MA100 #1 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Types of treatment physician's offer to patients
They offer things such as ? - Answers - Curative treatment ,
Symptomatic treatment (responding to symptoms) ,
palliative treatment (seeking to reduce the effects of a disease or condition without
curing the underlying disease)
Define the three trends in health care - Answers - First trend is the desire of those who
pay the bills
Second trend is to encourage the general public to become more responsible for their
own good health and management of chronic conditions.
the third trend is an increased understanding, through empirical evidence (information
learned from experimental research), that people feel better the less they must be
confined to a hospital or go to a hospital for treatment.
Hospital's role - Answers - is primarily to provide acute care and diagnostic services.
What is health insurance? - Answers - Is a system by which a person or the person's
employer pays an insurance company a yearly amount of money , and the insurance
company pays some or most of the person's medical expenses for that year.
The three government insurance plans: what are they and who/what purpose do they
serve? - Answers - Medicaid- began to provide health insurance for low-income children
without parental support and later expanded to cover all the medically indigent.
Medicare -initiated health insurance for the elderly, the disabled, and those with end-
stage kidney disease.
The Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS;
currently called TRICARE)- provided health insurance for dependents of active-duty
military personnel.
The HMO movement pushed what in the 1970s and what was it all about? - Answers -
Traditional health insurance companies begin providing coverage for routine care.
What is managed care? - Answers - The combination of HMO insurance plans and strict
utilization review for hospitalized patients
What did HMOs do to try and reduce payments? What was it and what was it called? -
Answers - tried to have physicians accept a flat monthly fee for each subscriber in their
practice and agree to provide all necessary primary care for that fee. This type of
, payment is called capitation. This reduces the incentive to provide extra services
because their cost will not be reimbursed separately.
What did HMOs do to try and reduce costs for prescription medications? What was it
and what was it called? - Answers - restricting drug coverage to lists of approved drugs.
Such a list, called a formulary, usually includes one or two of the less expensive drugs
for each possible medical condition.
What is ambulatory care? - Answers - defined as the patient coming to the care rather
than the patient receiving care in a home or hospital setting (Fig. 1.1).
What is the flow of activity in ambulatory care? - Answers - Enter the office.
• Approach the reception desk, identify the physician and time of appointment, provide
the office staff with personal and payment information, and make a copayment (if
necessary).
• Be seen by a physician (or by a nurse practitioner [NP] or physician assistant [PA] if
the practice uses such personnel).
• Undergo diagnostic or laboratory tests in the office.
• Receive a diagnosis, treatment, or a referral to another health care provider.
• Receive instruction for follow-up care and any laboratory or diagnostic tests to be done
elsewhere before leaving the medical office; if seriously ill, the patient may be admitted
to the hospital
Know the steps a physician must take to become licensed? - Answers - must pass parts
I, II, and III of the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE).
Identify the differences and similarities of: - Answers - i. Physicians - physicians want to
be "board certified" in a specialty, he or she must pass another examination,
administered by the certification board of the particular specialty. The physician does
not need to be board certified to obtain a state license to practice medicine.
ii. Physician Assistants- PA must have at least 2 years of college plus 2 years of PA
school, although most PA programs award a master's degree. A PA usually specializes
(e.g., in pediatrics, in adult medicine) and manages a group of patients receiving routine
care. He or she must practice with a physician. All states have laws regulating PAs, and
students must pass the national certification examination to obtain a state license.
iii. Nurse Practitioners - NP is an RN who has completed a program in advanced
practice nursing, a program that usually grants a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) or
higher degree. NPs can specialize in pediatrics, family practice, gerontology, or other
specialty areas. In primary care, NPs help with all aspects of patient care, including
physical examination, diagnosis, treatment, consultations, and patient education. They
may serve as a patient's primary care provider. They are licensed as NPs by the state in
which they practice.
What are the ways a medical assistant can demonstrate effective teamwork? - Answers
- The more people involved, the more crucial this teamwork is.
