Epic Skills Assessment Role-Based Scenario Problems Questions and Answers 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A physician attempts to prescribe a medication to a patient but receives a 'Drug-Allergy Interaction' alert in Epic CPOE. What is the correct action?
- Override the alert without review
- Review the alert, document clinical justification if overriding, or choose an alternative medication (Correct answer)
- Ignore the alert and complete the order
- Contact IT to disable the alert
Correct answer: Review the alert, document clinical justification if overriding, or choose an alternative medication
BestPractice Advisories (BPAs) require clinical evaluation. The provider should review, document justification if overriding, or select an alternative to ensure patient safety.
Epic's CPOE system integrates clinical decision support (CDS) that fires drug-allergy, drug-drug, and drug-disease alerts. Providers must actively review and document their reasoning when overriding. Blind overrides increase malpractice risk and are tracked in Epic's audit logs. Choosing an alternative medication is the safest response when a documented allergy exists.
Question 2: A nurse documents a medication as administered but the patient later reports not receiving it. What Epic tool helps investigate this discrepancy?
- Scheduling module
- eMAR audit trail (Correct answer)
- Revenue cycle dashboard
- MyChart portal
Correct answer: eMAR audit trail
The eMAR (electronic Medication Administration Record) audit trail records every documentation action including who charted, when, from which workstation, and any edits or corrections.
Epic's eMAR maintains a complete audit trail of medication documentation. Each entry records the user ID, timestamp, workstation, and any subsequent amendments. This is critical for investigating discrepancies, near-misses, and potential medication errors. The audit trail is accessible to charge nurses, pharmacists, and compliance officers based on their security roles.
Question 3: A registration clerk accidentally enters an incorrect date of birth for a new patient in Epic. What is the correct process to fix this?
- Delete the patient record and re-register
- Edit the demographic field directly with a note explaining the correction (Correct answer)
- Leave the error to avoid audit log complications
- Create a duplicate patient record with the correct DOB
Correct answer: Edit the demographic field directly with a note explaining the correction
Corrections should be made in the existing record with appropriate documentation. Creating duplicate records causes patient safety risks due to split medical history.
Epic's Master Patient Index (MPI) ensures one record per patient. Correcting the demographic field directly and noting the reason (e.g., 'typographical error, corrected per patient ID verification') maintains data integrity. Duplicate records create dangerous situations where a provider may access the wrong chart. Epic has a merge utility for resolving duplicates that were inadvertently created.
Question 4: A scheduler notices a provider's template allows 15-minute appointment slots for a procedure that takes 30 minutes. Patients are consistently running late. What action should the scheduler take?
- Continue booking 15-minute slots to maximize volume
- Request a template modification from the scheduling supervisor or provider (Correct answer)
- Double-book every slot to compensate
- Cancel all affected appointments
Correct answer: Request a template modification from the scheduling supervisor or provider
Template mismatches cause chronic lateness and patient dissatisfaction. The correct action is to escalate for a template correction to align slot duration with actual procedure time.
Epic's scheduling module uses provider templates to define appointment types, durations, and availability. When templates don't reflect real procedure times, the entire schedule shifts late. Schedulers should flag the discrepancy to supervisors or the provider to initiate a template change request. This avoids downstream impacts on staff workflows, patient satisfaction scores, and revenue.
Question 5: A pharmacist reviewing orders in Epic notices a duplicate medication order — the same drug ordered twice under different names (brand and generic). What should happen?
- Dispense both orders
- Contact the prescribing provider to clarify and cancel one order (Correct answer)
- Cancel the generic order automatically
- Bill the patient for both orders
Correct answer: Contact the prescribing provider to clarify and cancel one order
Duplicate orders — even under different names — require pharmacist intervention. The pharmacist should contact the provider for clarification before acting, following the five rights of medication safety.
Epic's pharmacy module includes duplicate therapy alerts that detect same-drug orders under brand and generic names. The pharmacist must contact the prescribing provider before canceling any order, as the duplication may be intentional (different dosage forms, tapering schedule). This is a key patient safety checkpoint in the medication reconciliation workflow.
Question 6: A care coordinator sees that a patient's discharge instructions were printed but not documented as given in the After Visit Summary (AVS). What is the risk?
- No risk — printing is sufficient
- Risk of readmission due to patient not understanding discharge plan (Correct answer)
- Risk of billing errors only
- Risk of duplicate chart entries
Correct answer: Risk of readmission due to patient not understanding discharge plan
If patient education isn't documented in Epic, there's no verified record that the patient received and understood their discharge instructions — a key factor in preventable readmissions.
The After Visit Summary (AVS) in Epic must reflect documented patient education to satisfy Joint Commission standards and CMS discharge planning requirements. Undocumented education can't be tracked for follow-up, creates gaps in care transitions, and may contribute to readmissions — which carry financial penalties under the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP).
Epic Skills Assessment Role-Based Scenario Problems Questions and Answers 2
A physician attempts to prescribe a medication to a patient but receives a 'Drug-Allergy Interaction' alert in Epic CPOE.
What is the correct action?