CHAPTER 7
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
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