EPIC Workflow & Patient Safety Practice
Questions 2026 | Clinical EHR Review with
Answers & Rationales
1. What is the primary purpose of a clinical workflow in an EHR?
A. To organize activities needed to support patient care
B. To eliminate clinical judgment
C. To replace communication between clinicians
D. To reduce the amount of patient information available
Answer: A. To organize activities needed to support patient care
Rationale: EHR workflows organize clinical tasks, information, communication, and
documentation so that care can be delivered consistently and safely.
2. Which action should occur before entering information into a patient's chart?
A. Confirm the correct patient and encounter
B. Select the first name on the patient list
C. Use another employee's login
D. Open the most recently viewed chart
Answer: A. Confirm the correct patient and encounter
Rationale: Confirming patient identity and encounter context helps prevent wrong-patient
documentation.
3. Why is patient identification a major component of EHR safety?
A. Patients may have similar names or demographic information
B. EHRs never contain duplicate names
C. Identification is only required during registration
D. Identification prevents every clinical error
Answer: A. Patients may have similar names or demographic information
Rationale: Similar names and other demographic similarities can create wrong-patient
risks. Appropriate identifiers should be used before clinical actions.
4. Which practice helps reduce wrong-patient errors?
A. Using multiple approved patient identifiers
B. Relying only on the patient's first name
,C. Selecting a chart based on room number alone
D. Using the last chart opened
Answer: A. Using multiple approved patient identifiers
Rationale: Multiple identifiers provide additional confirmation that the correct patient
record has been selected.
5. A clinician opens a patient's chart and notices that the demographic information does not
match the person being treated. What should the clinician do?
A. Stop and verify the patient's identity before proceeding
B. Continue because the chart was already opened
C. Change the demographics without verification
D. Document in the chart anyway
Answer: A. Stop and verify the patient's identity before proceeding
Rationale: A demographic mismatch is a warning that the wrong record may have been
selected.
6. What is an important safety principle when entering an electronic order?
A. Verify the patient and order details before submission
B. Submit the order immediately without review
C. Use a colleague's credentials
D. Select the first available order option
Answer: A. Verify the patient and order details before submission
Rationale: Reviewing the patient, medication or procedure, dose when applicable, route,
timing, and other relevant details helps prevent ordering errors.
7. Why should clinicians review orders before signing or submitting them?
A. To identify incorrect or incomplete information
B. To prevent the order from being recorded
C. To eliminate the need for patient verification
D. To make the workflow longer
Answer: A. To identify incorrect or incomplete information
Rationale: Review provides an opportunity to identify errors before an order becomes part
of the active clinical workflow.
8. What should a clinician do when an electronic order appears inconsistent with the
patient's current condition?
, A. Clarify the order through the appropriate clinical process
B. Ignore the discrepancy
C. Change it without authorization
D. Administer or carry out the order without review
Answer: A. Clarify the order through the appropriate clinical process
Rationale: Questionable orders should be appropriately clarified rather than ignored or
changed outside authorized procedures.
9. What is the purpose of clinical decision support in an EHR?
A. To provide information or alerts that can support clinical decision-making
B. To replace the clinician's judgment
C. To automatically determine every treatment
D. To prevent clinicians from entering orders
Answer: A. To provide information or alerts that can support clinical decision-making
Rationale: Decision-support tools can provide reminders, alerts, guidelines, or other
information that assists clinicians while leaving clinical decisions to authorized
professionals.
10. What should a clinician do when an EHR displays a clinically relevant alert?
A. Review the alert and determine the appropriate response
B. Automatically dismiss every alert
C. Ignore it because alerts are always incorrect
D. Disable all future alerts
Answer: A. Review the alert and determine the appropriate response
Rationale: Alerts may identify potential safety concerns. They should be evaluated in the
context of the patient's situation.
11. What is alert fatigue?
A. Reduced attention to alerts caused by receiving excessive or repetitive alerts
B. A failure of the EHR to generate any alerts
C. A patient's inability to receive notifications
D. A problem caused only by incorrect passwords
Answer: A. Reduced attention to alerts caused by receiving excessive or repetitive alerts
Rationale: Frequent low-value alerts can cause users to become less attentive, potentially
reducing the effectiveness of important safety notifications.
