NHA Certified Electronic Health Records Specialist
(CEHRS) Certification Examination – Complete
Practice Questions and Detailed Answers
1. A CEHRS is checking in a new patient who reports they have never been to this facility.
During the search, the specialist finds a record with a similar name and the same birthdate.
What is the most appropriate next step?
A. Create a new record using the patient’s current insurance card information.
B. Merge the records immediately to ensure the physician has all historical data.
C. Use the existing record and update the address and phone number.
D. Ask the patient for a government-issued photo ID to verify their identity.
Correct Answer: D
Explanation: Verifying the patient’s identity with a photo ID is the primary step to prevent
the creation of duplicate records or the corruption of another patient’s data. This action
ensures data integrity and prevents medical identity theft, which is a critical responsibility
of a CEHRS. A common pitfall is assuming similar data belongs to the same person, which
can lead to life-threatening clinical errors if different medical histories are merged.
2. Which of the following describes the purpose of the ‘Minimum Necessary’ rule under
HIPAA?
A. It restricts the amount of PHI disclosed to the amount needed to accomplish the purpose.
B. It allows providers to share the entire medical record for any insurance claim.
,C. It mandates that patients receive a copy of their record within 24 hours of request.
D. It requires that all EHR systems use biometric scanning for login.
Correct Answer: A
Explanation: The Minimum Necessary standard requires covered entities to take
reasonable steps to limit the use or disclosure of Protected Health Information (PHI) to the
smallest amount necessary to accomplish the intended purpose. This protection is
fundamental to patient privacy and reduces the risk of unnecessary exposure of sensitive
data. CEHRS professionals must apply this daily, and a common error is believing that all
clinical staff have an absolute right to view every part of a patient’s chart regardless of their
role.
3. A provider receives an alert in the EHR while prescribing a medication that indicates a
potential interaction with a drug the patient is already taking. This is an example of which
feature?
A. Health Information Exchange (HIE)
B. Clinical Decision Support (CDS)
C. Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE)
D. Practice Management Software
Correct Answer: B
Explanation: Clinical Decision Support (CDS) provides clinicians with knowledge and
person-specific information, intelligently filtered or presented at appropriate times, to
,enhance health and healthcare. These tools, such as drug-interaction alerts, are designed to
improve patient safety and clinical outcomes by reducing medication errors. Specialists
must understand how CDS functions within the EHR workflow to support providers,
avoiding the pitfall of ignoring alerts which can lead to ‘alert fatigue’ and missed safety
warnings.
4. A patient requests to see their medical record but refuses to sign a formal request form.
What action should the CEHRS take?
A. Deny the request since HIPAA requires a signed authorization for patient access.
B. Inform the patient that while they have a right to access, the facility requires a written
request to document the process.
C. Allow the patient to view the record immediately without any documentation.
D. Contact the patient’s primary care physician for permission to show the record.
Correct Answer: B
Explanation: Under the HIPAA Privacy Rule, patients have a right to inspect and obtain a
copy of their PHI, and providers may require the request to be in writing to ensure proper
tracking and identity verification. However, providers cannot make the process so
burdensome that it discourages access. Managing this process correctly ensures
compliance with federal regulations while maintaining office documentation, avoiding the
pitfall of incorrectly claiming that patients need a formal ‘authorization’ (which is usually
for third-party releases) to see their own records.
, 5. A specialist is performing an internal audit of the EHR. They notice that a nurse logged in to
view the record of a neighbor who is not on their unit. Which report did the specialist likely
use to find this information?
A. Audit Trail
B. Production Report
C. Patient Aging Report
D. Clinical Quality Measure Report
Correct Answer: A
Explanation: An audit trail is a record that shows who has accessed a computer system,
when they accessed it, and what operations they performed. This is a critical security
feature required by HIPAA to monitor for unauthorized access to PHI. By regularly
reviewing audit logs, a CEHRS helps protect patient confidentiality and identify internal
security breaches, preventing the common mistake of assuming that system logins alone
provide enough security monitoring.
6. Which part of the SOAP note would contain the patient’s statement: ‘My chest feels heavy
and I have been coughing for three days’?
