Chapter 9: Scheduling Appointments and Patient Processing Test Review

Which patients should be personally escorted to examination and treatment areas and given detailed instructions about what they are to do?

a. New patients

b. Established patients

c. Consultations

d. All are correct

d. All are correct

What is the best way to decide whether patients need special assistance in disrobing?

a. Ask all patients if you can be of assistance.

b. Wait for patients to request help.

c. Use special consideration with patients who have a disability.

d. Offer help to patient who appear ill or upset.

a. Ask all patients if you can be of assistance.

The medical assistant should follow all the following practices regarding patient arrivals except:

a. personally escorting patients from reception to the appropriate room.

b. telling patients the specific items of clothing to remove.

c. explaining exactly how to put on the exam gown.

d. having patients wait in the examination room instead of the waiting room.

d. having patients wait in the examination room instead of the waiting room.

The use of phonetic writing in the medical office can help you:

a. better understand medical abbreviations.

b. pronounce patients' names correctly.

c. learn the meaning of medical terms.

d. take notes quickly and accurately.

b. pronounce patients' names correctly.

Which of the following should be removed from the reception area as quickly as possible?

a. Talkative patients

b. Angry patients

c. Children

d. Patients' relatives

b. Angry patients

Which information item is NOT included on the patient information form that new patients are required to complete?

a. Social Security number

b. Name and address of nearest relative

c. Name of spouse, if applicable

d. Summary of medical history

d. Summary of medical history

The way to organize appointment scheduling so that it best supports the success of the practice is to:

a. schedule as many patients as possible throughout the entire day.

b. allow frequent rest breaks.

c. include a lot of time for the provider's administrative activities.

d. consider the preferences of the provider.

d. consider the preferences of the provider.

The principal advantage of using the wave method when designing the scheduling process is that it:

a. allows flexibility to accommodate the unpredictable.

b. gives priority to established patients.

c. provides more breaks for staff members.

d. enables the provider to see more patients each day.

a. allows flexibility to accommodate the unpredictable.

When informing patients that you must postpone their appointments because of the absence of the provider, it is a good practice to:

a. give them the option of seeing another provider.

b. explain exactly why the provider cannot see them.

c. offer them priority over patients already scheduled in the future.

d. be extremely apologetic about the inconvenience.

a. give them the option of seeing another provider.

A matrix in the schedule:

a. prevents overcrowding.

b. prevents booking of patients during meetings and hospital rounds.

c. is used only in large offices.

d. is done at the end of the day.

b. prevents booking of patients during meetings and hospital rounds.

If a patient has been waiting longer than ________ minutes past his or her appointment time, the medical assistant should offer to reschedule the appointment.

a. 5

b. 15

c. 20

d. 30

b. 15

Which of the following is true concerning the scheduling of new patients?

a. Financial arrangements should be explained when the appointment is made if the patient is expected to pay at the time of service.

b. The patient should be offered only the times reserved for new patient appointments, without flexibility.

c. It should be assumed that the patient will look up directions to the office on the Internet.

d. The medical assistant should wait to obtain information about the chief complaint until the patient arrives for the appointment.

a. Financial arrangements should be explained when the appointment is made if the patient is expected to pay at the time of service.

The first prerequisite for scheduling an outpatient admission or procedure is:

a. a signed consent form.

b. the telephone number of the diagnostic or inpatient facility.

c. the patient's demographic information.

d. an oral or written order for the procedure from the physician.

d. an oral or written order for the procedure from the physician.

Which types of outpatient procedures might be scheduled by the provider's office?

a. MRIs

b. CT scans

c. Blood work

d. All are correct

d. All are correct

The medical assistant must remember that the provider will have other types of appointments that will need special notation in the appointment schedule, such as:

a. new patients.

b. physicals.

c. surgeries.

d. established patients.

c. surgeries.

A person who fails to keep an appointment without giving advance notice is called a:

a. disruption.

b. no-show.

c. cancellation.

d. reschedule.

b. no-show.

When a requested appointment time is not available, the medical assistant should:

a. explain why the time is not available and offer a substitute date and time.

b. insist that the patient accept the next available appointment.

c. immediately put the patient on a waiting list for that time slot.

d. suggest the patient see an alternate physician in the practice.

a. explain why the time is not available and offer a substitute date and time.

