Access - Answers When people are able to use appropriate health care services when necessary
in order to maintain and improve their health.
addendum - Answers a significant change or addition to the electronic health record (EHR)
Administrative Law - Answers Enabling statutes enacted to define powers and procedures when
an agency is created
Agents - Answers ???
Amendment - Answers used to clarify or correct information in the electronic health record.
artificial insemination - Answers The mechanical injection of viable semen into the vagina.
assault - Answers the open threat of bodily harm to another or acting in such a way as to put
another in the "reasonable apprehension of bodily harm."
Assumption of Risk - Answers A legal defense that holds that the defendant is not guilty of a
negligent act because the plaintiff knew of and accepted beforehand any risks involved
autonomy - Answers the capacity to be one's own person and make one's own decisions
without being manipulated by external forces.
autopsy - Answers A postmortem examination to determine the cause of death or to obtain
physiological evidence, as in the case of a suspicious death.
Beneficence - Answers Acts performed by a health care practitioner to help people stay healthy
or recover from illness.
Bioethics - Answers A discipline dealing with the ethical implications of biological research
methods and results, especially in medicine.
birth rate - Answers the total number of live births per 1,000 women in a specific age group.
brain dead, brain death - Answers final cessation of bodily activity, used to determine when
death actually occurs; circulatory and respiratory functions have irreversibly ceased, and the
entire brain (including the brain stem) has irreversibly ceased to function.
breach - Answers any unauthorized acquisition, access, use, or disclosure of personal health
information that compromises the security or privacy of such information.
breach of contract - Answers Failure of either party to comply with the terms of a legally valid
contract
Case Law - Answers Law established through common law and legal precedent
,Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act - Answers A federal law passed in 1974 requiring
physicians to report cases of child abuse.
Civil Law - Answers law that involves wrongful acts against persons
clone - Answers an organism produced asexually, from a single ancestor, that has the same
genetic makeup as the original.
Cloning - Answers the process used to create an exact genetic replica of another cell, tissue, or
orgnanism.
Common Law - Answers The body of unwritten law developed in England, primarily from judicial
decisions based on custom and tradition.
Common Sense - Answers sound practical judgment
Comparative Negligence - Answers An affirmative defense claimed by the defendant, alleging
that the plaintiff contributed to the injury by a certain degree.
compassion - Answers Identification with and understanding of another's situation, feelings, and
motives
Confidentiality - Answers the act of holding information in confidence, not to be released to
unauthorized individuals
Constitutional law - Answers Law that derives from federal and state constitutions
Consumers - Answers the patient and family
contract - Answers A voluntary agreement between two parties in which specific promises are
made for a consideration
Contributory Negligence - Answers An affirmative defense that alleges that the plaintiff, through
a lack of care, caused or contributed to his or her own injury
Coroner - Answers A public official who investigates and holds inquests over those who die
from unknown or violent causes; he or she may or may not be a physician, depending on state
law.
cost - Answers In this context, the amount individuals, employers, state and federal
governments, HMOs, and insurers spend on health care in the United States.
courtesy - Answers The practice of good manners
Covered Entity - Answers Health care providers who conduct administrative and financial
transactions in electronic form. This includes all employees, volunteers, trainees, and all others
who are under the control of the entity.
, Criminal Law - Answers Law that involves crimes against the state
curative care - Answers treatment directed toward curing a patient's disease
Damages - Answers court-ordered monetary awards to patients, given as a result of legally
recognized injuries to patients.
Deposition - Answers Sworn testimony given and recorded outside the courtroom during the
pretrial phase of a case.
Discrimination - Answers Prejudiced or prejudicial outlook, action, or treatment.
Domestic Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act - Answers A federal law, passed in 1974,
requiring physicians to report cases of child abuse and to try to prevent future cases.
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) - Answers A branch of the U.S. Department of Justice
that regulates the sale and use of drugs.
emancipated minors - Answers individuals in their mid- to late teens who legally live outside of
parents' or guardians' control.
Employment-at-will - Answers A concept of employment whereby either the employer or the
employee can end the employment at any time, for any reason.
Ethics - Answers Standards of behavior, developed as a result of one's concept of right and
wrong.
ethics guidelines - Answers publications that detail a wide variety of ethical situations that
professionals (in this case, health care practitioners) might face in their work and offer
principles for dealing with the situations in an ethical manner.
etiquette - Answers Standards of behavior considered to be good manners among members of
a profession as they function as individuals in society
expressed contract - Answers a written or oral agreement in which all terms are explicitly stated
Federal False Claims Act - Answers A law that allows for individuals to bring civil actions on
behalf of the U.S. government for false claims made to the federal government, under a
provision of the law called qui tam (from Latin meaning "to bring an action for the king and for
oneself").
Felony - Answers An offense punishable by death or by imprisonment in a state or federal prison
for more than one year
fertility rate - Answers The total number of live births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 years.
fidelity - Answers being faithful to the scope of practice of your profession