CHAPTER 7 1

TERMINOLOGY
*Adult day care complements informal care provided at home by family members with professional services
available in adult day care centers during the day.

*Alternative medicine is nontraditional medicine that includes a wide range of treatments such as homeopathy,
herbal remedies, acupuncture, meditation, yoga exercises, and etc.

*Ambulatory care refers to outpatient services. It includes (1) care rendered to patients who come to physicians'
offices, outpatient departments of hospitals, and health centers to receive care; (2) outpatient ser vices intended
to serve the surrounding community (community medicine); and (3) certain services that are transported to the
patient.

*Case management provides coordination and referral among a variety of health care services. The objective is
to find the most appropriate setting to meet a patient' s health care needs.

*Categorical programs are public health programs specifically designed to address certain categories of disease
or serve specific categories of persons.

* Community-health centers are required by law to be located in medically underserved areas and provide
services to anyone seeking care, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay

*Community-oriented primary care (COPC) incorporates the elements of good primary care delivery and adds
to this a population-based approach to identifying and addressing community health problems.

*Emergent conditions require immediate medical attention; time delay is harmful to patient; and the disorder is
acute and potentially threatening to life or function.

*A free clinic is a general ambulatory care center serving primarily the poor and the homeless w ho may live
next to affluent neighborhoods. Free clinics are staffed predominantly by trained volunteers, and care is given
free or at a nominal charge.

*Gatekeeping is the care coordination role of a primary care practitioner. It implies that patients do not visit
specialists without referral from the primary care physician, who functions as the gatekeeper. It is not designed
to be a controlling mechanism to deny people necessary care. It is designed to protect patients from unnecessary
procedures and over treatment.

*Home health care includes various types of services that are brought to the patients in their own homes. Such
patients are generally unable to leave their homes safely to get the care they need.

*Hospice refers to a cluster of comprehensive services that address the special needs of the dying persons and
their families. It blends medical, spiritual, legal, financial, and family-support services. Services are taken to
patients and their families wherever they happen to be located.

*Iatrogenic illness or injury is an y complication that is caused by the process of health care.

* Integrated care embodies the concepts of comprehensive, coordinated, and continuous services that provide a
seamless process of care

*Medically underserved is a designation determined by the federal government. It indicates a dearth of primary
care providers and delivery settings, as well as poor health indicators of the populace. The majority among this
population group are Medicaid recipients.

*Mobile Health Care Services are transported to patients and constitute an efficient and convenient means for
providing certain types of routine health services
 CHAPTER 7 2
TERMINOLOGY
*Nonurgent conditions do not require the resources of an emergency service, and disorder is nonacute or minor
in severity.

*Outpatient services include any health care ser vices that are not provided on the basis of an overnight stay in
which room and board costs are incurred. The term is synonymous with "ambulatory care."

* Palliative care is pain and symptom management

*Public health services are typically provided by local health departments that offer various programs such as
family planning services, screening and treatment for tuberculosis, etc.

*Primary health care is essential health care that constitutes the first level of contact by a patient with the health
delivery system and the first element of a continuing healthcare process.

*Primary prevention refers to actions designed to reduce the odds that a disease will subsequently develop. Its
objective is to restrain the development of a disease or negative health condition before it occurs. Smoking
cessation, prenatal care, hand washing, and refrigeration of foods are examples of primary prevention.

*Secondary prevention refers to early diagnosis and treatment of disease. Health screening plays a key role in
secondary prevention. The objective is to b lock the progression of disease.

*Tertiary prevention refers to rehabilitative activities and the monitoring of treatment regimens to prevent
further complications.

*Secondary care includes routine hospitalization, routine surgery, and specialized outpatient care such as
consultation with specialists. Compared to primary care, these services are usually short term in nature and more
complex, involving advanced diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.

*Surgi-centers are freestanding ambulatory surgery centers independent of hospitals. They usually provide a
full range of services for the types of surgery that can be performed on an outpatient basis and that do not
require overnight hospitalization.

*Telephone triage is a means of brining expert opinion and advice to the patient. It is staffed by specifically
trained nurses who have access to patient medical records and provide guidance with the use of standardized
protocols. They can consult with primary care physicians when necessary or refer patients to an urgent care
facility or ED.

*Tertiary care constitutes the most complex level of care. Typically, tertiary care is institution based, highly
specialized, and highly technological. Examples include burn treatment, transplantation, and coronary artery
bypass surgery.

*Urgent care centers are community-based freestanding clinics open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. These
emergency centers, however, are generally not equipped to serve truly emergent patients or to receive
ambulance cases.

*Walk-in clinics are proprietary, community-based freestanding clinics that provide ambulatory services ranging
from basic primary care to urgent care. However, they are generally used on a non-routine, episodic basis. The
main advantage of these clinics is convenience of location, evening and weekend hours, and availability of ser
vices on a "walk-in," no-appointment basis. Publishers, Inc.