Medical Assistant Practice Test 4

It is best to schedule this patient at the beginning of the day. If she is scheduled at the end of the day, the physician may have to stay late. Scheduling her at the middle of the day could potentially disrupt the afternoon schedule. Never scheduling the patient is not appropriate.

Torts are crimes punishable by fines. Misdemeanors are crimes against the state punishable by incarceration for less than a year. Felonies are serious crimes that are punishable by longer incarcerations. Treason is a betrayal of one’s country that is punishable by death, imprisonment, or large fines.

Patient privacy and helping the patient feel safe are the most important reasons for draping. Draping is not an issue related to the doctor’s convenience nor does it relate to facilitating an exam.

The recorded transactions are known as having made a posting. The trial balance is a running balance of all figures. The superbill is a combination of the charge slip, statement, and insurance reporting form, while the ledger is a record of all charges, payments and adjustments for patients.

In neurogenic shock, the patient’s blood pressure drops as a result of decreased systemic vascular resistance; the blood is unable to circulate away from the extremities. In cardiogenic shock, lowered blood pressure is a result of failed heart ventricles. Both types of shock are life threatening and can be treated with rest and fluids.

A viral infection cannot be treated with antibiotics, which only work against bacteria. It can be transmitted by droplets, does not cause tuberculosis (which is caused by a bacterium), and cannot always be prevented by vaccination.

The use of a generic instead of a brand medications should not affect drug action and do not have any measurable difference.

The DASH diet is meant to help reduce high blood pressure. Diarrhea and upset stomach are alleviated with the BRAT. The bland diet helps reduce the severity of ulcers. Arterial disease should be addressed with a low fat, low cholesterol diet.

The suffix “-emia” means blood, such as in septicemia, or infection of the blood.

A cardiologist, a doctor specializing in issues with the heart and blood vessels, would be seen for atrial fibrillation, which is an arrhythmia present in the heart.

The correct order of filing this patient’s name is: Broad-Moore, Alana K.; this filing is regardless of the husband’s name. The hyphenated portion of a last name must be present in the filing.

A database is a collection of electronic records. A scanner is a physical piece of equipment used to digitize paper documents. The internet is a collection of computers networked together. A hard copy is a physical copy of an electronic document.

Surgical asepsis is the method of removing all bacteria from an instrument before it enters the body. Sterilization will remove the bacteria, but does not describe the technique presented here. Personal protective equipment protects the health care provider, not the patient. Sanitization means cleaning, but does not indicate a level of cleanliness necessary for safe surgery.

While the other factors are important, the patient’s status is the single most important factor. Their symptoms may reveal whether the tracing is supported with evidence or not.

This situation describes an avulsion, which is the detachment of body part from its usual position. A contusion is a bruise with no skin opening. A puncture is an opening into the skin made by a sharp pointed object. An incision indicates a cut through the top layer of skin.

A HbA1C value should be between 4-6% in a patient who does not have diabetes. Therefore, a patient whose HbA1C is 8.9% is a diabetic with poor control. This patient’s value is abnormally high.

The pegboard system is an efficient method that provides control over collections, payments, and charges. Third-party payments are written by an unknown party to a payee and are not an advantage of the pegboard system.

Seeing-eye dogs are trained on how to help their handler avoid obstacles. The dog will react appropriately to the puddle without the medical assistant’s intervention. It would be rude to touch a blind person without verbal cues first.

Myelin sheaths can be found on neurons in the nervous system and do not appear on any other cell types. The myelin sheath facilitates the propagation of action potentials through the neuron.

Zoloft is the only antidepressant listed above. Xanax, Ativan, and Buspar are all medications used to treat anxiety.

Asking open-ended questions is the most effective way to receive full answers that could otherwise be incorrect if shortened to simple yes or no. Asking a family member is not appropriate and may not yield as accurate information as asking the patient directly. Elderly does not mean incompetent.

A speculum is used to dilate a body orifice to a larger size for surgical reasons. A catheter is meant to drain a substance from the body. A curette is used for scraping, while an extractor pulls out a foreign or desired material.

It is important to culture the bacteria causing the pus and identify it so that an antibiotic, either topical or oral, can be prescribed. Pus indicates infection and may interrupt the healing process. Cleaning the wound with disinfectant, notifying the physician, and notifying the patient should all be performed after obtaining the kit.

Digestion begins in the mouth, which is where amylase begins to break down carbohydrates.

