Deck 20: Discharge, transfer, and Postmortem Procedures

Question 1

If a patient expires unexpectedly after a 2-hour hospital stay:

A)a police investigation is ordered.
B)this will become a coroner's case,and an autopsy will be performed.
C)an attorney will meet with the family to discuss a settlement.
D)the family will be asked if they want to have an autopsy performed.

Answer 1

this will become a coroner's case,and an autopsy will be performed.

Question 2

Clinical death may be defined as death:

A)that happens while a clinical test is being conducted.
B)in which no brain function is present.
C)that occurs during the nurse's clinical experience.
D)that happens suddenly and without warning.

Answer 2

in which no brain function is present.

Question 3

A patient who expires after being admitted with a gunshot wound would be:

A)a coroner's case.
B)investigated by the local police department.
C)reported to the risk management department.
D)reported to the American Medical Association.

Answer 3

a coroner's case.

Question 4

An autopsy is:

A)performed only in the case of a sudden,violent,or unexplained death.
B)performed to inspect a tissue sample to determine whether appropriate treatment was provided.
C)the proper medical term for organ donation.
D)an examination of a body after death to determine cause of death or for medical research purposes.

Question 5

A doctor's order for DC to home with assistance would require the HUC to notify:

A)transport.
B)a certified nursing assistant (CNA).
C)the case manager or social worker.
D)the psych department.

Question 6

A person most likely to assist patients and their families and physicians in developing a discharge plan of care tailored to meet the specific needs of the patient is the:

A)hospital billing office staff member.
B)case manager.
C)registered nurse (RN).
D)health unit coordinator (HUC).

Question 7

If a patient's condition worsens and the doctor writes a transfer order to transfer the patient to the intensive care unit (ICU),the HUC would:

A)discard the patient labels,because the ICU will create new ones.
B)make a copy of the patient's record in case the patient should return to the unit when his or her condition improves.
C)send the patient's remaining medications to the pharmacy.
D)record the transfer on the nursing admission,discharge,and transfer (ADT)sheet and notify the receiving unit.

Question 8

The purpose of a patient care conference is to:

A)develop and/or modify a plan for the patient's care.
B)discuss a patient's attitude about his or her care.
C)develop a patient's financial payment plan for the care provided.
D)make decisions regarding which doctor will care for the patient.

Question 9

An autopsy is the same as a(n):

A)coroner's case.
B)postmortem examination.
C)organ procurement.
D)clinical death.

Question 10

Which type of discharge occurs without doctor approval?

A)Exp
B)Against medical advice (AMA)
C)Extended care facility (ECF)
D)Skilled nursing facility (SNF)

Question 11

When a patient is transferred to another room on the same nursing unit,the HUC would:

A)notify the switchboard and the information center.
B)rewrite the current orders on a new Kardex.
C)obtain a new patient ID number for the patient.
D)call all departments involved in the patient's care.

Question 12

Custodial care refers to:

A)care rendered by a priest,minister,or other religious figure.
B)volunteer assistance on your floor.
C)the parent with custody of the hospitalized child.
D)nonmedical care such as bathing,feeding,and protecting the patient.

Question 13

A patient who leaves the hospital AMA:

A)has a disease of interest to the American Medical Association.
B)is leaving without doctor approval.
C)has an asthma-related allergy.
D)has an appointment with the associated medical admissions department.

Question 14

When an order is written for a patient to be discharged to an ECF,which department likely will make the arrangements?

A)Physical therapy (PT)
B)Nursing
C)Security
D)Social services

Question 15

A patient is officially discharged when the:

A)doctor writes an order to discharge the patient.
B)doctor verbally notifies the nursing staff that the patient can be discharged.
C)doctor notifies the patient that he or she may go home.
D)patient's family informs the nursing staff that the patient is discharged.

Question 16

When a patient is transferred from the ICU to a floor unit or from a floor unit to the ICU,the current orders:

A)are evaluated by the resident,who will discontinue orders as necessary.
B)remain in effect until the attending doctor changes them.
C)remain the same,with additional orders to be written as needed.
D)are no longer valid and new orders are written.

Question 17

For a patient with an illness,terminal indicates that:

A)the patient will need extensive surgery.
B)isolation procedures are needed.
C)the illness will end in death.
D)the illness will last for an extended time.

