CMAA CMAA Comprehensive Review 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under HIPAA, a 'covered entity' includes which of the following?
- A medical billing company that works independently
- A healthcare provider who transmits health information electronically (Correct answer)
- A janitorial service used by a hospital
- A patient who shares their own health information
Correct answer: A healthcare provider who transmits health information electronically
Covered entities under HIPAA include healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses that transmit PHI electronically.
Question 2: Which scheduling method books multiple patients at the same appointment start time?
- Open-access scheduling
- Wave scheduling (Correct answer)
- Double-booking
- Cluster scheduling
Correct answer: Wave scheduling
Wave scheduling books several patients at the top of each hour, allowing flexibility for varying visit lengths.
Question 3: What is the purpose of an NPI (National Provider Identifier)?
- To identify the patient's primary diagnosis
- To uniquely identify healthcare providers in standard transactions (Correct answer)
- To assign reimbursement rates to providers
- To classify the type of insurance plan
Correct answer: To uniquely identify healthcare providers in standard transactions
The NPI is a unique 10-digit number assigned to healthcare providers for use in HIPAA standard transactions.
Question 4: When a patient's account is sent to collections, the medical administrative assistant should:
- Continue billing the patient's insurance
- Follow the practice's established collection policy and cease direct billing per legal guidance (Correct answer)
- Call the patient daily until payment is made
- Write off the balance immediately
Correct answer: Follow the practice's established collection policy and cease direct billing per legal guidance
Once an account is turned over to a collection agency, the practice should follow protocol and typically stop direct billing to avoid legal issues.
Question 5: Which of the following is an example of a SOAP note element completed by clinical staff that an administrative assistant might file?
- S - Subjective: the patient's reported symptoms (Correct answer)
- B - Billing: the codes assigned for the visit
- F - Financial: the patient's copay collected
- A - Administrative: appointment scheduling details
Correct answer: S - Subjective: the patient's reported symptoms
The 'S' in SOAP stands for Subjective and captures the patient's own description of their symptoms and complaints.
Question 6: A patient disputes a charge on their bill. The best first step for the medical administrative assistant is to:
- Immediately write off the disputed amount
- Review the patient's account and EOB to verify the charge is correct (Correct answer)
- Transfer the call to collections
- Tell the patient all charges are final
Correct answer: Review the patient's account and EOB to verify the charge is correct
Reviewing the account and EOB allows the assistant to verify whether the charge is accurate before taking further action.
Question 7: Which of the following vaccination records should be maintained for staff in a medical office?
- Only childhood immunizations
- Hepatitis B and annual influenza vaccinations at minimum (Correct answer)
- Only vaccines required for travel
- Vaccinations are not required for administrative staff
Correct answer: Hepatitis B and annual influenza vaccinations at minimum
OSHA and healthcare regulations typically require medical office staff to have documented Hepatitis B and influenza vaccination status.
CMAA CMAA Comprehensive Review 4
Under HIPAA, a 'covered entity' includes which of the following?