CMAA STUDY GUIDE
1.A medical administrative assistant is providing a patient with instructions about an upcoming
mammogram. Which of the following actions should the assistant take to ensure patient
understanding?
Asking the patient to repeat the instructions
2. A medical administrative assistant is creating a business correspondence. Which of the following
salutations is appropriate for the assistant to use?
Dear Mr. Goodwin:
3. Which of the following is the amount the medical administrative assistant should submit to the
secondary insurance carrier if the encounter balance is $360, and the patient has two plans with
an 80/20 split?
$72
4. After deactivating the security system, which of the following actions should a medical
administrative assistant take next when opening the office in the morning?
Access the answering service.
5. Which of the following actions is appropriate for a medical administrative assistant to take
when processing incoming mail?
Shred unwanted mail.
6. A patient who has Medicare insurance is covered for both inpatient and outpatient services
under the same part of Medicare. Which of the following parts of Medicare covers the patient?
Part C
7. A medical administrative assistant is asked to schedule a CXR for a patient. The assistant should
make an appointment for which of the following?
An x-ray of the chest
When is it appropriate for a medical administrative assistant to release test results to a patient's family member?
When the patient provides a
signed release of information that identifies the family member (A signed release of information provided by the patient is needed to release test results to the family member.)
A patient, who is previously smoked on a regular basis, no long smokes. Which of the following abbreviations represents the section of the medical record in which this information should be
documented?
PH (Past History)
When a medical administrative assistant transmits a medical record, which of the following documents is required?
Release of information authorization form (A release of information authorization form is required for transmission.)
An established patient calls to cancel an appointment for the following week. Which of the following actions should the medical administrative assistant take?
Offer the next available appointment to the patient. (If the patient calls to cancel an appointment, the assistant should offer the patient an appointment when there is availability.)
Which of the following actions is necessary if a prescribed CPT
code is not listed on the preprinted patient encounter form?
Manually add the procedure code to the form. (If the CPT code is not listed on the provided encounter form, the correct one should be added manually in one of the blank spaces.)
A patient who was given instructions to stop taking aspirin 1 week prior to surgery informs the medical administrative assistant that she forgot to follow instructions. Which of the following actions is appropriate for the assistant to take?
Speak with the provider about rescheduling the procedure. (Aspirin can cause excessive
bleeding, so it is important to notify the provider who can further assess the patient.)
Which of the following should a medical administrative assistant give to a patient when scheduling a routine return visit?
An appointment reminder (Giving an appointment reminder to patients who schedule return visits is standard practice.)
A patient needs to have his gallbladder removed. The medical administrative assistant should schedule the patient for which of the following procedures?
Cholecystectomy (removal of gallbladder)
A medical administrative assistant should take which of the following actions to confirm a new patient's first appointment without violating the patient's privacy?
Speak with the patient on the phone.
Microsoft excel is an example of which of the following types of programs?
Spreadsheet application (Spreadsheet applications, such as Microsoft Excel, are designed to imitate paper bookkeeping ledgers.
Which of the following should be recorded as the reason for the EKG?
Tachycardia ( a heart rate greater than 100/min)
A provider leaves town without leaving a contact number and coverage for patients he is treating. He is at risk for being accused of which of the following?
Abandonment (Abandonment is discontinuing proper medical care without notifying the patient.)
A provider asks a medical administrative assistant to schedule a patient's next appointment for arthrocentesis of the right shoulder. This would be appointment for which of the following?
Surgical puncture to remove fluid from the right shoulder joint (Arthrocentesis is a surgical puncture of a joint to remove fluid.)
A patient requests a follow-up visit for an unavailable time slot. Which of the following actions is appropriate for the medical administrative assistant to take?
Schedule an appointment closes to the requested time slot. (The assistant should schedule the patient as close as possible to the requested follow-up time slot.
Which of the following is responsible for setting the standards for protection against bloodborne pathogen?
OSHA (The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is responsible for setting safety standards, including protection against bloodborne pathogens..
The provider is called out of the office for an emergency while patients are in the waiting room. After informing the patients, which of the following is an appropriate way for the medical administrative assistant to manage the patients?
This is an appropriate way to manage the patients. The assistant should explain that there has been an emergency and off to reschedule the appointments before the patients leave the office. Rescheduling prior to their leaving eliminates the need for the patients to reschedule in the future.
Medicare
Medicare is designed for people who are 65 years of age or older and people who have disabilities.