, all of which are critical in healthcare settings.
9. Humans perceive more stimuli than they can possibly process. Which of the following is
not a mechanism that affects their attention?
A) Effort
B) Salience
C) Cognition
D) Expectancy and value
Correct Answer: C) Cognition
Rationale: Cognition is a broad term encompassing all mental processes and is not a
specific attention mechanism. Specific mechanisms that affect attention include salience
(stimulus stands out), effort (mental workload required), and expectancy/value (how
relevant or important the stimulus is). Cognition is too general an answer in this context.
10. Human factors is a field of study that is directed by concepts and principles from
engineering and what other field?
A) Industrial psychology
B) Operations research
C) Cognitive psychology
D) Human decision making
Correct Answer: C) Cognitive psychology
Rationale: Human factors is fundamentally an interdisciplinary field drawing from
engineering and cognitive psychology. Cognitive psychology provides understanding of
human information processing, perception, memory, attention, and decision-making, which
are essential for designing systems that align with human capabilities and limitations.
11. Darius Benefield is a resident at a large teaching hospital. He is viewing a patient
summary that contains patient demographics; the patient's allergy list and problem list; a
list of the patient's most recent medical imaging orders; and a list of laboratory orders with
various statuses, including ordered, processing, and completed. Before seeing his patient,
4
