HEALTH INFORMATICS (HARDY) 3RD
EDITION 2026 COMPLETE REVIEW
STUDY GUIDE | INTERPROFESSIONAL
LEARNING COMPANION || NEW
VERSION
Section 1: Foundations & Core Concepts
1. What is the primary definition of Health Informatics as an academic discipline?
A) The use of computers in hospital billing.
B) The intersection of information science, computer science, and healthcare, focused on the
acquisition, storage, retrieval, and use of health information.
C) The study of medical coding and transcription.
D) The application of nursing theory to technology.
Answer: B) The intersection of information science, computer science, and healthcare,
focused on the acquisition, storage, retrieval, and use of health information.
2. The DIKW (Data-Information-Knowledge-Wisdom) hierarchy is fundamental to informatics.
What transformation occurs between the 'Knowledge' and 'Wisdom' levels?
A) Data is organized into structured tables.
B) Information is synthesized with context to form actionable insights.
C) Knowledge is applied with experience, values, and insight to make sound judgments and
interventions.
D) Raw facts are collected from a patient monitor.
Answer: C) Knowledge is applied with experience, values, and insight to make sound
judgments and interventions.
3. Which of the following is a key characteristic of an Electronic Health Record (EHR), as
opposed to an Electronic Medical Record (EMR)?
A) It is specific to a single clinic's diagnosis and treatment data.
B) It is designed to be shared across different healthcare settings.
C) It focuses only on digital versions of paper charts.
,D) It is primarily used for billing purposes.
Answer: B) It is designed to be shared across different healthcare settings.
4. What is the primary purpose of a Health Information Exchange (HIE)?
A) To allow patients to email their doctors.
B) To facilitate the secure, electronic sharing of clinical information among authorized
organizations.
C) To host hospital entertainment systems.
D) To replace all paper records with scanned PDFs.
Answer: B) To facilitate the secure, electronic sharing of clinical information among authorized
organizations.
5. Which law in the United States established the "Meaningful Use" program and provided
incentives for EHR adoption?
A) The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
B) The HITECH Act
C) The Affordable Care Act
D) The 21st Century Cures Act
Answer: B) The HITECH Act
Section 2: Data Standards, Interoperability & Terminology
6. Which of the following is a primary goal of health data interoperability?
A) To ensure all software is made by the same vendor.
B) To enable seamless, secure, and effective exchange and use of information between different
systems.
C) To standardize medical school curricula.
D) To eliminate the need for nurses to enter data.
Answer: B) To enable seamless, secure, and effective exchange and use of information
between different systems.
7. What is the key difference between HL7 v2 and FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability
Resources)?
A) HL7 v2 is newer and uses RESTful APIs, while FHIR is older.
B) FHIR uses a modern, web-based approach (APIs, JSON) and is more developer-friendly than
the older, pipe-delimited HL7 v2.
C) HL7 v2 is for research only, FHIR is for clinical care.
D) There is no significant difference; they are the same.
,Answer: B) FHIR uses a modern, web-based approach (APIs, JSON) and is more developer-
friendly than the older, pipe-delimited HL7 v2.
8. SNOMED CT is primarily used for what purpose in clinical documentation?
A) Representing detailed clinical concepts (findings, procedures) with semantically rich codes for
meaning-based retrieval.
B) Billing and reimbursement.
C) Laboratory test order codes.
D) Prescribing medications.
Answer: A) Representing detailed clinical concepts (findings, procedures) with semantically
rich codes for meaning-based retrieval.
9. LOINC codes are primarily used to standardize what?
A) Diagnosis codes for billing.
B) Procedure codes in surgery.
C) Laboratory test observations and clinical measurements (e.g., "Serum Sodium").
D) Drug names and ingredients.
Answer: C) Laboratory test observations and clinical measurements (e.g., "Serum Sodium").
10. Which standard is mandated in the US for electronic healthcare transactions like claims
and eligibility?
