The broad implementation of electronic health record (EHR) systems across medical facilities throughout the 2000s and 2010s resulted in decreased...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
The broad implementation of electronic health record (EHR) systems across medical facilities throughout the 2000s and 2010s resulted in decreased healthcare administrative expenses overall, though the most significant cost reductions were achieved in patient billing and insurance claim management, which occur following the completion of patient diagnosis and treatment planning procedures. This indicates that throughout this timeframe, ______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
diagnosis and treatment planning processes saw lesser cost decreases from EHR implementation compared to billing and insurance claim management activities.
medical institutions discovered it was more feasible to convert patient care documentation to digital format rather than continue with conventional paper-based record keeping systems.
healthcare facilities enhanced their patient volume capacity by optimizing appointment coordination processes while decreasing the duration allocated to individual patient consultations.
patients commonly expected that electronic health record systems would result in more efficient service delivery and reduced healthcare costs.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "The broad implementation of electronic health record (EHR) systems across medical facilities throughout the 2000s and 2010s resulted in decreased healthcare administrative expenses overall," |
|
| "though the most significant cost reductions were achieved in patient billing and insurance claim management," |
|
| "which occur following the completion of patient diagnosis and treatment planning procedures." |
|
| "This indicates that throughout this timeframe, ______" |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: EHR systems reduced healthcare administrative costs overall, with the greatest savings occurring in post-treatment activities rather than during treatment activities.
Argument Flow: The passage starts with a broad claim about EHR cost reductions, then specifies where the most significant savings occurred (billing and insurance), explains when these activities happen in the treatment sequence (after diagnosis and planning), and asks us to infer what this pattern reveals.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The key logical relationship is about relative savings
- We know billing and insurance claim management had the most significant cost reductions, and these happen AFTER diagnosis and treatment planning
- So if billing/insurance had the biggest savings, then diagnosis/treatment planning must have had smaller savings by comparison
- The correct answer should capture this comparative relationship - that activities happening earlier in the process saw less dramatic cost reductions than activities happening later
diagnosis and treatment planning processes saw lesser cost decreases from EHR implementation compared to billing and insurance claim management activities.
✓ Correct
- This directly captures the logical relationship we identified
- If billing/insurance had the most significant reductions, then diagnosis/treatment must have had lesser reductions
medical institutions discovered it was more feasible to convert patient care documentation to digital format rather than continue with conventional paper-based record keeping systems.
✗ Incorrect
- This discusses the feasibility of converting to digital formats
- The passage provides no information about what was more or less feasible to convert
healthcare facilities enhanced their patient volume capacity by optimizing appointment coordination processes while decreasing the duration allocated to individual patient consultations.
✗ Incorrect
- This talks about patient volume capacity and appointment coordination
- The passage focuses on administrative cost reductions, not operational capacity changes
patients commonly expected that electronic health record systems would result in more efficient service delivery and reduced healthcare costs.
✗ Incorrect
- This discusses patient expectations about EHR systems
- The passage mentions nothing about what patients expected or thought