Medical Terminology

HCA Houston Healthcare provides a glossary of key medical terms, and patient condition status terms.

Patients receive short-term treatment for an urgent medical condition, severe injury or illness.

Written document stating how an individual wants medical decisions to be made if he or she should lose the ability to make their own decisions.

Health services rendered to patients who are not confined to a hospital bed as inpatients.

Wide range of healthcare services which support the work of a primary physician. These include laboratory, radiology, pharmacy and physical therapy.

Number of beds a hospital is licensed or certified by the state to maintain.

Number of beds licensed, physically set up and available for use in a hospital.

Healthcare facilities specially equipped for and specializing in complex procedures.

Medical care that addresses pre-existing or long-term illnesses.

Specialized care of patients with life-threatening conditions.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act established in 1996 to help consumers maintain their health insurance coverage if they lose or change their job. HIPPA also mandates regulations that govern privacy standards for healthcare information.

Physician who assumes care from the patient’s primary doctor when the patient is hospitalized, communicates with the primary doctor and returns the patient to the care of primary doctor when the patient is discharged from the hospital.

Facility licensed by the state to provide 24-hour emergency services to patients at the same level as a hospital-based emergency room.

Legal concept requiring a patient or patient’s guardian to be advised of and to understand the risks associated with a proposed procedure or treatment prior to approving such procedure or treatment, usually indicated by a signed written statement.

Patient who receives medical services while in a hospital or other healthcare institution for a minimum of one night.

Hospital unit where specialized medical equipment and services are provided for seriously injured or ill patients.

Hospital unit for babies requiring extra care.

Established by the American Academy of Pediatrics to categorize hospitals according to the care they can provide to newborns. Facilities offering neonatal intensive care must meet healthcare standards through federal/state licensing or certification.

Level I: Basic newborn care for healthy, full-term babies while stabilizing babies born near term for transfer to facilities for advanced care.

Level II: Advanced newborn care for babies born at greater than 32 weeks gestation or who are recovering from more serious conditions.

Level III: Care for babies born at less than 32 weeks gestation and babies born with critical illness at all gestational ages.

Level IV: the most acute care including the surgical repair of complex congenital or acquired conditions.

Established to promote patient rights, shared decision making between patients and their clinicians and to enhance the ethical environment for health care professionals.

Professional registered nurse who offers individualized assistance to patients, families and caregivers.

Registered nurse who has successfully completed an advanced formal program of study designed to prepare registered nurses to provide primary healthcare.

Outlines the basic rights of each patient in a healthcare facility.

Legal document granting authority for an individual to act for another person in specified or all legal or financial matters

Basic or general healthcare traditionally provided by doctors trained in family practice, pediatrics and internal medicine.

Hospital-based center with the resources and processes to care for acute stroke patients.

Sophisticated treatment of complex or serious conditions provided by highly trained staff in specialized units.

Established by the American Trauma Society, trauma care levels (I, II, III, IV or V) refer to the resources available in a trauma center.

Level I: Total care for every aspect of injury with 24-hour coverage by general surgeons and prompt availability of care in orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, radiology, internal medicine, plastic surgery, oral and maxillofacial, pediatric and critical care.

Level II: Care for all injured patients with 24-hour immediate coverage by general surgeons along with coverage of orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, radiology and critical care.

Level III: Prompt assessment, resuscitation, surgery, intensive care and stabilization of injured patients and emergency operations. 24-hour immediate coverage by emergency medicine physicians and the prompt availability of general surgeons and anesthesiologists.

Level IV: Advanced trauma life support (ATLS) prior to patient transfer to a higher level trauma center. Provides evaluation, stabilization, and diagnostic capabilities for injured patients with basic emergency department facilities for ATLS protocols and 24-hour lab.