Free SCFHS Health Administration mock test

Health Administration sample questions with answers

10 more original exam-style Health Administration questions, worked in full. They are not real or recalled exam questions, and none of them is in the mock above or on the bank page, so sit the mock first if you have not.

1. Question 1 · Communication and Relationship Management

   A patient's family complains about a delay in discharge. What is the best first response by the manager?

   1. AExplain at once that the delay was the family's own fault because of paperwork
   2. BRefer them to another department and move on
   3. CListen calmly, acknowledge the concern, and explain how it will be investigated
   4. DAsk them to put the complaint in writing and wait for a week for an answer
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: C. Listen calmly, acknowledge the concern, and explain how it will be investigated

   Listening and acknowledging the concern de-escalates the complaint and starts a fair investigation. Blame, deflection and delay damage trust.

   Reference: Buchbinder & Shanks, Introduction to Health Care Management, 3rd ed. (2016)

2. Question 2 · Finance

   A hospital changes from fee-for-service to a fixed prospective payment per diagnosis group. What incentive does this create for the hospital?

   1. ATo increase the number of tests and procedures for each admission
   2. BTo reduce the cost and length of stay for each admission
   3. CTo prolong hospital stays
   4. DTo raise prices for each service
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: B. To reduce the cost and length of stay for each admission

   A fixed payment per case rewards efficient care, so the hospital keeps the surplus when costs are lower. Fee-for-service rewards more tests and longer stays, and prices do not change a fixed payment.

   Reference: Buchbinder & Shanks, Introduction to Health Care Management, 3rd ed. (2016)

3. Question 3 · Finance

   A hospital buys equipment costing 500,000 with an estimated salvage value of 50,000 and a useful life of 9 years. What is the annual depreciation by the straight-line method?

   1. A55,556
   2. B50,000
   3. C45,000
   4. D500,000
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: B. 50,000

   Straight-line depreciation is cost minus salvage value divided by life, so 450,000 divided by 9 is 50,000. Using 500,000 without subtracting salvage gives 55,556, and the other values are wrong.

   Reference: Gapenski, Healthcare Finance: An Introduction to Accounting and Financial Management, 7th ed. (2019)

4. Question 4 · General Management

   An administrator widens the span of control so each supervisor manages 15 staff instead of 6. What is the most likely structural effect?

   1. AA taller hierarchy with several additional layers of management added
   2. BA matrix structure
   3. CIncreased centralisation of decisions at the top of the organisation
   4. DA flatter organisation with fewer management levels
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: D. A flatter organisation with fewer management levels

   A wider span means fewer managers are needed, so the structure becomes flatter. A taller structure comes from narrow spans, and a matrix structure is about dual reporting.

   Reference: Robbins & Coulter, Management, 14th ed. (2018)

5. Question 5 · Human Resources

   Three months after a hand hygiene course, a manager audits whether ward staff now clean their hands at the right moments. Which level of the Kirkpatrick model is this?

   1. ALevel 1, reaction, measured by satisfaction forms
   2. BLevel 2, learning, measured by a knowledge test
   3. CLevel 4, results, measured by infection rates on the ward
   4. DLevel 3, behaviour, measured by observed practice
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: D. Level 3, behaviour, measured by observed practice

   Checking whether participants apply the training on the job is behaviour. Reaction is satisfaction with the course, learning is the knowledge or skill gained, and results are organisational outcomes such as infection rates.

   Reference: Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick, Evaluating Training Programs: The Four Levels, 3rd ed., 2006

6. Question 6 · General Management

   A new multidisciplinary quality team argues about roles and methods in its second meeting. At which stage of Tuckman's model is the team?

   1. AForming
   2. BStorming
   3. CNorming
   4. DPerforming
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: B. Storming

   Open disagreement about roles and approach is typical of storming. Forming is the polite, uncertain first stage, norming is when rules are agreed, and performing is when the team works smoothly.

   Reference: Tuckman and Jensen, Stages of small-group development revisited, Group and Organization Studies, 1977

7. Question 7 · General Management

   A senior pharmacist has no formal authority over a team, yet colleagues follow her advice because of her recognised knowledge. Which source of power is this?

   1. ALegitimate power
   2. BCoercive power
   3. CExpert power
   4. DReward power
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: C. Expert power

   Influence based on knowledge and skill is expert power. Legitimate power comes from position, coercive from threat of punishment, and reward power from control of rewards.

   Reference: French and Raven, The bases of social power, in Cartwright (ed.), Studies in Social Power, 1959

8. Question 8 · Information Management

   Two clinics report waiting time to a hospital dashboard, but one counts from arrival and the other from registration. Which data problem does this show?

   1. AMissing data in some of the records submitted
   2. BInconsistent data definitions, which make comparison invalid
   3. CDelay in the reporting of the data to the board
   4. DDuplication of the same patient records in the two clinics' systems
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: B. Inconsistent data definitions, which make comparison invalid

   The same label is measured differently, so the figures cannot be compared fairly. Missing data, late reporting and duplication are separate quality problems, and none of them is described here.

   Reference: Abdelhak et al., Health Information: Management of a Strategic Resource, 5th ed., 2015

9. Question 9 · Quality Management

   A nurse reports a near miss in which a wrong dose was caught before it reached the patient. What is the best response from the manager in a just culture?

   1. ADiscipline the nurse so others take care
   2. BThank the nurse and review the system factors that allowed the error
   3. CSet the report aside because no harm was done
   4. DRemove the report from the file to protect the good reputation of the unit
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: B. Thank the nurse and review the system factors that allowed the error

   A just culture encourages reporting and looks for system causes, so near misses are valuable learning. Punishing or ignoring reports discourages reporting and hides risks.

   Reference: Reason, Human error: models and management, BMJ, 2000

10. Question 10 · Communication and Relationship Management

    After resolving a patient's complaint, which step best completes service recovery?

    1. AClose the file as soon as an apology is given
    2. BAsk the patient to withdraw the complaint in writing
    3. CFollow up on the outcome and use the data to improve
    4. DWarn the patient about the effect of further complaints
    Show answer and explanation

    Correct answer: C. Follow up on the outcome and use the data to improve

    Recovery is complete when the patient hears the result and the organisation learns from the case. Closing the file early, pressing for withdrawal or warning the patient defeat its purpose.

    Reference: Berry and Seltman, Management Lessons from Mayo Clinic, 2008