Comprehensive Test Bank Update
Based on the 3rd Edition by Lynda R. Hardy, this comprehensive test bank covers all 33 chapters,
reflecting the latest developments in health informatics including FHIR and SMART on FHIR technologies,
the role of informatics in pandemics, and strategies for reducing bias in healthcare algorithms .
Chapter 1: An Introduction to Health Informatics
50 Questions
SECTION A: MULTIPLE CHOICE (Questions 1-35)
Question 1
Dr. James, in studying patient safety in U.S. hospitals, found that the number of preventable adverse
events leading to serious harm fell in the approximate range of ______ to ______ cases per year.
A) 4.4 million; 8.8 million
B) 440,000; 880,000
C) 1 million; 5 million
D) 40,000; 100,000
Answer: B) 440,000; 880,000
Rationale: Dr. James found some 440,000 cases of lethal harm each year and estimated that the
incidence of serious (but not lethal) harm was 10 to 20 times that figure .
Question 2
Health informatics is both a ______ as well as a(n) ______.
A) discipline; field of study
B) profession; practice
C) field of study; art
D) science; art
Answer: A) discipline; field of study
Rationale: Health informatics is a discipline, or field of study, in the same sense that "medicine,"
"sociology," and "pharmacy" are fields of study. It is also a profession, practiced by thousands of
informaticians in a number of varied roles within the healthcare industry .
Question 3
What is the main idea of the subsection titled "Why Informatics Is Needed in Healthcare: An Example"?
A) An interoperable healthcare system that provides clear, concise patient data and information among
institutions is lacking in many facilities, and its presence would greatly facilitate things such as patient
transfers
B) The quality of discharge communication during transfers of geriatric patients from hospital to nursing
home is generally high
C) Skilled nursing facilities aren't trained enough to identify the information they need to facilitate a
high-quality transition of a patient into their facility
,D) Healthcare informaticians alone are responsible for building interoperable systems that will facilitate
communication between and among healthcare facilities
Answer: A) An interoperable healthcare system that provides clear, concise patient data and information
among institutions is lacking in many facilities, and its presence would greatly facilitate things such as
patient transfers
Rationale: This subsection takes the specific case of the transfer of geriatric patients from a hospital
setting to a long-term skilled nursing facility (SNF) and uses it to illustrate the great need for an
interoperable healthcare system that allows patient data to be transferred quickly, clearly, and concisely
among facilities .
Question 4
The ______ is one of the oldest—and still widely used—methods for building and implementing
software applications in the IT arena.
A) TUG
B) clinical decision support system
C) HIPAA
D) software development life cycle
Answer: D) software development life cycle
Rationale: Though it's been through a number of iterations and adjustments, the software development
life cycle remains the tested and tried-and-true method for studying, building, implementing, and
maintaining a health information system .
Question 5
Informatics allows clinicians to see real-time data and allows the user to ______ for public health
approaches to care in healthcare.
A) meaning
B) manage
C) materialize
D) predict
Answer: D) predict
Rationale: With continuing progression in the use of technology in healthcare, clinicians can predict and
improve healthcare outcomes .
Question 6
Health informaticians must be able to conceptually organize a variety of ______ to better understand
data analysis.
A) components
B) concepts
C) ideas
D) information
Answer: B) concepts
Rationale: Informaticians utilize healthcare knowledge, visualization, and outcome prediction to access
raw information and turn it into meaningful use data .
Question 7
Achievable competencies developed by the IOM that should be achieved by clinicians to deliver patient-
, centered care include:
A) Collaboration, reduction of errors, patient centered, data collection
B) Independent, evidence-based practice, reduction of hospital readmissions, use of informatics
C) Collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, use of informatics
D) Collaboration, individual practice, quality improvement, use of informatics
Answer: C) Collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, use of informatics
Rationale: In 2003 the IOM identified core measures that healthcare professionals should achieve in
order to deliver patient-centered care .
Question 8
Health informatics is best defined as:
A) The study of computer hardware used in hospitals
B) The interdisciplinary study of the design, development, and application of IT-based innovations in
healthcare services delivery, management, and planning
C) The practice of coding and billing in healthcare
D) The management of hospital finances
Answer: B) The interdisciplinary study of the design, development, and application of IT-based
innovations in healthcare services delivery, management, and planning
Rationale: Health informatics is the interdisciplinary study of the design, development, and application
of IT-based innovations in healthcare services delivery, management, and planning .
Question 9
Which of the following is a key characteristic of an open system in healthcare informatics?
A) It does not interact with its environment
B) It exchanges information and resources with its environment
C) It is completely self-contained
D) It has no feedback mechanisms
Answer: B) It exchanges information and resources with its environment
Rationale: An open system exchanges information, energy, and resources with its environment.
Healthcare organizations function as open systems that interact with patients, providers, payers, and
regulatory bodies .
Question 10
The primary difference between an open and closed system is:
A) Open systems are more efficient
B) Closed systems exchange information with their environment; open systems do not
C) Open systems exchange information with their environment; closed systems do not
D) There is no difference
Answer: C) Open systems exchange information with their environment; closed systems do not
Rationale: Open systems interact with and exchange information with their external environment.
Closed systems do not exchange information with their environment and are self-contained. Healthcare
organizations are open systems .
Question 11
Which of the following is NOT a component of the informatics infrastructure?
A) Hardware and software