Administrative Office Procedures Flashcards
7 cards from real CMA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Administrative Office Procedures flashcards as text
Which federal regulation requires medical offices to provide a written Notice of Privacy Practices to patients?
Answer: HIPAA Privacy Rule
The HIPAA Privacy Rule mandates that covered entities give patients a Notice of Privacy Practices describing how their PHI may be used and disclosed.
A petty cash fund is used in a medical office to:
Answer: Cover small, incidental office expenses without writing a check
Petty cash provides ready cash for minor expenses like postage or office supplies that are impractical to pay by check.
When a patient's insurance claim is denied with a code indicating 'not medically necessary,' the FIRST step the medical assistant should take is to:
Answer: Review the claim and physician documentation to determine if an appeal is warranted
Reviewing documentation allows the office to determine whether additional clinical information or a corrected claim can support a successful appeal.
A 'matrix' in appointment scheduling refers to:
Answer: A grid showing which time slots are unavailable due to physician absence, lunch, or hospital rounds
Establishing a matrix blocks out times when the physician is unavailable so that appointments are only scheduled in open slots.
Under HIPAA, which of the following does NOT require a specific patient authorization before disclosure?
Answer: Disclosing PHI to another provider for treatment purposes
HIPAA allows disclosure of PHI for treatment, payment, and healthcare operations without written authorization; sharing with attorneys, employers, or life insurers requires authorization.
The 'aging report' in medical billing is used to track:
Answer: Outstanding claims and patient balances grouped by how long they have been unpaid
An aging report categorizes unpaid accounts by time intervals (e.g., 0–30, 31–60, 61–90 days) to prioritize collection efforts.
Which of the following is the CORRECT way to correct an error in a paper medical record?
Answer: Draw a single line through the error, write the correction, initial it, and date it
Legal medical record correction requires a single strikethrough so the original entry remains legible, with the correction, initials, and date added.