Patient Care & Safety Flashcards
7 cards from real CMT practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Patient Care & Safety flashcards as text
Which of the following actions violates HIPAA patient privacy regulations?
Answer: Discussing a patient's diagnosis in a crowded elevator
Discussing identifiable patient information in a public area where others can overhear is a HIPAA privacy violation.
A patient's blood pressure is 180/110 mmHg and they have a severe headache. The medical technician should:
Answer: Immediately report the findings to the nurse or provider
A blood pressure of 180/110 with symptoms of severe headache is a hypertensive urgency requiring immediate reporting to the clinical team.
Which of the following is an example of a 'never event' in patient safety?
Answer: Surgery performed on the wrong patient
Wrong-patient surgery is classified as a 'never event'—a serious preventable adverse event that should never occur in a healthcare setting.
When collecting a urine specimen for culture and sensitivity, which collection method is MOST appropriate to prevent contamination?
Answer: Mid-stream clean-catch collection
A mid-stream clean-catch specimen reduces contamination from periurethral flora, providing the most accurate culture results.
The 'five rights' of medication administration include all of the following EXCEPT:
Answer: Right diagnosis
The five rights are: right patient, drug, dose, route, and time — 'right diagnosis' is not one of the five rights.
A diabetic patient reports feeling shaky, sweaty, and confused during a procedure. The BEST initial intervention is to:
Answer: Offer oral glucose (juice or glucose tablets) if the patient is conscious
Shakiness, diaphoresis, and confusion in a diabetic patient indicate hypoglycemia; oral glucose is the first-line treatment for a conscious patient.
Which of the following is the BEST method to prevent healthcare-associated infections (HAIs)?
Answer: Performing hand hygiene before and after every patient encounter
Hand hygiene before and after every patient contact is the single most effective measure to prevent the transmission of HAIs.