Chapter 1 Key Terms Flashcards
Learn the definitions of the Key Terms used within the Healthcare and IT world
Acuity
The level of severity of an affliction
Acute Care
Care that is given short term and for sever afflictions. (for example, a patient experiencing a heart attack goes to an acute care facility)
Adult Day Care Facility
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
Ambulatory Care Facility
A facility used for outpatient services. Basically, if a patient care takes less than 24 hours, the patient goes to an ambulatory care facility rather than a hospital
Ambulatory Surgery Center
A facility used for surgical procedures in outpatient services
Assisted Living Residence
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
Birth Center
A facility that offers services for prenatal, labor and delivery to low risk patients. This can be a department of a hospital or separate facility
Blood Work
Examination of a blood sample to test for certain, medications, or other data
Chief Complaint
The primary reason a person goes to ED
Clinical Department
A department in a healthcare facility that offers specific medical services for patient care, treatment, or diagnosis. Sometimes called Ancillary Departments
Computer Tomography (CT)
Imaging that uses X-rays along with computer 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
Electronic Health Record (EHR)
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
Electronic Medical Record (EMR)
Information about a patient’s care and health that was previously captured on paper forms and charts, collected from all visits at one hospital and stored electronically. The term EMR is sometimes used interchangeably with Electric Health Record (HER), although the two terms are not exactly the same
Emergency Department (ED)
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 ED
General Acute Care Hospital
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
Healthcare IT (HIT)
The personnel, equipment, and procedures that provide and support the computer systems used in the healthcare environment
Healthcare IT Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act
An act of the U.S. congress enacted as part of the America 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
Healthcare Provider
A qualified person or facility that provides healthcare to patients. (for example a doctor, nurse, or hospital)
Home Health Agency
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
Hospice Agency
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
Inpatient
A patient admitted to a healthcare facility who stays longer than 24 hours by a doctor’s order
Long-term Care
Ongoing treatment or care. (for example, a patient with Alzheimer’s goes to a long-term care facility)
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
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
Medical Image
Visuals made of body parts, tissues, or organs for clinical study, treatment, or diagnosis
Medical Records Office
The administrative office that stores and archives patients’ medical records
Nursing Home
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
Oncology
Field of medicine dealing with cancer or tumors
Outpatient
A patient who is scheduled for medical treatment, care, or a service. The patient’s stay in the healthcare facility last less than 24 hours, unless being observed. Ambulatory facilities are specifically for outpatient services
Patient Census
A record 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 inpatient or occupied beds
Primary Care Facility
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 check-up, he schedules an appointment with his primary care provider (PCP), such as a family doctor, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant
Psychiatric Hospital
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
Registration
The administrative office that maintains a patient census of the facility through patient admission, transfers, and discharges
Rehabilitation Hospital or Center
A facility that offers care for patients with ongoing recovery from a disability. This can include medical, psychiatric therapy
Stat
Derived from the Latin word statim, which means immediately. It is often used in the medical environment to expedite something
Tracking Board
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 ED staff only and is primarily kept out of view of the waiting area and patients
Triage
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
Virtual Private Network (VPN)
The secure and private networking of computers through the Internet
