Preparing for the CompTIA Healthcare IT Technician^™ Exam

CompTIA Healthcare IT Technician Exam Overview and Strategies

• Purpose and benefits
• Basic exam structure
• The five domains of the Healthcare IT Technician Exam

Identifying and Interpreting Healthcare Regulatory Requirements

Agencies, laws and regulations

• HIPAA controls and compliance
• Meaningful use
• American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)
• HITECH

Legal best practices, requirements and documentation

• Protected Health Information (PHI)
• Defining covered entities
• Record retention, disposal and archiving
• Avoiding violations and fines
• Service level agreements (SLA)

Handling Protected Health Information (PHI) in the Workplace

Identifying EHR/EMR access roles and responsibilities

• Medical, technical and business roles
• Applying proper communication methods
• Accessing limitations based on role and exceptions
• Emergency access (break the glass)

Executing daily activities while following a code of conduct

• Identifying organizational structures and different methods of operation
• Adapting procedural/social behavior based on sensitivity of the environment
• Emergency
• Imaging
• Examination

IT Operations in the Healthcare Environment

Installing and configuring a PC workstation within an EHR/EMR environment

• Hardware drivers and devices
• Imaging devices
• Physical interfaces: USB, IEEE 1394 and SCSI

Troubleshooting and solving common PC problems

• Malfunctioning hardware
• Software patches/hotfixes/updates

Maintaining Healthcare IT Networks

Installing, configuring and troubleshooting healthcare networks

• Internet protocols and services: DHCP vs. static IP, DNS and subnets
• Wireless protocols and configuration: 802.11a, b, g, ad hoc vs. infrastructure

Supporting EHR/EMR systems and networks

• Classifying server types, features and limitations
• Server backup strategies: differential and incremental
• ASP/Cloud vs. locally hosted client-server

Supporting Medical Business Operations

Recognizing common components of the clinical environment

• System transactions: ICD-10, CPT and e-prescribing
• Devices: EKG, EEG and MRI
• Basic clinical terms: imaging, code blue and PCP
• Common medical departments: Radiology, ONC, PEDS, ICU/CCU, ENT and ER
• Basic workflow: registration, consultation and examination

Identifying and troubleshooting components of medical interfaces and taxonomy

• HL7: PID, MSH, SCH, OBR
• Determining common interface problems and escalating when necessary

Determining common clinical software issues

• Document imaging: file types, resolution and indexing
• Locating affected modules or fields
• Escalation procedures: vendor or local application support
• Change and release management best practices

Maintaining a Secure Healthcare Environment

Controlling access to PHI

• Maintaining physical security
• Applying best practices for passwords and permission levels
• Secure disposal of electronic or physical PHI

Securing communications and preventing intrusions

• Identifying remote access methods and security controls
• Wireless security protocols and authentication
• Summarize encryption types and usage: AES, 3DES and SSL
• Identifying common security risks and their prevention