Chapter 1 Key Terms

Question 1

acuity

Answer 1

The level of severity of an affliction

Question 2

acute care

Answer 2

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 3

adult day care facility

Answer 3

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

Question 4

ambulatory care facility

Answer 4

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.

Question 5

ambulatory surgery center

Answer 5

A facility used for surgical procedures in outpatient services.

Question 6

assisted living residence

Answer 6

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 residence 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 7

birth center

Answer 7

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

Question 8

blood work

Answer 8

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

Question 9

chief complaint

Answer 9

The primary reason a person goes to the ED.

Question 10

clinical department

Answer 10

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

Question 11

computed tomography (CT)

Answer 11

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 12

electronic health record (EHR)

Answer 12

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

Question 13

electronic medical record (EMR)

Answer 13

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 in an EMR IS. The term EMR is sometimes used interchangeably with Electronic Health Record (EHR), although the two terms are not exactly the same.

Question 14

emergency department (ED)

Answer 14

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 15

general acute care hospital

Answer 15

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 16

healthcare IT (HIT)

Answer 16

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

Question 17

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

Answer 17

An act of 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 18

healthcare provider

Answer 18

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

Question 19

home health agency

Answer 19

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

Question 20

hospice agency

Answer 20

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

Question 21

inpatient

Answer 21

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

Question 22

long-term care

Answer 22

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

Question 23

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Answer 23

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 24

medical image

Answer 24

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

Question 25

medical records office

Answer 25

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

Question 26

nursing home

Answer 26

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 27

oncology

Answer 27

Field of medicine dealing with cancer or tumors.

Question 28

outpatient

Answer 28

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.

Question 29

patient census

Answer 29

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 30

primary care facility

Answer 30

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 a appointment with his primary care provider (PCP), such as a family doctor, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant.

Question 31

psychiatric hospital

Answer 31

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 out patient basis.

Question 32

registration

Answer 32

The administration office that maintains a patients census of the facility through patient admission, transfers, and discharge.

Question 33

rehabilitation hospital or center

Answer 33

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

Question 34

stat

Answer 34

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

Question 35

tracking board

Answer 35

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 36

triage

Answer 36

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 37

virtual private network (VPN)

Answer 37

The secure and private networking of computers through the Intranet.