Administrative and Practice Management
Practice management questions test scheduling, records, billing, and legal/ethical basics. Precision in terminology matters.
Core concepts
- Patient records: must be accurate, contemporaneous, and retained per state law; corrections should be dated and initialed, never erased.
- Scheduling: block scheduling, wave scheduling, and modified wave scheduling; emergency slots should be reserved.
- Recall systems: recall intervals based on risk; confirm and document.
- Billing and coding: CDT codes, insurance claims, preauthorization, and coordination of benefits.
- Legal/ethical: informed consent, HIPAA privacy, OSHA compliance, and scope of practice.
- Inventory and infection-control logs: maintain sterilization and equipment logs.
Traps
Questions often test whether a record can be altered (only by dated addendum), who may access records (authorized personnel and patient with consent), and the difference between a recall and a confirmation. Another trap: confusing CDT with ICD codes.
Rule of thumb
If a record must be changed, never erase-add a dated, signed correction. If in doubt about privacy, do not disclose without consent or legal requirement.