A. Assessment
B. Objective
C. Subjective
D. Plan
(CEHRS) Certification Examination – Complete
Practice Questions and Detailed Answers
1. A CEHRS is checking in a new patient who reports they have never been to this facility.
During the search, the specialist finds a record with a similar name and the same birthdate.
What is the most appropriate next step?
A. Create a new record using the patient’s current insurance card information.
B. Merge the records immediately to ensure the physician has all historical data.
C. Use the existing record and update the address and phone number.
D. Ask the patient for a government-issued photo ID to verify their identity.
Correct Answer: D
Explanation: Verifying the patient’s identity with a photo ID is the primary step to prevent
the creation of duplicate records or the corruption of another patient’s data. This action
ensures data integrity and prevents medical identity theft, which is a critical responsibility
of a CEHRS. A common pitfall is assuming similar data belongs to the same person, which
can lead to life-threatening clinical errors if different medical histories are merged.
2. Which of the following describes the purpose of the ‘Minimum Necessary’ rule under
HIPAA?
A. It restricts the amount of PHI disclosed to the amount needed to accomplish the purpose.
B. It allows providers to share the entire medical record for any insurance claim.
,C. It mandates that patients receive a copy of their record within 24 hours of request.
D. It requires that all EHR systems use biometric scanning for login.
Correct Answer: A
Explanation: The Minimum Necessary standard requires covered entities to take
reasonable steps to limit the use or disclosure of Protected Health Information (PHI) to the
smallest amount necessary to accomplish the intended purpose. This protection is
fundamental to patient privacy and reduces the risk of unnecessary exposure of sensitive
data. CEHRS professionals must apply this daily, and a common error is believing that all
clinical staff have an absolute right to view every part of a patient’s chart regardless of their
role.
3. A provider receives an alert in the EHR while prescribing a medication that indicates a
potential interaction with a drug the patient is already taking. This is an example of which
feature?
A. Health Information Exchange (HIE)
B. Clinical Decision Support (CDS)
C. Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE)
D. Practice Management Software
Correct Answer: B
Explanation: Clinical Decision Support (CDS) provides clinicians with knowledge and
person-specific information, intelligently filtered or presented at appropriate times, to
,enhance health and healthcare. These tools, such as drug-interaction alerts, are designed to
improve patient safety and clinical outcomes by reducing medication errors. Specialists
must understand how CDS functions within the EHR workflow to support providers,
avoiding the pitfall of ignoring alerts which can lead to ‘alert fatigue’ and missed safety
warnings.
4. A patient requests to see their medical record but refuses to sign a formal request form.
What action should the CEHRS take?
A. Deny the request since HIPAA requires a signed authorization for patient access.
B. Inform the patient that while they have a right to access, the facility requires a written
request to document the process.
C. Allow the patient to view the record immediately without any documentation.
D. Contact the patient’s primary care physician for permission to show the record.
Correct Answer: B
Explanation: Under the HIPAA Privacy Rule, patients have a right to inspect and obtain a
copy of their PHI, and providers may require the request to be in writing to ensure proper
tracking and identity verification. However, providers cannot make the process so
burdensome that it discourages access. Managing this process correctly ensures
compliance with federal regulations while maintaining office documentation, avoiding the
pitfall of incorrectly claiming that patients need a formal ‘authorization’ (which is usually
for third-party releases) to see their own records.
, 5. A specialist is performing an internal audit of the EHR. They notice that a nurse logged in to
view the record of a neighbor who is not on their unit. Which report did the specialist likely
use to find this information?
A. Audit Trail
B. Production Report
C. Patient Aging Report
D. Clinical Quality Measure Report
Correct Answer: A
Explanation: An audit trail is a record that shows who has accessed a computer system,
when they accessed it, and what operations they performed. This is a critical security
feature required by HIPAA to monitor for unauthorized access to PHI. By regularly
reviewing audit logs, a CEHRS helps protect patient confidentiality and identify internal
security breaches, preventing the common mistake of assuming that system logins alone
provide enough security monitoring.
6. Which part of the SOAP note would contain the patient’s statement: ‘My chest feels heavy
and I have been coughing for three days’?
A. Assessment
B. Objective
C. Subjective
D. Plan
