HIT-001 Chapter 1

Question 1

The Importance of the HITECH Act

Answer 1

• The HITECH Act regulates how HIT interacts with third parties.
• The HITECH Act requires healthcare facilities to use EMR/EHR systems.
• With HIT, patient information has fewer chances of human error by electronically transferring and storing information.

Question 2

Acute care facilities

Answer 2

are for patients with short-term, immediate needs for

healthcare.

Question 3

Nine types of acute care facilities and agencies

Answer 3

are an ambulatory care facility, a primary care facility, an ambulatory surgery center, a birth center, a rehabilitation hospital or center, a general acute care hospital, a home health agency, a hospice agency, and a psychiatric hospital.

Question 4

Long-term care facilities

Answer 4

are for patients who need ongoing care after receiv-
ing a diagnosis. Three types of long-term care facilities and agencies are an adult day care facility, assisted-living residence, and nursing home.

Question 5

most complex of healthcare facilities for IT?

Answer 5

QThe IT systems in hospitals are the most complex of healthcare facilities.
Other facilities are limited to fewer IT systems.

Question 6

Eight standard departments in a hospital are

Answer 6

administrative offices, outpatient clinics, inpatient rooms, surgery or operating rooms, radiology, emergency department (ED), pathology and lab, and pharmacy.

Question 7

Three entrances for patients to the hospital system are

Answer 7

outpatient, inpatient, and the ED.

Question 8

Outpatient

Answer 8

care lasts less than 24 hours, and patients are usually not admitted
into the hospital for inpatient care.

Question 9

Inpatient

Answer 9

care
is when patients are admitted to the hospital and stay longer
than 24 hours.

Question 10

ED patients

Answer 10

can usually be discharged without being admitted to the hospital for inpatient care; however, most patients who are admitted enter through the
ED.

Question 11

The primary goal of HIT

Answer 11

is to assist healthcare providers to have more accurate and timely information about their patients.

Question 12

HIT technicians are responsible for

Answer 12

bridging the gap of communication be-
tween the medical staff and the IT support staff.
HIT personnel are responsible for communicating with healthcare providers to understand their technology needs and try to meet these needs to provide better patient care.

Question 13

Healthcare providers depend on ______ for timely and accurate information
being available in the computer systems to make decisions on how to treat
patients’ afflictions.

Answer 13

HIT

Question 14

The _____ Act regulates how ______ interacts with third parties and requires
healthcare facilities to move toward electronic solutions to store patient data
and to no longer use paper forms and charts for retaining patient records.

Answer 14

HITECH, HIS

Question 15

A patient’s ______ is a collection of all patient information about a patient
from all visits to a particular hospital. A patient’s ______ is a collection of all
patient information about a patient from all visits to any hospital.

Answer 15

EMR, EHR

Question 16

An X-ray, _____, and ______ are examples of medical imaging created in the
Radiology department.

Answer 16

MRI, CT

Question 17

A _____ is a secure and private network of computers through the Internet.

Answer 17

VPN

Question 18

Is a birth center an acute care facility or a long-term care facility?

Answer 18

A birth center is an acute care facility.

Question 19

Describe the difference between acute and long-term care.

Answer 19

Acute care means care for short-term and severe afflictions. Long-term care means ongoing care after a diagnosis.

Question 20

Why are hospitals a good starting point for learning about HIT?

Answer 20

Because they are the most complex of HIT systems. Other facilities will be easier to learn after learning about the hospital.

Question 21

Which department in a hospital is responsible for billing?

Answer 21

Administrative offices

Question 22

Where does a patient go in a hospital to get an X-ray?

Answer 22

The Radiology Department

Question 23

List the three ways to enter a hospital. Which is the most common?

Answer 23

Inpatient, Outpatient, and through the Emergency Department. The ED is the most common.

Question 24

If a patient comes to a hospital for a surgical procedure that will take 8 hours,
from beginning to end, which classification of patient is this?