When patients need a series of appointments, it is best to:

a. schedule them individually.

b. let the patient call when he or she is ready to come in.

c. try to set the appointments for the same day of the week at the same time.

d. use any method of scheduling; they will all be effective.

c. try to set the appointments for the same day of the week at the same time.

Patients may fail to appear for appointments because:

a. they have been pressed for a payment but do not have the funds to pay.

b. they are in denial and are having difficulty facing their illness.

c. the office consistently runs behind schedule.

d. All are correct

d. All are correct

When the provider is scheduled at outside facilities, the medical assistant must be sure to allow time for:

a. emergencies.

b. travel.

c. returning phone calls.

d. the physician's late arrival.

b. travel.

Which of the following scheduling systems reduces the number of calls to the office and is available to the patient 24 hours a day?

a. Computerized scheduling

b. Self-scheduling

c. Appointment book scheduling

d. Paper-based scheduling

b. Self-scheduling

Which type of scheduling system is often used in an urgent care setting?

a. Open office hours

b. Modified wave scheduling

c. Grouping procedures

d. Time patterns

a. Open office hours

When rescheduling an appointment, which of the following needs to occur?

a. Set the new appointment time.

b. Remove the first appointment day and time.

c. Schedule for the last appointment of the same day.

d. Set the new appointment time and remove the first appointment day and time.

d. Set the new appointment time and remove the first appointment day and time.

For legal purposes, what needs to occur when a patient fails to keep an appointment?

a. Call to determine reason for failed appointment.

b. Reschedule as soon as possible.

c. Place documentation in the patient health record and appointment schedule.

d. Classify the patient as a "deadbeat."

c. Place documentation in the patient health record and appointment schedule.

For security reasons, stating that the provider is unavailable is best used in which of the following situations?

a. When provider is called to an emergency.

b. When provider is out of town.

c. When provider is delayed.

d. All are correct

b. When provider is out of town.

Health records should never be left in the examination room to be picked up and read by a patient. When using an EHR, it is important to remember to log out of the computer when you are ready to leave the room.

a. Both statements are true.

b. Both statement are false.

c. The first statement is true; the second is false.

d. The first statement is false; the second is true.

a. Both statements are true.

A parent or guardian must accompany all children under the age of 10 into the exam room with no exceptions. Minors need a parent to consent to treatment in most cases.

a. Both statements are true.

b. Both statements are false.

c. The first statement is true; the second is false.

d. The first statement is false; the second is true.

d. The first statement is false; the second is true.

T/F: The medical assistant must take care not to offer medical advice to the patient.

True

T/F: Advance preparation for the arrival of patients helps the day progress smoothly and in a relaxed manner.

True

T/F: If the patient brings a relative to the provider appointment, this implies that the patient consents to discussion of the patient's care with the relative.

False

T/F: The medical assistant should offer assistance only to patients who are obviously handicapped.

False

T/F: Every patient has the right to expect courteous treatment in a provider's office.

True

T/F: Medical assistants are not allowed to take the patient's personal and family histories.

False

T/F: Patients appreciate it when medical assistants consider the patient's time when performing duties in the facility and scheduling appointments.

True

T/F: Patients who are too talkative should be dismissed from the provider's care before they take up too much of his or her time.

False

T/F: Glass windows should never be used in today's medical offices.

False

T/F: Open office hours do not work well for most practices.

True

T/F: Wave scheduling may involve several patients arriving at the same time.

True

T/F: When an appointment is rescheduled, the first appointment date and time must be removed.

True

T/F: If a late patient is scheduled as the last patient of the day and does not show up before the office closes, the medical assistant is obligated to wait until the patient arrives.

False

T/F: Outpatient testing is no longer common for providers.

False

T/F: A process required by some insurance carriers in which the provider obtains permission to perform certain procedures or services or refers a patient to a specialist is called preauthorization.

True

T/F: The facilities available at the office do not influence the number of patients the provider can see in a day.

False

T/F: A matrix is where something is created or takes shape.

True

T/F: A space of time between events is an interval.

True

T/F: The provider's habits should not influence appointment scheduling.

False

T/F: Scheduling systems should be individualized to each specific practice.

True

T/F: Time is one of the provider's most valuable assets.

True