18 Training, Support & Data Reconciliation Practice Questions & Answers

1. 1. A newly hired front desk employee needs hands-on practice entering registrations in the EHR. What should the EHR specialist arrange?

   • A.Practice in the live system under the trainer's own login credentials.
   • B.Practice in the live chart of a patient scheduled later that same week.
   • C.Practice in the training environment using fictitious patient records.✓ Answer
   • D.Practice in the live system, then delete the entries that were made.

   Hands-on practice belongs in a test or training environment stocked with dummy patients, because anything keyed into the production system becomes part of a real patient's legal record. Practice entries cannot simply be erased afterward, and working under another user's login destroys the accountability the audit trail is supposed to provide.

   Source: NHA CEHRS Test Plan, Non-Clinical Operations — end-user training and use of a test environmentReport a problem with this question

2. 2. What must a facility's EHR end-user training records document?

   • A.The trainer's personal assessment of how quickly each user works.
   • B.Each user's score on the software vendor's certification examination.
   • C.Who required training, when it was scheduled, and that it occurred.✓ Answer
   • D.Copies of the patient charts each user opened during the session.

   Training documentation is an auditable record, so it must identify who needed the training, when it was scheduled, and confirmation that it was actually completed. Surveyors and internal audits use that record to show that every user of the system was prepared before being given access, which a vendor test score or a subjective speed rating cannot demonstrate.

   Source: NHA CEHRS Test Plan, Non-Clinical Operations — EHR training documentation requirementsReport a problem with this question

3. 3. A vendor upgrade will change how referrals are entered. Staff were trained on the current version when hired. What is the appropriate training plan?

   • A.Train only the employees who are hired after the upgrade is installed.
   • B.Wait until errors appear in the referral queue and then retrain the users.
   • C.Schedule retraining for the affected users before the upgrade goes live.✓ Answer
   • D.Treat the original onboarding training as sufficient for the changed task.

   End-user training is an ongoing responsibility, not a one-time onboarding event: every upgrade or deployment that changes a task creates a new training need for the users who perform it. Retraining before go-live prevents the documentation errors and rework that occur when staff meet a changed workflow for the first time with live patients in front of them.

   Source: NHA CEHRS Test Plan, Non-Clinical Operations — initial and ongoing end-user trainingReport a problem with this question

4. 4. An at-the-elbow training session must be delivered remotely instead. Which adjustment is most appropriate?

   • A.Confirm each learner's connectivity and audio, then share the screen.✓ Answer
   • B.Omit the hands-on portion because remote learners cannot practice.
   • C.Combine several departments into one longer session to save class time.
   • D.Cancel the session and email the job aid to the affected users instead.

   Remote delivery adds a technical dependency, so verifying connectivity and audio before content begins is what keeps the session usable, and screen sharing replaces the shoulder-to-shoulder view of the software. Because the trainer cannot read body language remotely, engagement has to be checked deliberately through questions and return demonstration, and remote learners can still practice in the training environment.

   Source: NHA CEHRS Test Plan, Non-Clinical Operations — considerations for remote training and supportReport a problem with this question

5. 5. After training a user on a new documentation template, how should the specialist confirm the user is competent?

   • A.Have the user perform the task back in the practice environment.✓ Answer
   • B.Give the user the printed manual and check back the following month.
   • C.Ask the user whether any questions remain about the new template.
   • D.Have the user sign the attendance sheet for the training session.

   Return demonstration, or teach-back, is the only one of these that produces evidence of skill rather than evidence of attendance, which is why adult-learning practice favors problem-centered, hands-on confirmation. A user who says nothing remains unclear may still be unable to complete the sequence, and a signature on a roster documents that the session happened, not that the task can be performed.

   Source: NHA CEHRS Test Plan, Non-Clinical Operations — coaching, mentoring, and adult-learning techniquesReport a problem with this question

6. 6. A release note states that the insurance verification field will move to a different screen and become required. How should the specialist communicate this to staff?

   • A.Post the vendor's screen images in the break room after the upgrade runs.
   • B.State which step of the check-in workflow changes and when it takes effect.✓ Answer
   • C.Forward the vendor's technical release note without any added comment.
   • D.Announce that a new version was installed and ask staff to report problems.

   The specialist's value in update communication is translating a technical change into its workflow implication: staff need to know what they will do differently at check-in and starting when, not merely that a release occurred. Sending the news through the established channel before go-live also lets users ask questions while there is still time to adjust, rather than discovering a required field with a patient at the desk.

   Source: NHA CEHRS Test Plan, Non-Clinical Operations — communicating software updates and their workflow implicationsReport a problem with this question

7. 7. After an update, a required field rejects valid entries for every user in the practice. What should the EHR specialist do?