Types of treatment physician's offer to patients
They offer things such as ? - Answers - Curative treatment ,
Symptomatic treatment (responding to symptoms) ,
palliative treatment (seeking to reduce the effects of a disease or condition without
curing the underlying disease)
Define the three trends in health care - Answers - First trend is the desire of those who
pay the bills
Second trend is to encourage the general public to become more responsible for their
own good health and management of chronic conditions.
the third trend is an increased understanding, through empirical evidence (information
learned from experimental research), that people feel better the less they must be
confined to a hospital or go to a hospital for treatment.
Hospital's role - Answers - is primarily to provide acute care and diagnostic services.
What is health insurance? - Answers - Is a system by which a person or the person's
employer pays an insurance company a yearly amount of money , and the insurance
company pays some or most of the person's medical expenses for that year.
The three government insurance plans: what are they and who/what purpose do they
serve? - Answers - Medicaid- began to provide health insurance for low-income children
without parental support and later expanded to cover all the medically indigent.
Medicare -initiated health insurance for the elderly, the disabled, and those with end-
stage kidney disease.
The Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS;
currently called TRICARE)- provided health insurance for dependents of active-duty
military personnel.
The HMO movement pushed what in the 1970s and what was it all about? - Answers -
Traditional health insurance companies begin providing coverage for routine care.
What is managed care? - Answers - The combination of HMO insurance plans and strict
utilization review for hospitalized patients
What did HMOs do to try and reduce payments? What was it and what was it called? -
Answers - tried to have physicians accept a flat monthly fee for each subscriber in their
practice and agree to provide all necessary primary care for that fee. This type of
, payment is called capitation. This reduces the incentive to provide extra services
because their cost will not be reimbursed separately.
What did HMOs do to try and reduce costs for prescription medications? What was it
and what was it called? - Answers - restricting drug coverage to lists of approved drugs.
Such a list, called a formulary, usually includes one or two of the less expensive drugs
for each possible medical condition.
What is ambulatory care? - Answers - defined as the patient coming to the care rather
than the patient receiving care in a home or hospital setting (Fig. 1.1).
What is the flow of activity in ambulatory care? - Answers - Enter the office.
• Approach the reception desk, identify the physician and time of appointment, provide
the office staff with personal and payment information, and make a copayment (if
necessary).
• Be seen by a physician (or by a nurse practitioner [NP] or physician assistant [PA] if
the practice uses such personnel).
• Undergo diagnostic or laboratory tests in the office.
• Receive a diagnosis, treatment, or a referral to another health care provider.
• Receive instruction for follow-up care and any laboratory or diagnostic tests to be done
elsewhere before leaving the medical office; if seriously ill, the patient may be admitted
to the hospital
Know the steps a physician must take to become licensed? - Answers - must pass parts
I, II, and III of the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE).
Identify the differences and similarities of: - Answers - i. Physicians - physicians want to
be "board certified" in a specialty, he or she must pass another examination,
administered by the certification board of the particular specialty. The physician does
not need to be board certified to obtain a state license to practice medicine.
ii. Physician Assistants- PA must have at least 2 years of college plus 2 years of PA
school, although most PA programs award a master's degree. A PA usually specializes
(e.g., in pediatrics, in adult medicine) and manages a group of patients receiving routine
care. He or she must practice with a physician. All states have laws regulating PAs, and
students must pass the national certification examination to obtain a state license.
iii. Nurse Practitioners - NP is an RN who has completed a program in advanced
practice nursing, a program that usually grants a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) or
higher degree. NPs can specialize in pediatrics, family practice, gerontology, or other
specialty areas. In primary care, NPs help with all aspects of patient care, including
physical examination, diagnosis, treatment, consultations, and patient education. They
may serve as a patient's primary care provider. They are licensed as NPs by the state in
which they practice.
What are the ways a medical assistant can demonstrate effective teamwork? - Answers
- The more people involved, the more crucial this teamwork is.
