NCCT CERTIFICATION EVALUATION 2026
COMPLETE QUESTIONS AND ACCURATE
ANSWERS
◉ A medical office assistant is reviewing a patient's encounter that
is documented in the medical record prior to completing a CMS-
1500 form. She notices that the physician upcoded the encounter.
The medical office assistant has the ethical obligation to
A. alter the code.
B. debate the code.
C. down code the code.
D. change the code.
Answer: Correct response:
debate the code.
Rationale: It is within the medical assistant's ethical responsibility to
debate the code. It is illegal to purposely "upcode" an encounter for
any reason. The coding system is specific and should be followed.
The office assistant does not have the authority to change, alter, or
down code the code without consulting the physician.
◉ Which of the following is the purpose of scheduling preadmission
testing (PAT) prior to surgery?
A. To ensure the procedure is covered by the patient's insurance.
,B. To assess preparation and recovery time needed before and after
surgery.
C. To provide documentation to the insurance company to waive the
copay.
D. To assess patients' health to make sure they can tolerate the
proposed surgical procedure.
Answer: Correct response:
To assess patients' health to make sure they can tolerate the
proposed surgical procedure.
Rationale: Testing is performed prior to a surgery as an assessment
of the patient's health. It is used to measure whether or not the
surgical procedure can be tolerated. It's a matter of risk versus
benefit. If the preadmission testing shows that the patient is not
"strong" enough ("healthy" enough) to tolerate the surgical
procedure, it could be more harmful to proceed with the surgery
than to delay or cancel it (since the surgery could do more harm
than good).
◉ Which of the following is a CLIA waived test that can be
performed by the medical assistant?
A. chemical urinalysis
B. differential
C. Gram stain analysis
D. crossmatch
Answer: Correct response:
,chemical urinalysis
Rationale: A medical assistant can perform a chemical urinalysis
test, which shows if the patient has protein or glucose in their urine,
but would require intervention by the primary care provider. A
chemical urinalysis can also tell what the specific gravity of the
urine, meaning how diluted or concentrated it is. The test is done
with a small dipstick that changes color when it comes into contact
with urine. The medical assistant then compares the stick to a chart
to see what is in the urine and if anything is abnormal. A differential
is done by a laboratory technician. It is done by drawing blood and
then placing the blood on a glass slide to look for any signs of
infection or anemia. A Gram stain analysis is also done in the lab
under a microscope when a bacterial or viral infection is suspected.
Cross-matching is a test administered before a blood transfusion to
ensure the donor's blood is compatible with the recipient. This test
is performed by a certified laboratory technologist.
◉ Which of the following acts involves the termination of a patient
from the care of a physician without reasonable, written notice of
withdrawal from the case?
A. slander
B. battery
C. discrimination
D. abandonment
Answer: Correct response:
abandonment
, Rationale: A physician or primary care provider who wishes to end a
patient-physician relationship must follow a formal notification
process to avoid a claim of patient abandonment. The medical
assistant may help with this process to ensure proper completion.
Steps include writing a formal notification letter informing the
patient, including reason(s) for withdrawal and effective time frame,
mailing the letter certified with return receipt, ensuring a copy of
the letter and all documentation is placed in the patient's medical
record, documenting the termination in the patient's record and
actions taken.
◉ The medical assistant should stamp checks with the restrictive
endorsement "for deposit only" to prevent
A. loss or theft.
B. overdraft fees.
C. stop-payment.
D. nonsufficient funds.
Answer: Correct response:
loss or theft.
Rationale: Endorsement is required to ensure transfer funds from
one party to another under the Uniform Negotiable Instrument Act,
applicable in all states.
◉ Which of the following medical office software applications uses
an electronic signature?
COMPLETE QUESTIONS AND ACCURATE
ANSWERS
◉ A medical office assistant is reviewing a patient's encounter that
is documented in the medical record prior to completing a CMS-
1500 form. She notices that the physician upcoded the encounter.
The medical office assistant has the ethical obligation to
A. alter the code.
B. debate the code.
C. down code the code.
D. change the code.
Answer: Correct response:
debate the code.
Rationale: It is within the medical assistant's ethical responsibility to
debate the code. It is illegal to purposely "upcode" an encounter for
any reason. The coding system is specific and should be followed.
The office assistant does not have the authority to change, alter, or
down code the code without consulting the physician.
◉ Which of the following is the purpose of scheduling preadmission
testing (PAT) prior to surgery?
A. To ensure the procedure is covered by the patient's insurance.
,B. To assess preparation and recovery time needed before and after
surgery.
C. To provide documentation to the insurance company to waive the
copay.
D. To assess patients' health to make sure they can tolerate the
proposed surgical procedure.
Answer: Correct response:
To assess patients' health to make sure they can tolerate the
proposed surgical procedure.
Rationale: Testing is performed prior to a surgery as an assessment
of the patient's health. It is used to measure whether or not the
surgical procedure can be tolerated. It's a matter of risk versus
benefit. If the preadmission testing shows that the patient is not
"strong" enough ("healthy" enough) to tolerate the surgical
procedure, it could be more harmful to proceed with the surgery
than to delay or cancel it (since the surgery could do more harm
than good).
◉ Which of the following is a CLIA waived test that can be
performed by the medical assistant?
A. chemical urinalysis
B. differential
C. Gram stain analysis
D. crossmatch
Answer: Correct response:
,chemical urinalysis
Rationale: A medical assistant can perform a chemical urinalysis
test, which shows if the patient has protein or glucose in their urine,
but would require intervention by the primary care provider. A
chemical urinalysis can also tell what the specific gravity of the
urine, meaning how diluted or concentrated it is. The test is done
with a small dipstick that changes color when it comes into contact
with urine. The medical assistant then compares the stick to a chart
to see what is in the urine and if anything is abnormal. A differential
is done by a laboratory technician. It is done by drawing blood and
then placing the blood on a glass slide to look for any signs of
infection or anemia. A Gram stain analysis is also done in the lab
under a microscope when a bacterial or viral infection is suspected.
Cross-matching is a test administered before a blood transfusion to
ensure the donor's blood is compatible with the recipient. This test
is performed by a certified laboratory technologist.
◉ Which of the following acts involves the termination of a patient
from the care of a physician without reasonable, written notice of
withdrawal from the case?
A. slander
B. battery
C. discrimination
D. abandonment
Answer: Correct response:
abandonment
, Rationale: A physician or primary care provider who wishes to end a
patient-physician relationship must follow a formal notification
process to avoid a claim of patient abandonment. The medical
assistant may help with this process to ensure proper completion.
Steps include writing a formal notification letter informing the
patient, including reason(s) for withdrawal and effective time frame,
mailing the letter certified with return receipt, ensuring a copy of
the letter and all documentation is placed in the patient's medical
record, documenting the termination in the patient's record and
actions taken.
◉ The medical assistant should stamp checks with the restrictive
endorsement "for deposit only" to prevent
A. loss or theft.
B. overdraft fees.
C. stop-payment.
D. nonsufficient funds.
Answer: Correct response:
loss or theft.
Rationale: Endorsement is required to ensure transfer funds from
one party to another under the Uniform Negotiable Instrument Act,
applicable in all states.
◉ Which of the following medical office software applications uses
an electronic signature?
