WGU D514: Analytical Methods of Healthcare
Leaders –Questions & A+ Solutions
In conversations with her patients, a physical therapist notices that
patients who are on Workman's Compensation and have supportive
supervisors, eager for them to return to work, have more positive
outcomes in rehabilitation than those patients whose supervisors
have a negative attitude toward their employee's injury: insisting
they not return to work until they are at 100% because if anything
less they are "useless to the job".
What type of test could the therapist use to see if these two factors
have a measurable relationship? Correct Ans - Linear
regression
Data analysts at a large metropolitan hospital need to determine
risk factors associated with readmission within 30 days via the
hospital's emergency room among patients with COPD. The
variables of interest include age, gender, race/ethnicity, insurance
status, and family support. Which statistical technique should be
used? Correct Ans - Regression analysis
Several community health centers across a rural state are gathering
data on their pre-diabetic patients and using A1c levels as a baseline
measurement to include patients in a research project. Three
different interventions will be applied.
One group of patients will receive a special diet to follow; the second
group will work with physical therapists on a regular exercise
program; the third group will follow the diet and engage in the
exercise.
,Which statistical test will be appropriate to use to determine which
treatment is most effective in controlling pre-diabetes? Correct
Ans - ANOVA
A hospital CFO is analyzing the cost benefits of using the patient
reminder system, which was implemented over a year ago, to see if
the automated system results in less missed appointments ("no-
shows").
She is comparing quarterly reports from this past year on volume of
patients who did not show up to their appointments, to the volume
of patients of the previous year, who did not show up to their
appointments, to see if the automated system has proven effective.
She is considering other variables as she reviews the data, but is
primarily analyzing the number of "no-show" patients from last
year's quarterly reports to this year's. Correct Ans - time series
There are two standard treatments for children with ADHD who
display a specific set of characteristics. One treatment is a cognitive
behavioral intervention, and the other is a dietary and biomedical
intervention. Both treatments have equally strong clinical evidence
supporting their efficacy. A researcher proposes a comparison of the
two interventions to determine which is preferable. The children
will be randomized to one of two groups: half of the children will
receive the cognitive behavioral intervention and the other half of
the children will receive the dietary and biomedical intervention.
Which test is appropriate to determining the preferable treatment?
Correct Ans - Cross-sectional
The vice president, CMO, and Operations Team collected data on
resources used by patients who have undergone coronary bypass
and the length of stays for a defined population of patients who
received CABG surgery. Since the raw data is complex to discuss and
evaluate, the team will use descriptive statistics to analyze the data
to support their decisions for recommendations.
, Which of the following descriptive statistics could prove the most
useful? Correct Ans - The mean (average) length of stay and
The mean number of providers seeing each patient each day
Operates through CDC; the National Health Care Surveys are
designed to answer key questions of interest to health care policy
makers, public health professionals, and researchers. Correct Ans
- National Healthcare Survey
Operates through the CDC: data on birth, death, marriages, divorces,
and fetal deaths. Correct Ans - National Center for Health
Statistics (NCHS)
Incidence and prevalence of diseases, survival statistics, high-risk
populations, trends over time. Data gathered from medical records,
surveys, interviews. NCHS has responsibility for these databases.
Correct Ans - Public Health Databases
This database is queried as part of the physician credentialing
process when applying for medical staff privileges and every two
years afterward. It contains data on medical malpractice, adverse
licensure actions, suspensions, certain professional review actions,
such as denial of medical staff privileges. Correct Ans -
National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB)
Acute care and skilled nursing facility claims data. Demographics on
patient, information on provider, on Medicare coverage for the
claim, total charges, charges broken down, codes and diagnostic
related group (DRG) data. Only contains data on Medicare patients.
Correct Ans - Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MEDPAR)
Medical screening and medical _______________ are two fundamental
strategies for optimizing employee health. Medical screening is only
Leaders –Questions & A+ Solutions
In conversations with her patients, a physical therapist notices that
patients who are on Workman's Compensation and have supportive
supervisors, eager for them to return to work, have more positive
outcomes in rehabilitation than those patients whose supervisors
have a negative attitude toward their employee's injury: insisting
they not return to work until they are at 100% because if anything
less they are "useless to the job".
What type of test could the therapist use to see if these two factors
have a measurable relationship? Correct Ans - Linear
regression
Data analysts at a large metropolitan hospital need to determine
risk factors associated with readmission within 30 days via the
hospital's emergency room among patients with COPD. The
variables of interest include age, gender, race/ethnicity, insurance
status, and family support. Which statistical technique should be
used? Correct Ans - Regression analysis
Several community health centers across a rural state are gathering
data on their pre-diabetic patients and using A1c levels as a baseline
measurement to include patients in a research project. Three
different interventions will be applied.
One group of patients will receive a special diet to follow; the second
group will work with physical therapists on a regular exercise
program; the third group will follow the diet and engage in the
exercise.
,Which statistical test will be appropriate to use to determine which
treatment is most effective in controlling pre-diabetes? Correct
Ans - ANOVA
A hospital CFO is analyzing the cost benefits of using the patient
reminder system, which was implemented over a year ago, to see if
the automated system results in less missed appointments ("no-
shows").
She is comparing quarterly reports from this past year on volume of
patients who did not show up to their appointments, to the volume
of patients of the previous year, who did not show up to their
appointments, to see if the automated system has proven effective.
She is considering other variables as she reviews the data, but is
primarily analyzing the number of "no-show" patients from last
year's quarterly reports to this year's. Correct Ans - time series
There are two standard treatments for children with ADHD who
display a specific set of characteristics. One treatment is a cognitive
behavioral intervention, and the other is a dietary and biomedical
intervention. Both treatments have equally strong clinical evidence
supporting their efficacy. A researcher proposes a comparison of the
two interventions to determine which is preferable. The children
will be randomized to one of two groups: half of the children will
receive the cognitive behavioral intervention and the other half of
the children will receive the dietary and biomedical intervention.
Which test is appropriate to determining the preferable treatment?
Correct Ans - Cross-sectional
The vice president, CMO, and Operations Team collected data on
resources used by patients who have undergone coronary bypass
and the length of stays for a defined population of patients who
received CABG surgery. Since the raw data is complex to discuss and
evaluate, the team will use descriptive statistics to analyze the data
to support their decisions for recommendations.
, Which of the following descriptive statistics could prove the most
useful? Correct Ans - The mean (average) length of stay and
The mean number of providers seeing each patient each day
Operates through CDC; the National Health Care Surveys are
designed to answer key questions of interest to health care policy
makers, public health professionals, and researchers. Correct Ans
- National Healthcare Survey
Operates through the CDC: data on birth, death, marriages, divorces,
and fetal deaths. Correct Ans - National Center for Health
Statistics (NCHS)
Incidence and prevalence of diseases, survival statistics, high-risk
populations, trends over time. Data gathered from medical records,
surveys, interviews. NCHS has responsibility for these databases.
Correct Ans - Public Health Databases
This database is queried as part of the physician credentialing
process when applying for medical staff privileges and every two
years afterward. It contains data on medical malpractice, adverse
licensure actions, suspensions, certain professional review actions,
such as denial of medical staff privileges. Correct Ans -
National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB)
Acute care and skilled nursing facility claims data. Demographics on
patient, information on provider, on Medicare coverage for the
claim, total charges, charges broken down, codes and diagnostic
related group (DRG) data. Only contains data on Medicare patients.
Correct Ans - Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MEDPAR)
Medical screening and medical _______________ are two fundamental
strategies for optimizing employee health. Medical screening is only
