The time between the enactment of HCQIA and the NPDB's opening is best described as:

• A. A brief interval
• B. Several decades
• C. Four years
• D. One year

Answer: (C)

This item tests your knowledge of the timeline between HCQIA’s enactment and the NPDB becoming operational. HCQIA (Health Care Quality Improvement Act) was enacted in 1986, and the National Practitioner Data Bank opened a few years later, around 1990. The time from 1986 to 1990 is four years, so four years is the best description of the interval. The other options describe much shorter or much longer spans and don’t match the actual dates.