Patient Safety & Risk Management Flashcards
7 cards from real CO 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 Safety & Risk Management flashcards as text
A patient is prescribed a dynamic elbow orthosis following surgery for a radial nerve injury. During the first follow-up, the patient reports sharp paresthesias in the median nerve distribution. The orthotist should:
Answer: Assess for orthosis-related compression of the median nerve and modify or remove the device
New paresthesias in a different nerve distribution suggest the orthosis may be compressing the median nerve; immediate assessment and orthosis modification are required to prevent permanent nerve damage.
Which of the following is the correct sequence for responding to a patient who experiences a fall during a gait training session in the orthotics clinic?
Answer: Assess for injury, stabilize the patient, notify supervising clinician, complete incident report, document in medical record
Patient safety takes first priority—assess for injury and stabilize—then notify supervision, complete the required incident report, and document the event in the medical record.
An orthotist is asked by a health insurer to provide a patient's complete clinical record without the patient's authorization. Under HIPAA, the orthotist may:
Answer: Release only the minimum necessary information required for the payment purpose
HIPAA's minimum necessary standard requires that disclosures for payment purposes be limited to the minimum information needed to fulfill the request, not the entire record.
Which of the following best describes the orthotist's role in a patient's discharge planning process following an inpatient hospital stay?
Answer: Ensuring the patient and caregiver can safely manage the orthosis in the home environment before discharge
The orthotist's discharge role centers on patient and caregiver education to ensure safe, independent management of the device at home, including donning, doffing, skin inspection, and emergency contacts.
A custom spinal orthosis is ordered for a geriatric patient with moderate dementia who cannot consistently follow safety instructions. What additional risk management step is MOST appropriate?
Answer: Involve the patient's legal caregiver or surrogate in all education and establish a supervised donning protocol
Cognitive impairment requires engaging the legal caregiver or surrogate decision-maker and establishing supervised protocols to ensure the device is used safely and consistently.
Proper storage and labeling of flammable thermoplastic materials in an orthotics fabrication lab is governed primarily by which regulatory body?
Answer: OSHA Hazard Communication Standard and NFPA guidelines
OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard requires proper labeling and safety data sheets for hazardous materials, while NFPA guidelines govern flammable material storage requirements in facilities.
An orthotist notices a colleague has been routinely billing for bilateral orthoses when only unilateral devices were delivered. The most appropriate course of action is to:
Answer: Report the suspected fraud through established compliance channels or the compliance officer
Billing fraud is a serious legal and ethical violation; orthotists have a professional and legal obligation to report suspected fraud through proper compliance channels, such as a compliance officer or hotline.