A) ICD-10
B) SNOMED CT
C) HIPAA Transaction Standards (ASC X12)
D) UMLS
Answer: C) HIPAA Transaction Standards (ASC X12)
Section 3: Clinical Decision Support & Human Factors
11. A "Best Practice Alert" that fires when a clinician prescribes a medication to which the
patient has a documented allergy is an example of what type of CDS?
A) Passive CDS
B) Active, interruptive CDS
C) Predictive modeling
D) Clinical pathway
Answer: B) Active, interruptive CDS
, 12. What is a major potential unintended consequence of poorly designed Clinical Decision
Support (CDS) systems?
A) Increased physician salaries.
B) Alert fatigue, leading to clinicians ignoring critical alerts.
C) Automatic cure of diseases.
D) Reduced need for clinical guidelines.
Answer: B) Alert fatigue, leading to clinicians ignoring critical alerts.
13. Human Factors Engineering (HFE) in health IT focuses on:
A) Making software as complex as possible.
B) Optimizing the relationship between people, technology, and the work environment to
improve safety and performance.
C) Hiring the strongest IT staff.
D) Reducing the cost of hardware.
Answer: B) Optimizing the relationship between people, technology, and the work
environment to improve safety and performance.
14. Which usability heuristic involves designing systems that speak the users' language
(medical terms) rather than system-oriented terms?
A) Match between system and the real world
B) Consistency and standards
C) Aesthetic and minimalist design
D) User control and freedom
Answer: A) Match between system and the real world
15. A "Smart Pump" for intravenous medication delivery is an example of:
A) A telehealth device only.
B) A standalone mechanical tool with no intelligence.
C) An embedded CDS system at the point of care to prevent dosing errors.
D) A replacement for the pharmacist.
Answer: C) An embedded CDS system at the point of care to prevent dosing errors.
Section 4: Privacy, Security & Ethics
16. The HIPAA Privacy Rule primarily governs:
A) The security standards for electronic data.
B) The use and disclosure of Protected Health Information (PHI) by "covered entities."
C) The certification of EHR software.
D) Insurance premium rates.
EDITION 2026 COMPLETE REVIEW
STUDY GUIDE | INTERPROFESSIONAL
LEARNING COMPANION || NEW
VERSION
Section 1: Foundations & Core Concepts
1. What is the primary definition of Health Informatics as an academic discipline?
A) The use of computers in hospital billing.
B) The intersection of information science, computer science, and healthcare, focused on the
acquisition, storage, retrieval, and use of health information.
C) The study of medical coding and transcription.
D) The application of nursing theory to technology.
Answer: B) The intersection of information science, computer science, and healthcare,
focused on the acquisition, storage, retrieval, and use of health information.
2. The DIKW (Data-Information-Knowledge-Wisdom) hierarchy is fundamental to informatics.
What transformation occurs between the 'Knowledge' and 'Wisdom' levels?
A) Data is organized into structured tables.
B) Information is synthesized with context to form actionable insights.
C) Knowledge is applied with experience, values, and insight to make sound judgments and
interventions.
D) Raw facts are collected from a patient monitor.
Answer: C) Knowledge is applied with experience, values, and insight to make sound
judgments and interventions.
3. Which of the following is a key characteristic of an Electronic Health Record (EHR), as
opposed to an Electronic Medical Record (EMR)?
A) It is specific to a single clinic's diagnosis and treatment data.
B) It is designed to be shared across different healthcare settings.
C) It focuses only on digital versions of paper charts.
,D) It is primarily used for billing purposes.
Answer: B) It is designed to be shared across different healthcare settings.
4. What is the primary purpose of a Health Information Exchange (HIE)?
A) To allow patients to email their doctors.
B) To facilitate the secure, electronic sharing of clinical information among authorized
organizations.
C) To host hospital entertainment systems.
D) To replace all paper records with scanned PDFs.
Answer: B) To facilitate the secure, electronic sharing of clinical information among authorized
organizations.
5. Which law in the United States established the "Meaningful Use" program and provided
incentives for EHR adoption?
