Vocabulary Review

Question 1

Abandonment

Answer 1

A situation in which a health-care professional stops caring for a patient without arranging for care by an equally qualified substitute.

Question 2

Agent

Answer 2

(legal) A person who acts on a physician’s behalf while performing professional tasks; (clinical) an active principle or entity that produces a certain effect, for example, an infectious agent.

Question 3

Arbitration

Answer 3

A process in which opposing sides choose a person or persons outside the court system, often someone with special knowledge in the field, to hear and decide a dispute.

Question 4

assault

Answer 4

The open threat of bodily harm to another.

Question 5

Authorization

Answer 5

A form that explains in detail the standards for the use and disclosure of patient information for purposes other than treatment, payment, or health-care operations.

Question 6

Battery

Answer 6

An action that causes bodily harm to another.

Question 7

Bioethics

Answer 7

Principles of right and wrong in issues that arise from medical advances

Question 8

Breach of Contract

Answer 8

The violation of or failure to live up to a contract’s terms.

Question 9

Civil law

Answer 9

Involves crimes against persons. A person can sue another person, business, or the government. Judgments often require a payment of money

Question 10

Consent

Answer 10

A voluntary agreement that a patient gives to allow a medically trained person the permission to touch, examine, and perform a treatment

Question 11

Contract

Answer 11

A voluntary agreement between two parties in which specific promises are made.

Question 12

Corporation

Answer 12

A type of business group, such as a medical practice, that is established by law and managed by a board of directors.

Question 13

Crime

Answer 13

An offense against the state committed or omitted in violation of public law.

Question 14

Criminal Law

Answer 14

Involves crimes against the state. When a state or federal law is violated, the government brings criminal charges against the alleged offender.

Question 15

Defamation

Answer 15

Damaging a person’s reputation by making public statements that are both false and malicious.

Question 16

Disclosure

Answer 16

The release of, the transfer of, the provision of access to, or the divulgence in any manner of patient information

Question 17

Discrimination

Answer 17

Unequal and unfair treatment.

Question 18

Doctrine of informed consent

Answer 18

The legal basis for informed consent, usually outlined in a state’s medical practice act

Question 19

Doctrine of professional discretion

Answer 19

A principle under which a physician can exercise judgment as to whether to show patients who are being treated for mental or emotional conditions their records.

Question 20

Durable power of attorney

Answer 20

A document naming the person who will make decisions regarding medical care on behalf of another person if that person becomes unable to do so

Question 21

Electronic transaction record

Answer 21

The standardized codes and formats used for the exchange of medical data

Question 22

Ethics

Answer 22

General principles of right and wrong, as opposed to requirements of law.

Question 23

Expressed consent

Answer 23

A contract clearly stated in written or spoken words.

Question 24

Felony

Answer 24

A serious crime, such as murder or rape, that is punishable by imprisonment. In certain crimes, a felony is punishable by death

Question 25

Fraud

Answer 25

An act of deception that is used to take advantage of another person or entity.

Question 26

Group practice

Answer 26

A medical management system in which a group of three of more licensed physicians share their collective income, expenses, facilities, equipment, records, and personnel.

Question 27

implied consent

Answer 27

inferred uationfrom a person’s actions and the facts and circumstances of a particular sit

Question 28

Implied Contact

Answer 28

A contract that is created by the acceptance or conduct of the parties rather than the written word

Question 29

Informed consent

Answer 29

A form that verifies that a patient understands the offered treatment and its possible outcomes or side effects

Question 30

Law

Answer 30

A rule of conduct established and enforced by an authority or governing body, such as the federal government.

Question 31

Law of agency

Answer 31

A law stating that an employee is considered to be acting on the physician’s behalf while performing professional duties. (

Question 32

Liable

Answer 32

Legally responsible.

Question 33

Libel

Answer 33

A false publication, as in writing, print, signs, or pictures, that damages a person’s reputation

Question 34

Living Will

Answer 34

A legal document addressed to a patient’s family and health-care providers stating what type of treatment the patient wishes or does not wish to receive if he becomes terminally ill, unconscious, or permanently comatose; sometimes called an advance directive.

Question 35

Malpractice claim

Answer 35

A lawsuit brought by a patient against a physician for errors in diagnosis or treatment. (3)

Question 36

Minors

Answer 36

Anyone under the age of majority—18 in most states, 21 in some jurisdictions

Question 37

Misdemeanor

Answer 37

A less serious crime such as theft under a certain dollar amount or disturbing the peace. A misdemeanor is punishable by fines or imprisonment.

Question 38

Moral values

Answer 38

Values or types of behavior that serve as a basis for ethical conduct and are formed through the influence of the family, culture, or society.

Question 39

Negligence

Answer 39

A medical professional’s failure to perform an essential action or performance of an improper action that directly results in the harm of a patient.

Question 40

Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP)

Answer 40

A document that informs patients of their rights as outlined under HIPAA.

Question 41

Partnership

Answer 41

A form of medical practice management in which two or more parties practice together under a written agreement, specifying the rights, obligations, and responsibilities of each partner.

Question 42

Privacy Rule

Answer 42

ommon name for the HIPAA Standard for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information, which provides the first comprehensive federal protection for the privacy of health information. The Privacy Rule creates national standards to protect individuals’ medical records and other personal health information.

Question 43

Protected health information (PHI)

Answer 43

Individually identifiable health information that is transmitted or maintained by electronic or other media, such as computer storage devices. The core of the HIPAA Privacy Rule is the protection, use, and disclosure of protected health information.