The location where the request was made is not significant information and does not need to be included. In addition to the other three items listed above which must be included, the name of the person to whom the information is disclosed and a signature of the patient asking for disclosure with a dated signature must be included as well.

These twins must be fraternal twins because they are not the same sex. Fraternal twins are the result of the fertilization of two separate eggs. Identical twins develop from the same egg and share the same DNA as a result.

Correctly identifying a caller who asks for confidential health information is absolutely critical and should be the first priority of a call-back system.

This is the most important piece of information in order to determine the rest of the schedule and keep the office running on time. The other reasons are all secondary.

A patient taking the medication Warfarin must have his or her PT/INR (prothrombin time/international normalized ratio) monitored for the duration of the therapy.

Protein in the urine is one of the first signs of preeclampsia and does not necessarily indicate fetal abnormalities or hypertension.

This information must be entered into the medical records in order to update the legal document. The other types of reports and entries are not where this information belongs.

Most doctors prefer a patient’s total cholesterol to be less than 200 mg/dL. Therefore, 170 mg/dL is the only desirable value listed.

Records of appointments should be kept for three years in case the appointment information is needed for a legal case.

Giving a form of glucose to the patient will most likely fix the problem. Diabetics can become confused when their blood sugar drops too low. If the problem quickly resolves after a snack, this was the problem all along and an ambulance does not need to be called.

The pineal gland controls sleep/wake cycles of a person by releasing melatonin. The pituitary gland secretes hormones primarily responsible for growth, blood pressure, thyroid function, in addition to others. The adrenal glands secrete aldosterone, which regulates sodium and potassium. The parathyroid secretes parathyroid hormone, which regulates calcium balance.

Releasing means ensuring that the appropriate person or people have looked at the document before it is filed. Sorting, indexing, and conditioning are other parts of the process that do not include notification of the appropriate person.

All of the features mentioned are important components for an emergency preparedness plan.

The medical assistant should never perform actions outside his or her scope of practice, which includes tracheotomies. Everything else should be done by the medical assistant to keep the patient alive until qualified assistance arrives.

The best position to place the patient in is supine because it gives the doctor direct access to the thoracic cavity.

A D&C is the abbreviation for a dilation and curettage, which involves removing the miscarried tissue. An ABG stands for arterial blood gas and is usually performed in the hospital to investigate more severe conditions. An EKG is an electrocardiogram and tests for electrical issues with the heart. An IVP is an intravenous pyelogram and uses dye to visualize the kidneys, ureters and bladder.

This voluntary government program offers incentive payments to providers who adopt electronic health record technology. The providers must show that they are using their EHRs in a meaningful way.

Analgesics are pain relievers that do not affect levels of consciousness. Antiemetics help a patient feel less nauseous while also reducing emesis (vomiting). Antibiotics kill bacteria. Anesthetics do not provide pain relief but do provide sedation.

Assessing where to begin is the most important part of teaching. The patient may think they know some things, or they may have some incorrect information that should be corrected. Assess the baseline first before moving on to the teaching.

An alternate name for a charge slip is a superbill, which is the bill the patient receives from the physician at the time of service. It shows the time of visit, tests performed, diagnosis, charges, and when to return. HCFA-1500 is the form accepted by most insurance carriers. Subrogation is the right of an insurer to collect money, and the claim is a demand for payment.

Staphylococcus aureus is the only Gram-positive cocci that grows in clusters listed above. Neisseria is a Gram-negative bacteria. Escherichia coli is a Gram-negative bacillus. Streptococcus pneumoniae is a Gram-positive bacterium, but it grows in chains.

The biopsy of the lung is a highly invasive procedure and should be done in a hospital, inpatient setting due to the risks involved. All other procedures can be done in the office setting.

It is important to be sure that the medical assistant has the correct name and phone number of the patient in order to verify all other information. If this information is not verified, the caller may prove difficult to contact.

Behavior reinforcement is a method for providing the patient with a positive incentive and reward for a certain behavior. Role playing involves asking the patient to pretend to assume a new identity or behavior. Compared with behavior reinforcement, patient-centered care is too nonspecific to be an accurate description. Cognitive therapy relies on the patient’s current conscious thoughts to help produce better health.

Anaphylactic shock is the most likely condition because it is linked to immune system reactions, which is a likely response to a bee sting. There are no indications that this patient has asthma or cardiac issues.

Hemoglobin count does measure the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood. ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate) is a way of measuring inflammation, not clotting; specific gravity relates to the dilution of urine, not what’s in it. A spirometer measures the volume of expired air, not relative humidity.