Question 1

What is an example of an unethical action of a healthcare organization?&#10;A) Balancing the rights of patients with rights of employees&#10;B) Disclosure of the names of investors&#10;C) Increased incidence of medical errors due to lack of patient safety training&#10;D) Publication of quality indicator scores

Accepted Answer

Disclosure is an ethical responsibility that applies to names of investors as is the publication quality indicator scores. It would be unethical if an organization did not balance the rights of all stakeholders. Medical errors may be unethical if they are the result of an organization's failure to support actions and processes that assure patient safety.

Question 2

What has been a cost control strategy of large healthcare systems?&#10;A) Contingency workers&#10;B) Duplication of services&#10;C) Local purchasing contracts&#10;D) Smaller boards of directors

Accepted Answer

Large systems eliminate duplication; have very broad purchasing power, and larger boards of directors to facilitate external funding. Contingency workers control costs because they are not offered employee benefit packages.

Question 3

What has been the primary mover for the development of large comprehensive healthcare systems?&#10;A) Workforce shortages&#10;B) Mergers and acquisitions&#10;C) Increased reimbursement&#10;D) Federal legislation

Accepted Answer

Large systems generate more positions, mergers and acquisitions and are consider the means for development not the mover. Reimbursement restraints continue. However, legislation beginning in the 50s and 60s directly funded the building of hospitals that then received, and continue to receive, incentives for mergers and acquisitions.

Question 4

How has the structure of contemporary healthcare systems influenced their management?&#10;A) Managers have a decreased span of control&#10;B) Managers have diverged from their traditional roles&#10;C) Managers have split reporting responsibilities&#10;D) Managers have fewer regulations to monitor

Accepted Answer

Managers have an increased span of control over broader geographical areas. Although the methods may be different they still have the same roles. Managers have many more regulations to monitor. They do report to more than one person as they function in matrix or hybrid organizational models.

Question 5

Which of the following statements is most true about healthcare information systems?&#10;A) Clinical data is consistently gathered and compiled for new evidence&#10;B) Clinical decision making tools are routinely used by providers&#10;C) Patient preferences are necessary for healthcare decisions&#10;D) Documentation is tied to payments for effective and efficient care

Accepted Answer

Unfortunately, data collection is on the brink of being gathered and has yet to be well compiled for new knowledge. Providers do not use decision making tools effectively if at all. Payment is more related to what was done rather than how well it was done.
Note: The correct answer may change as ACA is implemented.

Question 6

Which of the following actions contributes to the high rate of adverse events in hospitals?&#10;A) Coordinated, collaborative delivery of direct patient care&#10;B) Implementation of information systems&#10;C) Large financial incentives for improving quality and safety&#10;D) Non-disclosure to avoid malpractice claims

Accepted Answer

Secrecy (non-disclosure) inhibits education and correction to prevent repeat of actions that cause adverse events. All other answer options decrease adverse events.

Question 7

Which of the following strategies will increase value in healthcare organizations?&#10;A) Deliver higher quality care at a lower cost&#10;B) Deliver higher quality care at a higher cost&#10;C) Deliver the same quality of care at a higher cost&#10;D) Deliver a lower quality of care at a lower cost

Accepted Answer

Value = quality/cost. As base numbers, if quality = 4 and cost =2, value = 2.
If q=5 and c=1, v=5. If q = 5 and c = 3, v = 1.66. If q=4 and c=3, v=1.3. If q=3, c=1, v=3. The highest value is 5 when the quality is highest at 5 and cost is lowest at 1. It is no different than buying the best television at the lowest discounted price.

Question 8

Which of the following statements is most true about hospitals in the United States?&#10;A) Most community hospitals are in rural areas&#10;B) Most hospitals are part of larger healthcare systems&#10;C) Most hospitals are for-profit&#10;D) Most psychiatric hospitals are community hospitals

Accepted Answer

The number of rural and urban community hospitals is about even. About 80% of hospitals are not-for-profit. Psychiatric hospitals are not included in the community hospital classification and fall in the "other hospital" category. All types of hospitals belong to larger health care systems. There are only a few in all categories that are free-standing.

Question 9

What is the best way to describe the current status of healthcare organizational ethics?&#10;A) Based on commonly held values of healthcare organizations&#10;B) Clearly defined framework and measurements&#10;C) Melding of the ethical codes of health professionals&#10;D) Successfully managed by hospital ethics committees

Accepted Answer

Healthcare ethics is in its infant stages and not clearly defined. Although they need a multiprofessional code of ethics, merging that of professions does not result in an organizational code of ethics. Ethics committees are good at clinical ethical dilemmas but poorly address organizational ethical issues.

Deck 3: Healthcare Organizations