   • A.Have each user reinstall the application on their own workstation.
   • B.Teach a workaround and enter it in the facility training manual as policy.
   • C.Instruct users to leave the field blank until someone else notices it.
   • D.Document the error and route it to IT so the vendor can correct the defect.✓ Answer

   A defect that affects every user is a vendor-side problem, so it is documented and escalated through the help desk rather than absorbed into local training as if it were the intended workflow. Teaching a workaround as policy hides the defect from the people who can fix it, and leaving a required field blank degrades the data other systems and claims depend on.

   Source: NHA CEHRS Test Plan, Non-Clinical Operations — IT escalation proceduresReport a problem with this question

8. 8. A signature pad at the check-in desk has stopped capturing signatures for one workstation. What should the specialist do first?

   • A.Check that the pad is connected, powered on, and selected.✓ Answer
   • B.Ask the patient to sign a paper form and scan the page into the record.
   • C.Reinstall the EHR application and the device driver on the workstation.
   • D.Submit a help desk ticket and ask the patient to sign a paper form.

   Basic troubleshooting is expected of the EHR specialist before escalation, and it starts with the simple, reversible, physical causes: power, cable or wireless connection, and whether the peripheral is the one selected inside the software. Ticketing or reinstalling first consumes IT time and workstation downtime for a problem that is frequently a disconnected or unselected device.

   Source: NHA CEHRS Test Plan, Non-Clinical Operations — basic IT troubleshooting before escalationReport a problem with this question

9. 9. A user reports a recurring error message that basic troubleshooting did not resolve. What information belongs in the help desk ticket?

   • A.An estimate of how many minutes of productivity the user has lost today.
   • B.The name and medical record number of the patient whose chart was open.
   • C.A list of every software application installed on the affected workstation.
   • D.The exact error text, the steps that reproduce it, and the workstation name.✓ Answer

   A ticket is actionable only when the recipient can reproduce the fault, so it carries the verbatim error message, the sequence that triggers it, and the identifier of the machine, such as the computer name or IP address, often with a screenshot attached. Patient identifiers are not needed to fix a software fault, and including them puts PHI into a ticketing system for no legitimate purpose.

   Source: NHA CEHRS Test Plan, Non-Clinical Operations — IT escalation procedures; HIPAA Privacy Rule, 45 CFR 164.502(b) minimum necessaryReport a problem with this question

10. 10. What is the purpose of the EHR software reference library that a facility maintains?

    • A.It stores the master list of user names and passwords for each system.
    • B.It records the hardware assets assigned to each workstation in the facility.
    • C.It holds vendor documentation and guides staff consult.✓ Answer
    • D.It archives the records of patients no longer treated at the practice.

    The reference library is the collection of vendor manuals, guides, and internal documentation that staff consult to find out how a function is intended to work before improvising a workaround. Using it keeps practice aligned with the supported design of the system, and it is also the starting material from which facility-specific job aids and FAQ sets are built.

    Source: NHA CEHRS Test Plan, Non-Clinical Operations — EHR software reference libraryReport a problem with this question

11. 11. The address in the practice management system does not match the address in the EHR for the same patient. What should the EHR specialist do?

    • A.Delete the older of the two entries so a single address remains on file.
    • B.Confirm the address with the patient, then report the discrepancy.✓ Answer
    • C.Leave both entries in place because the two systems synchronize nightly.
    • D.Copy the practice management value into the EHR because billing uses it.

    Reconciliation is a two-step duty: identify the discrepancy, then report it so it is corrected in the source system through the established process, never silently overwritten on a guess. Neither system is automatically right, so the value is verified against the patient or the original source document, and the correction is made where it will propagate to the downstream copies.

    Source: NHA CEHRS Test Plan, Non-Clinical Operations — identifying and reconciling data discrepancies among systemsReport a problem with this question

12. 12. A specialist finds laboratory results belonging to a different person filed inside one patient's record, so the chart now holds two patients' data. What does this describe, and what is the correct response?

    • A.An overlay; report it at once for correction through the approved process.✓ Answer
    • B.A duplicate; merge the two charts so one record remains for the patient.
    • C.An overlap; ask the patient which of the entries belong to their own care.
    • D.An unmatched result; move the entries to the interface queue for review.

    An overlay is one record containing two different people's data, and it is a patient-safety emergency because a clinician may treat one patient using another's results, so it is escalated immediately rather than corrected independently. A duplicate is one patient holding two record numbers within a facility, and an overlap is the same patient carrying different numbers across facilities in an enterprise.

    Source: NHA CEHRS Test Plan, Non-Clinical Operations — data discrepancies within and among EHR systemsReport a problem with this question

13. 13. A reconciliation report shows that one patient has two medical record numbers with documentation in both. How is this corrected?

    • A.By combining them through the approved process, which keeps an audit trail.✓ Answer
    • B.By deleting the record that holds the smaller number of documented encounters.
    • C.By asking the patient which of the two medical record numbers to keep on file.
    • D.By retyping the missing entries into the newer chart and hiding the older one.