Answer 24

Outpatient

Question 25

If a patient in the ED has an acuity level of five, what is the general condition
of that patient?

Answer 25

The patient’s chief complaint is not life-threatening, such as having the
sniffles.

Question 26

What is the primary goal of HIT staff?

Answer 26

To provide accurate and timely information about patients to healthcare
providers.

Question 27

Whose responsibility is it to communicate with the medical staff concerning
IT functions?

Answer 27

The HIT staff must explain technology in ways that the medical staff can understand and also interpret what the medical staff is saying to better support the need for technology.

Question 28

Research on the Internet to find the government website that explains the HITECH Act. Which U.S. Department sponsored the HITECH Act and in what year was it signed into law?

Answer 28

http://healthit.hhs.gov Sponsored by the US Department of Health & Human Services. HITECH was signed into law February 17, 2009.

Question 29

Research on the website you found in the preceding question to find the
purposes of Electronic Health Records and Meaningful Use. Using informa-
tion on the site, write a statement describing the purpose of Electronic Health
Records, and write another statement describing Meaningful Use.

Answer 29

http://healthit.hhs.gov/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=2996&mode=2.
Complete and accurate information, better access to information, and patient empowerment by having access to their own EMR/EHR.

Question 30

Search on the Internet for possible job specializations in healthcare IT. What
websites did you visit to find job ideas? Which jobs did you find? What is the
job description? What interests you about a particular field of HIT?

Answer 30

Manager, Clinical Information Systems 
Trainer 
Sales/Marketing 
Developer 
Administrator  Programmer 
Project management 
Systems analyst 
Database manager Support analyst 
Security analyst

Question 31

acuity

Answer 31

The level of severity of an affliction.

Question 32

acute care

Answer 32

Care that is given short term and for severe afflictions. For example, a patient experiencing a heart attack goes to an acute care facility.

Question 33

adult day care facility

Answer 33

A facility that offers medical and nursing supervision of adults.
Patients cannot be at one of these facilities for longer than 12 hours in one day.

Question 34

adult day care facility

Answer 34

A facility that offers medical and nursing supervision of adults.
Patients cannot be at one of these facilities for longer than 12 hours in one day.

Question 35

ambulatory care facility

Answer 35

A facility used for outpatient services. Basically, if patient care takes less than 24 hours, the patient goes to an ambulatory care facility rather than a hospital.

Question 36

ambulatory surgery center

Answer 36

A facility used for surgical procedures in outpatient services.

Question 37

assisted living residence

Answer 37

A facility that offers an apartment-style living situation for
patients or residents who need assistance in daily activities. Most assisted living residences have different levels of assistance. A resident might live independently where help is available only if needed, or a resident lives in an apartment, but almost everything is done for the
resident.

Question 38

birth center

Answer 38

A facility that offers services for prenatal and labor and delivery low-risk patients. This can be a department of a hospital or a separate facility.

Question 39

blood work

Answer 39

Examination of a blood sample to test for certain diseases, medications, or other data.

Question 40

chief complaint

Answer 40

The primary reason a person goes to the ED.

Question 41

clinical department

Answer 41

A department in a healthcare facility that offers specific medical services for patient care, treatment, or diagnosis. Sometimes called ancillary departments.

Question 42

computed tomography (CT)

Answer 42

Imaging that uses X-rays along with computing algorithms. A patient lies down in a CT machine while the CT machine rotates around the patient producing cross-sectional images (tomography) of the patient’s body.

Question 43

electronic health record (EHR)

Answer 43

Information about a patient’s care and health collected
and stored electronically. This record is not limited to the visits at only one hospital but is a collection of all visits at all hospitals. The term EHR is sometimes used interchangeably with electronic medical record (EMR), although the two terms are not exactly the same.

Question 44

electronic medical record (EMR)

Answer 44

Information about a patient’s care and health that was
previously captured on paper forms and charts, collected from all visits at one hospital and stored in an EMR IS. The term EMR is sometimes used interchangeably with Electronic Health Record (EHR), although the two terms are not exactly the same.