12. Which practice can help address alert fatigue?
Questions 2026 | Clinical EHR Review with
Answers & Rationales
1. What is the primary purpose of a clinical workflow in an EHR?
A. To organize activities needed to support patient care
B. To eliminate clinical judgment
C. To replace communication between clinicians
D. To reduce the amount of patient information available
Answer: A. To organize activities needed to support patient care
Rationale: EHR workflows organize clinical tasks, information, communication, and
documentation so that care can be delivered consistently and safely.
2. Which action should occur before entering information into a patient's chart?
A. Confirm the correct patient and encounter
B. Select the first name on the patient list
C. Use another employee's login
D. Open the most recently viewed chart
Answer: A. Confirm the correct patient and encounter
Rationale: Confirming patient identity and encounter context helps prevent wrong-patient
documentation.
3. Why is patient identification a major component of EHR safety?
A. Patients may have similar names or demographic information
B. EHRs never contain duplicate names
C. Identification is only required during registration
D. Identification prevents every clinical error
Answer: A. Patients may have similar names or demographic information
Rationale: Similar names and other demographic similarities can create wrong-patient
risks. Appropriate identifiers should be used before clinical actions.
4. Which practice helps reduce wrong-patient errors?
A. Using multiple approved patient identifiers
B. Relying only on the patient's first name
,C. Selecting a chart based on room number alone
D. Using the last chart opened
Answer: A. Using multiple approved patient identifiers
Rationale: Multiple identifiers provide additional confirmation that the correct patient
record has been selected.
5. A clinician opens a patient's chart and notices that the demographic information does not
match the person being treated. What should the clinician do?
A. Stop and verify the patient's identity before proceeding
B. Continue because the chart was already opened
C. Change the demographics without verification
D. Document in the chart anyway
Answer: A. Stop and verify the patient's identity before proceeding
Rationale: A demographic mismatch is a warning that the wrong record may have been
selected.
6. What is an important safety principle when entering an electronic order?
A. Verify the patient and order details before submission
B. Submit the order immediately without review
C. Use a colleague's credentials
D. Select the first available order option
Answer: A. Verify the patient and order details before submission
Rationale: Reviewing the patient, medication or procedure, dose when applicable, route,
timing, and other relevant details helps prevent ordering errors.
7. Why should clinicians review orders before signing or submitting them?
A. To identify incorrect or incomplete information
B. To prevent the order from being recorded
C. To eliminate the need for patient verification
D. To make the workflow longer
Answer: A. To identify incorrect or incomplete information
Rationale: Review provides an opportunity to identify errors before an order becomes part
of the active clinical workflow.
8. What should a clinician do when an electronic order appears inconsistent with the
patient's current condition?
, A. Clarify the order through the appropriate clinical process
B. Ignore the discrepancy
C. Change it without authorization
D. Administer or carry out the order without review
Answer: A. Clarify the order through the appropriate clinical process
Rationale: Questionable orders should be appropriately clarified rather than ignored or
changed outside authorized procedures.
9. What is the purpose of clinical decision support in an EHR?
A. To provide information or alerts that can support clinical decision-making
B. To replace the clinician's judgment
C. To automatically determine every treatment
D. To prevent clinicians from entering orders
Answer: A. To provide information or alerts that can support clinical decision-making
Rationale: Decision-support tools can provide reminders, alerts, guidelines, or other
information that assists clinicians while leaving clinical decisions to authorized
professionals.
10. What should a clinician do when an EHR displays a clinically relevant alert?
A. Review the alert and determine the appropriate response
B. Automatically dismiss every alert
C. Ignore it because alerts are always incorrect
D. Disable all future alerts
Answer: A. Review the alert and determine the appropriate response
Rationale: Alerts may identify potential safety concerns. They should be evaluated in the
context of the patient's situation.
11. What is alert fatigue?
A. Reduced attention to alerts caused by receiving excessive or repetitive alerts
B. A failure of the EHR to generate any alerts
C. A patient's inability to receive notifications
D. A problem caused only by incorrect passwords
Answer: A. Reduced attention to alerts caused by receiving excessive or repetitive alerts
Rationale: Frequent low-value alerts can cause users to become less attentive, potentially
reducing the effectiveness of important safety notifications.
12. Which practice can help address alert fatigue?