    Duplicate records are resolved only through the facility's approved merge or link process, which is performed by the responsible health information staff and preserves an audit trail of what was combined, by whom, and when. Health record entries are never deleted or hidden; the history has to remain reconstructable for continuity of care, billing follow-up, and any later legal review.

    Source: NHA CEHRS Test Plan, Non-Clinical Operations — reporting and reconciling duplicate records with an audit trailReport a problem with this question

14. 14. Free-text entry of the referral reason produces inconsistent values that do not match the practice management system. Which change best reduces the discrepancies at the point of entry?

    • A.Replace the free-text field with a list of standardized values.✓ Answer
    • B.Let staff enter the reason in whichever format is fastest for them.
    • C.Remind staff at each huddle to re-read the screen before they save it.
    • D.Run a monthly report and correct the entries that appear to be unusual.

    Structured entry is a data validation technique: a drop-down constrains the user to a defined value set, so the same concept is stored identically every time and can be matched against another system. Reminders depend on individual attention and monthly cleanup only finds errors after they have already flowed into claims, reports, and the other systems fed by that field.

    Source: NHA CEHRS Test Plan, Non-Clinical Operations — data validation techniquesReport a problem with this question

15. 15. A patient at the front desk cannot sign in to the portal and asks the specialist to fix the password. What is the appropriate action?

    • A.Verify the patient's identity and let them set the new password.✓ Answer
    • B.Sign in to the patient's account and change the password for them.
    • C.Email the account's current password to the address listed on file.
    • D.Create a temporary password and read it to the patient at the desk.

    Portal support means verifying identity and starting the self-service reset so the patient chooses a credential no staff member knows, which is what keeps the account's activity attributable to the patient alone. Staff who create, speak aloud, or sign in with a patient's password break unique user identification and make the portal's audit log unreliable evidence of who viewed the record.

    Source: NHA CEHRS Test Plan, Non-Clinical Operations — patient portal support; HIPAA Security Rule, 45 CFR 164.312 unique user identificationReport a problem with this question

16. 16. A portal message from a patient asks what an abnormal laboratory value posted to the portal means. How should the EHR specialist respond?

    • A.Tell the patient the result is only slightly outside the range and is fine.
    • B.Route the message to the provider and tell the patient it was forwarded.✓ Answer
    • C.Explain the reference range that is printed beside the result on the portal.
    • D.Remove the result from the portal until the provider has phoned the patient.

    Portal support is limited to access and navigation; interpreting a result, even by walking the patient through a reference range, is clinical judgment outside the EHR specialist's scope, so the question goes to the provider and the patient is told what happened to it. Withdrawing a released result is also the wrong instinct, since patients are entitled to their information without unreasonable delay.

    Source: NHA CEHRS Test Plan, Non-Clinical Operations — patient portal support and scope of practice; 21st Century Cures Act information blocking ruleReport a problem with this question

17. 17. The parent of a 16-year-old patient asks the specialist for full proxy access to the teenager's portal account. What should the specialist do?

    • A.Grant the parent access after the minor's provider approves it verbally.
    • B.Grant the parent access to everything except the billing area of the chart.
    • C.Grant the access state law and facility policy on minors' records allow.✓ Answer
    • D.Grant the parent full access because a parent is the guarantor for a minor.

    Proxy access to a minor's record is governed by state law on adolescent confidentiality and by the facility policy written to implement it, so the specialist applies that policy rather than a general assumption about parental rights. Being financially responsible for the account does not by itself confer access to the health information, and a verbal approval is not the documented authorization the policy requires.

    Source: HIPAA Privacy Rule, 45 CFR 164.502(g) personal representatives, as limited by state law and facility policyReport a problem with this question

18. 18. A patient declines to enroll in the portal and still wants a copy of the recent visit records. What should the specialist do?

    • A.Explain that portal enrollment is required before records can be released.
    • B.Enroll the patient using the front desk email address to complete setup.
    • C.Offer the records in another format, such as a printed or mailed copy.✓ Answer
    • D.Ask a relative to enroll and receive the patient's records on their behalf.

    The individual's right of access under the HIPAA Privacy Rule does not depend on using any particular technology, so a patient who cannot or will not use the portal is still given the records in a readable form the practice can reasonably produce. Enrolling someone under a staff email address or routing their records through a relative would also send protected health information to an unverified recipient.

    Source: HIPAA Privacy Rule, 45 CFR 164.524 individual right of access; NHA CEHRS Test Plan, Non-Clinical Operations — patient portal supportReport a problem with this question

Practice questions based on the NHA CEHRS Test Plan, the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules (45 CFR Part 164), and the HITECH Act. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Healthcareer Association. Every electronic health record system arranges its own screens and menus, so workflows here are described in general terms — follow your own system's documentation and your facility's policies. Record-retention periods, permissible abbreviations, and many release-of-information details are set by state law and facility policy rather than federally, and penalty amounts are adjusted over time; verify all of these against current sources rather than against a practice test. Confirm current eligibility and exam requirements with NHA before you test. About the CEHRS certification →