Question 18

The doctor has written a discharge order with an order for a four wheel walker (FWW)to be supplied to the patient for home use.The person who would likely arrange for the FWW works in:

A)custodial care.
B)pastoral care.
C)central services.
D)social services.

Question 19

A patient is received on a nursing unit as a transfer from the telemetry unit,and the HUC is informed that the patient's old records are missing.The most likely place for staff to find the missing records would be the:

A)health information management systems (HIMS)department.
B)risk management office.
C)floor from which the patient was transferred.
D)patient's doctor's office.

Question 20

When the electronic medical record (EMR)with computer physician order entry (CPOE)is implemented,the HUC may have to perform which additional task?

A)Transporting the discharged patient out of the hospital
B)Assisting the discharged patient with packing and dressing
C)Taking and recording the discharged patient's vital signs
D)Printing computerized discharge instructions and medication information

Question 21

Which task might the HUC have regarding the deceased patient's organ donation?

A)Asking the patient's family to sign the form to donate their family member's organ(s)
B)Calling the patient's doctor and asking if the patient is going to donate an organ
C)Notifying the morgue of the patient's death and preparing all required forms for the patient's family to sign when and if requested to do so
D)Transporting the patient to the morgue

Question 22

The HUC may have which of following as a task to perform when a patient expires?

A)Notifying the local newspaper
B)Notifying the mortuary that has been requested by the family
C)Calling the chaplain on call
D)Calling the local radio station

Question 23

Transfer to an ECF or another facility differs from a regular discharge in that:

A)additional paperwork must be done.
B)the admitting department must be notified.
C)the environmental services department is notified.
D)the nutritional care department is notified.

Question 24

A patient approaches the nursing station and tells the HUC that he is not happy with his doctor or his care and he is leaving the hospital AMA now! The appropriate action by the HUC would be:

A)ask the patient to be seated until the nurse is advised.
B)ask the patient if he wants a wheelchair and assistance.
C)tell the patient to return to his room and stop being silly.
D)call an orderly to restrain the patient and then notify his nurse.

Question 25

Discharge planning involves:

A)evaluating all patients on a nursing unit for possible discharge to empty beds.
B)determining who will assist the patient in packing his or her belongings.
C)ensuring that a patient has a plan for continuing care after leaving the hospital.
D)copying the patient's records to send home with the patient.

Question 26

A central services department (CSD)credit slip is used to:

A)give the discharged patient a credit to acquire supplies as needed.
B)credit a patient's account for an item that was charged for but was not used.
C)provide a reward to a patient for being a longtime patient.
D)provide credit to an employee for exceptional performance.

Question 27

When preparing a discharged patient's paper chart to send to HIMS,the HUC should:

A)save the discharged patient's charts on the nursing unit (up to a week)until all signatures required are obtained.
B)arrange all forms in charts in alphabetical order.
C)sign the doctors' and/or nurses' signatures where missing on all chart forms.
D)check for old records or split records and send them with the chart.

Question 28

To be accepted as an organ donor,the patient usually has to meet which of the following criteria?

A)Death from a heart attack
B)Death from respiratory arrest
C)Being declared brain dead
D)Having complete family approval

Question 29

Which of the following may be an HUC task in the event of a patient death?

A)Assisting the hospital chaplain in giving the patient the last rights
B)Calling the hospital morgue personnel to arrange transportation of the deceased patient to the morgue
C)Writing a short obituary for the hospital newsletter
D)Obtaining a gurney and wheeling the deceased patient to the morgue

Question 30

The patient's doctor may write an order for a room change for which of the following two primary reasons?

A)Change in status of acuity or the need for an isolation room
B)Patient personality differences or change in status of acuity
C)Request for a change in nurse assignment or the need for an isolation room
D)To cluster doctor's patients on one unit or patient personality differences

Question 31

One way of avoiding errors during the patient discharge process is to:

A)ask another HUC to recheck the doctors' discharge orders.
B)ask the nurses to transcribe all doctors' discharge orders.
C)ask all doctors to notify the HUC in person of patient discharges.
D)read the entire doctors' discharge order.

Question 32

Holding information regarding a patient's discharge or pending discharge is a serious problem because:

A)this could result in delayed admission of another patient.
B)nurses like to get new admissions.
C)the patient's discharge could be canceled.
D)the patient may be charged for another hospital day.