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CISA Practice Question: A hospital is implementing a new electronic…
A hospital is implementing a new electronic health record (EHR) system. The project team includes clinicians and IT staff. During integration testing, the system fails to exchange lab results with the existing legacy system due to format mismatches. The IT team suggests developing a custom interface. The clinical team is concerned that any custom solution may not comply with health data privacy regulations. The project sponsor pressures the team to quickly fix the issue to avoid delays. The IS auditor is reviewing this situation. What is the MOST appropriate action for the auditor to recommend?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates may prioritize speed (Option B) or absolute standardization (Option C) over the auditor's core responsibility to assess and mitigate privacy risks before any new data processing component goes live.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Conduct a privacy impact assessment on the custom interface and ensure controls are in place before deployment.
The custom interface introduces a new data exchange path between the EHR and legacy system. Without a privacy impact assessment (PIA), the auditor cannot verify that the interface will enforce encryption, access controls, and audit logging required by HIPAA or similar regulations. A PIA identifies risks like unauthorized disclosure of protected health information (PHI) during format translation, ensuring controls are implemented before deployment. This aligns with the IS auditor's role to safeguard data privacy, not just meet deadlines.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Conduct a privacy impact assessment on the custom interface and ensure controls are in place before deployment.
Why this is correct
Balances speed with compliance.
- ✗
Proceed with the custom interface to meet the project deadline.
Why it's wrong here
Compliance risk is unacceptable.
- ✗
Reject the custom interface and delay the project until a standard solution is found.
Why it's wrong here
Unnecessary delay; alternative acceptable.
- ✗
Replace the legacy system with a new one that is compatible.
Why it's wrong here
Too costly and time-consuming.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CISA practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISACA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CISA exam.