CHAPTER 5 PRACTICE QUESTIONS

1. If clinicians are unsure of reporting requirements for their state, where should they seek advice?
   a. Online medical forums
   b. State/local health departments
   c. Colleagues in their department or another provider

Answer: b
Rationale: State and local health departments set and enforce communicable disease reporting requirements. They are the authoritative resource for reporting questions.

2. Which of the following communications of health information would HIPAA prevent?
   a. Doctor’s office sharing a person’s diagnosis with their emergency contact
   b. A daycare facility sharing a cluster of communicable disease cases with its local health department
   c. A hospital notifying a skilled nursing facility about a person’s communicable disease upon transfer

Answer: a
Rationale: HIPAA protects patient confidentiality. Sharing diagnoses with emergency contacts requires patient authorization unless the person is incapacitated. The other scenarios involve public health or continuity of care, which HIPAA permits.

3. Which agencies primarily communicate public health recommendations to a community?
   a. Provider offices
   b. Health departments
   c. Social media

Answer: b
Rationale: Local, state, and federal health departments have the responsibility for issuing public health guidance to communities. Providers and social media may share information, but health departments are the authoritative source.

4. Which of the following activities involves working with schools or correctional facilities?
   a. Following CDC guidelines for mitigation strategies of a possible disease outbreak in public facilities
   b. Calling each staff member employed at the facility to notify them of the presence of a communicable disease
   c. Annually requesting the medical history for each student or individual who is incarcerated

Answer: a
Rationale: DI professionals collaborate with institutions like schools and correctional facilities during outbreaks to apply mitigation strategies and protect populations. The other options are not appropriate or realistic DI tasks.

5. Which types of resources would a DI professional be most likely to provide to a medical provider?
   a. Fact sheets and posters about communicable diseases
   b. Interpretation services via phone or tablet
   c. Masks and gloves

Answer: a
Rationale: DI professionals support providers with educational resources, technical assistance, and up-to-date information. PPE and interpretation services may be important but are not typically supplied by DI staff.

6. What additional infectious disease information must be reported with all presumptive and confirmed cases?
   a. Stage of the disease, history, and treatment, if any
   b. No additional information is needed after treatment
   c. Identified symptoms, treatment, and contact information

Answer: c
Rationale: Surveillance requires more than just case identification. Stage, clinical history, and treatment status help determine disease burden, transmission risk, and resource needs