A) The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
B) The HITECH Act
C) The Affordable Care Act
D) The 21st Century Cures Act
Answer: B) The HITECH Act
Section 2: Data Standards, Interoperability & Terminology
6. Which of the following is a primary goal of health data interoperability?
A) To ensure all software is made by the same vendor.
B) To enable seamless, secure, and effective exchange and use of information between different
systems.
C) To standardize medical school curricula.
D) To eliminate the need for nurses to enter data.
Answer: B) To enable seamless, secure, and effective exchange and use of information
between different systems.
7. What is the key difference between HL7 v2 and FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability
Resources)?
A) HL7 v2 is newer and uses RESTful APIs, while FHIR is older.
B) FHIR uses a modern, web-based approach (APIs, JSON) and is more developer-friendly than
the older, pipe-delimited HL7 v2.
C) HL7 v2 is for research only, FHIR is for clinical care.
D) There is no significant difference; they are the same.
,Answer: B) FHIR uses a modern, web-based approach (APIs, JSON) and is more developer-
friendly than the older, pipe-delimited HL7 v2.
8. SNOMED CT is primarily used for what purpose in clinical documentation?
A) Representing detailed clinical concepts (findings, procedures) with semantically rich codes for
meaning-based retrieval.
B) Billing and reimbursement.
C) Laboratory test order codes.
D) Prescribing medications.
Answer: A) Representing detailed clinical concepts (findings, procedures) with semantically
rich codes for meaning-based retrieval.
9. LOINC codes are primarily used to standardize what?
A) Diagnosis codes for billing.
B) Procedure codes in surgery.
C) Laboratory test observations and clinical measurements (e.g., "Serum Sodium").
D) Drug names and ingredients.
Answer: C) Laboratory test observations and clinical measurements (e.g., "Serum Sodium").
10. Which standard is mandated in the US for electronic healthcare transactions like claims
and eligibility?
A) ICD-10
B) SNOMED CT
C) HIPAA Transaction Standards (ASC X12)
D) UMLS
Answer: C) HIPAA Transaction Standards (ASC X12)
Section 3: Clinical Decision Support & Human Factors
11. A "Best Practice Alert" that fires when a clinician prescribes a medication to which the
patient has a documented allergy is an example of what type of CDS?
A) Passive CDS
B) Active, interruptive CDS
C) Predictive modeling
D) Clinical pathway
Answer: B) Active, interruptive CDS
, 12. What is a major potential unintended consequence of poorly designed Clinical Decision
Support (CDS) systems?
A) Increased physician salaries.
B) Alert fatigue, leading to clinicians ignoring critical alerts.
C) Automatic cure of diseases.
D) Reduced need for clinical guidelines.
Answer: B) Alert fatigue, leading to clinicians ignoring critical alerts.
13. Human Factors Engineering (HFE) in health IT focuses on:
A) Making software as complex as possible.
B) Optimizing the relationship between people, technology, and the work environment to
improve safety and performance.
C) Hiring the strongest IT staff.
D) Reducing the cost of hardware.
Answer: B) Optimizing the relationship between people, technology, and the work
environment to improve safety and performance.
14. Which usability heuristic involves designing systems that speak the users' language
(medical terms) rather than system-oriented terms?
A) Match between system and the real world
B) Consistency and standards
C) Aesthetic and minimalist design
D) User control and freedom
Answer: A) Match between system and the real world
15. A "Smart Pump" for intravenous medication delivery is an example of:
A) A telehealth device only.
B) A standalone mechanical tool with no intelligence.
C) An embedded CDS system at the point of care to prevent dosing errors.
D) A replacement for the pharmacist.
Answer: C) An embedded CDS system at the point of care to prevent dosing errors.
Section 4: Privacy, Security & Ethics
16. The HIPAA Privacy Rule primarily governs:
A) The security standards for electronic data.
B) The use and disclosure of Protected Health Information (PHI) by "covered entities."
C) The certification of EHR software.
D) Insurance premium rates.