Question 45

emergency department (ED)

Answer 45

The department in a healthcare facility that treats patients
with acute and sudden afflictions. The ED is often referred to as the emergency room (ER) by nonmedical people, but in the healthcare world, it is called the ED.

Question 46

general acute care hospital

Answer 46

A facility that offers diagnosis, treatment, or care for patients in a variety of specialties. Patient care is uniquely approached and not all patients are there for the same type of care.

Question 47

Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act

Answer 47

An act of the U.S. congress enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. Its purpose is to promote the meaningful use of technology in healthcare so that technology ultimately results in improved healthcare for the patient.

Question 48

healthcare IT (HIT

Answer 48

The personnel, equipment, and procedures that provide and support the computer systems used in the healthcare environment.

Question 49

healthcare provider

Answer 49

A qualified person or facility that provides healthcare to patients; for example, a doctor, nurse, or hospital.

Question 50

home health agency

Answer 50

An organization that offers preventative, rehabilitation, and
therapeutic care to patients in their homes.

Question 51

hospice agency

Answer 51

An organization that offers medical, nursing, social work, and counseling to terminally ill patients in their homes or as an inpatient hospice service at a facility.

Question 52

inpatient

Answer 52

A patient admitted to a healthcare facility who stays longer than 24 hours by a doctor’s order.

Question 53

long-term care

Answer 53

Ongoing treatment or care. For example, a patient with Alzheimer’s goes to a long-term care facility.

Question 54

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Answer 54

Imaging that uses strong magnetic fields and radio
signals to create an image of a patient’s body. A patient lies down in an MRI machine and must remain still for extended periods of time in a noisy, cramped space.

Question 55

medical image

Answer 55

Visuals made of body parts, tissues, or organs for clinical study, treatment, or diagnosis.

Question 56

medical records office

Answer 56

The administrative office that stores and archives patients’ medical records.

Question 57

nursing home

Answer 57

A facility that provides a residence for disabled and elderly patients who need medical supervision or ongoing nursing care. Patients in a nursing home do not need
the level of care required to be admitted into an acute care hospital.

Question 58

oncology

Answer 58

field of medicine dealing with cancer or tumors.

Question 59

outpatient

Answer 59

A patient who is scheduled for medical treatment, care, or a service. The patient’s stay in the healthcare facility lasts less than 24 hours unless being observed.
Ambulatory facilities are specifically for outpatient services.

Question 60

patient census

Answer 60

A recording of the number of patients with the location, registration status, and other data about the patient in a healthcare facility. Patient census usually applies to
inpatients or occupied beds.

Question 61

primary care facility

Answer 61

A facility that contains the private practice of a doctor where a patient receives preventive, diagnostic, treatment, and management services. When a person has an annual checkup, he schedules an appointment with his primary care provider (PCP), such as a family doctor, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant.

Question 62

psychiatric hospital

Answer 62

A facility that specializes in the care of patients with mental illness. Services include diagnosis, treatment, care, and rehabilitation. This can be on an inpatient or
outpatient basis.

Question 63

registration

Answer 63

The administrative office that maintains a patient census of the facility through patient admissions, transfers, and discharges.

Question 64

rehabilitation hospital or center

Answer 64

A facility that offers care for patients with ongoing

recovery from a disability. This can include medical, psychiatric, or physical therapy.

Question 65

stat

Answer 65

Derived from the Latin word statim, which means immediately. It is often used in the medical environment to expedite something.

Question 66

tracking board

Answer 66

A display showing the patients in the ED, where they are, and who is caring for them. Because the tracking board contains confidential information, it is for the use of the
ED staff only and is primarily kept out of view of the waiting area and patients.

Question 67

triage

Answer 67

The assessment of the level of care a patient needs when she arrives at the hospital used to determine the priority of the patient for being seen by a physician.

Question 68

virtual private network (VPN)

Answer 68

The secure and private networking of computers through

the Internet.