RHIT Healthcare Statistics and Analytics 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A hospital's case mix index (CMI) increased from 1.45 to 1.62 over one year. What is the most likely implication?
- The hospital is treating less complex patients on average
- The hospital is treating more complex patients, leading to higher expected reimbursement (Correct answer)
- The average length of stay has decreased
- The hospital's mortality rate has increased
Correct answer: The hospital is treating more complex patients, leading to higher expected reimbursement
A rising CMI indicates the hospital is treating more resource-intensive patients, which typically results in higher MS-DRG reimbursement.
Question 2: Which type of chart is most commonly used in statistical process control (SPC) to monitor whether a healthcare process is in control over time?
- Pareto chart
- Control chart (Correct answer)
- Histogram
- Fishbone diagram
Correct answer: Control chart
Control charts plot process data over time with upper and lower control limits to determine if a process is stable and in control.
Question 3: An RHIT notices that the same patient's blood pressure is recorded as 120/80 mmHg in one system and 12/80 mmHg in another due to a data entry error. Which data quality dimension is compromised?
- Completeness
- Timeliness
- Accuracy (Correct answer)
- Accessibility
Correct answer: Accuracy
Accuracy is compromised when data does not correctly represent the true value, as with the incorrect systolic reading.
Question 4: In epidemiology, the attack rate is BEST described as:
- The number of new disease cases per 100,000 population annually
- The proportion of exposed individuals who develop the disease during an outbreak (Correct answer)
- The total number of cases in a population at a given point in time
- The rate at which a disease spreads from person to person
Correct answer: The proportion of exposed individuals who develop the disease during an outbreak
The attack rate measures the proportion of exposed individuals who develop the disease, typically used in outbreak investigations.
Question 5: A hospital uses a dashboard to display key performance indicators (KPIs). Which of the following is the BEST example of an outcome measure?
- Number of hand hygiene compliance audits conducted per month
- Percentage of patients who developed a hospital-acquired pressure injury (Correct answer)
- Average time from admission order to bed assignment
- Number of nurses trained in sepsis protocol
Correct answer: Percentage of patients who developed a hospital-acquired pressure injury
Hospital-acquired pressure injury rate is an outcome measure because it reflects the result of care provided to patients.
Question 6: What does the term 'incidence rate' measure in healthcare statistics?
- The total number of existing cases of a disease in a population at a specific time
- The number of new cases of a disease occurring in a population over a specific period (Correct answer)
- The proportion of deaths among individuals diagnosed with a disease
- The frequency of adverse events per 1,000 patient days
Correct answer: The number of new cases of a disease occurring in a population over a specific period
Incidence rate measures the number of NEW cases of a disease arising in a defined population over a specified time period.
Question 7: When a healthcare analyst uses regression analysis to predict patient length of stay, what is the dependent variable?
- Patient age
- Primary diagnosis code
- Length of stay (Correct answer)
- Number of comorbidities
Correct answer: Length of stay
In regression analysis, the dependent variable is the outcome being predicted — in this case, length of stay.
RHIT Healthcare Statistics and Analytics 5
A hospital's case mix index (CMI) increased from 1.45 to 1.62 over one year.
What is the most likely implication?