AHIMA CERTIFIED HEALTH DATA
ANALYST Practice Exam (CHDA)
Practice Exam
100 Comprehensive Questions with
Detailed and verified Rationales
Based on the AHIMA CHDA Domains
| 2025/2026 Edition
1|Page
,DOMAIN 1: FOUNDATIONAL KNOWLEDGE OF ANALYTICS IN HEALTHCARE
(Questions 1-16)
Question 1
Which of the following variables is nominal?
A. Patient age in years
B. Patient gender (male/female)
C. Patient temperature in degrees Fahrenheit
D. Patient satisfaction rating on a scale of 1-5
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Nominal variables are categorical variables with no inherent order or ranking.
Patient gender (male/female) is a classic example of nominal data—the categories are
mutually exclusive but cannot be ordered . Age (A) and temperature (C) are continuous
numerical variables. Satisfaction ratings (D) are ordinal—they have a natural order (1 is
worse than 5) but the intervals between values are not necessarily equal.
Question 2
CMS is using what data analytic technique to determine which claims should be sampled
for further compliance review?
A. Descriptive analytics
B. Diagnostic analytics
C. Predictive modeling
D. Prescriptive analytics
2|Page
,Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Predictive modeling uses historical data to forecast future events or identify
patterns that indicate risk. CMS uses predictive modeling to identify claims with a higher
probability of non-compliance, fraud, or error, allowing them to target their audit resources
efficiently . Descriptive analytics (A) answers "what happened?" Diagnostic analytics (B)
answers "why did it happen?" Prescriptive analytics (D) suggests actions to optimize
outcomes.
Question 3
Which of the following may be the variable of interest in an attribute study?
A. Patient weight
B. Blood pressure reading
C. Claim denial rate
D. Length of stay
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Attribute studies deal with discrete characteristics—whether something does
or does not have a particular attribute. Claim denial rate is an attribute (denied vs. paid) .
Patient weight (A), blood pressure (B), and length of stay (D) are variables measured on
continuous scales and would be the focus of variables studies, not attribute studies.
Question 4
What term is used in reference to raw facts generally stored as characters, words, symbols,
measurements, or statistics?
3|Page
, A. Information
B. Knowledge
C. Data
D. Wisdom
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Data are raw facts, figures, and symbols that have not yet been processed,
organized, or interpreted . When data is processed and given context, it becomes
information (A). Knowledge (B) is synthesized information with understanding and
application. Wisdom (D) is the ability to use knowledge for sound judgment.
Question 5
Data mining is a process that involves which of the following?
A. Manually reviewing records to extract specific data elements
B. Using sophisticated computer technology to sort through an entity's data to identify
unusual patterns
C. Creating data dictionaries for database management
D. Archiving old records to improve system performance
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Data mining is the process of using advanced analytical tools and techniques
(often statistical and machine learning algorithms) to discover previously unknown
patterns, correlations, and anomalies in large datasets . It goes beyond simple querying to
uncover hidden insights.
4|Page
ANALYST Practice Exam (CHDA)
Practice Exam
100 Comprehensive Questions with
Detailed and verified Rationales
Based on the AHIMA CHDA Domains
| 2025/2026 Edition
1|Page
,DOMAIN 1: FOUNDATIONAL KNOWLEDGE OF ANALYTICS IN HEALTHCARE
(Questions 1-16)
Question 1
Which of the following variables is nominal?
A. Patient age in years
B. Patient gender (male/female)
C. Patient temperature in degrees Fahrenheit
D. Patient satisfaction rating on a scale of 1-5
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Nominal variables are categorical variables with no inherent order or ranking.
Patient gender (male/female) is a classic example of nominal data—the categories are
mutually exclusive but cannot be ordered . Age (A) and temperature (C) are continuous
numerical variables. Satisfaction ratings (D) are ordinal—they have a natural order (1 is
worse than 5) but the intervals between values are not necessarily equal.
Question 2
CMS is using what data analytic technique to determine which claims should be sampled
for further compliance review?
A. Descriptive analytics
B. Diagnostic analytics
C. Predictive modeling
D. Prescriptive analytics
2|Page
,Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Predictive modeling uses historical data to forecast future events or identify
patterns that indicate risk. CMS uses predictive modeling to identify claims with a higher
probability of non-compliance, fraud, or error, allowing them to target their audit resources
efficiently . Descriptive analytics (A) answers "what happened?" Diagnostic analytics (B)
answers "why did it happen?" Prescriptive analytics (D) suggests actions to optimize
outcomes.
Question 3
Which of the following may be the variable of interest in an attribute study?
A. Patient weight
B. Blood pressure reading
C. Claim denial rate
D. Length of stay
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Attribute studies deal with discrete characteristics—whether something does
or does not have a particular attribute. Claim denial rate is an attribute (denied vs. paid) .
Patient weight (A), blood pressure (B), and length of stay (D) are variables measured on
continuous scales and would be the focus of variables studies, not attribute studies.
Question 4
What term is used in reference to raw facts generally stored as characters, words, symbols,
measurements, or statistics?
3|Page
, A. Information
B. Knowledge
C. Data
D. Wisdom
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Data are raw facts, figures, and symbols that have not yet been processed,
organized, or interpreted . When data is processed and given context, it becomes
information (A). Knowledge (B) is synthesized information with understanding and
application. Wisdom (D) is the ability to use knowledge for sound judgment.
Question 5
Data mining is a process that involves which of the following?
A. Manually reviewing records to extract specific data elements
B. Using sophisticated computer technology to sort through an entity's data to identify
unusual patterns
C. Creating data dictionaries for database management
D. Archiving old records to improve system performance
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Data mining is the process of using advanced analytical tools and techniques
(often statistical and machine learning algorithms) to discover previously unknown
patterns, correlations, and anomalies in large datasets . It goes beyond simple querying to
uncover hidden insights.
4|Page
