Chapter 1: Introducing Healthcare IT

Question 1

CT

Answer 1

computed tomography

Question 2

EHR

Answer 2

electronic health record

Question 3

EMR

Answer 3

electronic medical record

Question 4

ED

Answer 4

emergency department

Question 5

HITECH

Answer 5

Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health

Question 6

MRI

Answer 6

magnetic resonance imaging

Question 7

VPN

Answer 7

Virtual Private Network

Question 8

acuity

Answer 8

The level of severity of an affliction.

Question 9

acute care

Answer 9

Care that is given short term and for severe afflictions. For example, a patient experiencing a heart attack goes to an acute care facility.

Question 10

adult day care facility

Answer 10

A facility that offers medical and nursing supervision of adults. Patients cannot be at one of these facilities for longer than 12 hours in one day.

Question 11

ambulatory care facility

Answer 11

A facility used for outpatient services. Basically, if patient care takes less than 24 hours, the patient goes to an ambulatory care facility rather than a hospital.

Question 12

ambulatory surgery center

Answer 12

A facility used for surgical procedures in outpatient services.

Question 13

assisted living residence

Answer 13

A facility that offers an apartment-style living situation for patients or residents who need assistance in daily activities. Most assisted living residences have different levels of assistance. A resident might live independently where help is available only if needed, or a resident lives in an apartment, but almost everything is done for the resident.

Question 14

birth center

Answer 14

A facility that offers services for prenatal and labor and delivery low-risk patients. This can be a department of a hospital or a separate facility.

Question 15

blood work

Answer 15

Examination of a blood sample to test for certain diseases, medications, or other data.

Question 16

chief complaint

Answer 16

The primary reason a person goes to the ED.

Question 17

clinical department

Answer 17

A department in a healthcare facility that offers specific medical services for patient care, treatment, or diagnosis. Sometimes called ancillary departments.

Question 18

computed tomography (CT)

Answer 18

Imaging that uses X-rays along with computing algorithms. A patient lies down in a CT machine while the CT machine rotates around the patient producing cross-sectional images (tomography) of the patient’s body.

Question 19

Electronic Health Record (EHR)

Answer 19

Information about a patient’s care and health collected and stored electronically. This record is not limited to the visits at only one hospital but is a collection of all visits at all hospitals. The term EHR is sometimes used interchangeably with electronic medical record (EMR), although the two terms are not exactly the same.

Question 20

Electronic Medical Record (EMR)

Answer 20

The medication administration record (MAR) recorded electronically using hand-held scanners at several locations from the pharmacy to the patient bedside.

Question 21

Emergency Department (ED)

Answer 21

The department in a healthcare facility that treats patients with acute and sudden afflictions. The ED is often referred to as the emergency room (ER) by nonmedical people, but in the healthcare world, it is called the ED.

Question 22

general acute care hospital

Answer 22

A facility that offers diagnosis, treatment, or care for patients in a variety of specialties. Patient care is uniquely approached and not all patients are there for the same type of care.

Question 23

healthcare IT

Answer 23

The personnel, equipment, and procedures that provide and support the computer systems used in the healthcare environment

Question 24

Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act

Answer 24

An act of the U.S. congress enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. Its purpose is to promote the meaningful use of technology in healthcare so that technology ultimately results in improved healthcare for the patient.

Question 25

healthcare provider

Answer 25

A qualified person or facility that provides healthcare to patients; for example, a doctor, nurse, or hospital.

Question 26

home health agency

Answer 26

An organization that offers preventative, rehabilitation, and therapeutic care to patients in their homes.

Question 27

hospice agency

Answer 27

An organization that offers medical, nursing, social work, and counseling to terminally ill patients in their homes or as an inpatient hospice service at a facility.

Question 28

inpatient

Answer 28

A patient admitted to a healthcare facility who stays longer than 24 hours by a doctor’s order.

Question 29

long-term care

Answer 29

Ongoing treatment or care. For example, a patient with Alzheimer’s goes to a long-term care facility.

Question 30

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Answer 30

Imaging that uses strong magnetic fields and radio signals to create an image of a patient’s body. A patient lies down in an MRI machine and must remain still for extended periods of time in a noisy, cramped space.

Question 31

medical image

Answer 31

Visuals made of body parts, tissues, or organs for clinical study, treatment, or diagnosis.

Question 32

medical records office

Answer 32

The administrative office that stores and archives patients’ medical records.

Question 33

nursing home

Answer 33

A facility that provides a residence for disabled and elderly patients who need medical supervision or ongoing nursing care. Patients in a nursing home do not need the level of care required to be admitted into an acute care hospital.

Question 34

oncology

Answer 34

Field of medicine dealing with cancer or tumors.

Question 35

outpatient

Answer 35

A patient who is scheduled for medical treatment, care, or a service. The patient’s stay in the healthcare facility lasts less than 24 hours unless being observed. Ambulatory facilities are specifically for outpatient services.

Question 36

patient census

Answer 36

A recording of the number of patients with the location, registration status, and other data about the patient in a healthcare facility. Patient census usually applies to inpatients or occupied beds.

Question 37

primary care facility

Answer 37

A facility that contains the private practice of a doctor where a patient receives preventive, diagnostic, treatment, and management services. When a person has an annual checkup, he schedules an appointment with his primary care provider (PCP), such as a family doctor, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant.

Question 38

psychiatric hospital

Answer 38

A facility that specializes in the care of patients with mental illness. Services include diagnosis, treatment, care, and rehabilitation. This can be on an inpatient or outpatient basis.

Question 39

rehabilitation hospital or center

Answer 39

A facility that offers care for patients with ongoing recovery from a disability. This can include medical, psychiatric, or physical therapy.

Question 40

stat

Answer 40

Derived from the Latin word statim, which means immediately. It is often used in the medical environment to expedite something.

Question 41

tracking board

Answer 41

A display showing the patients in the ED, where they are, and who is caring for them. Because the tracking board contains confidential information, it is for the use of the ED staff only and is primarily kept out of view of the waiting area and patients.

Question 42

triage

Answer 42

The assessment of the level of care a patient needs when she arrives at the hospital used to determine the priority of the patient for being seen by a physician.

Question 43

virtual private network (VPN)

Answer 43

The secure and private networking of computers through the Internet.
virtualization