Category: H

A technician who ensures the accuracy, completeness, coding, security, storage, and retrieval of health care-related data, especially in medical records. The work may involve various aspects of health care (e.g., epidemiology, ethics, law, management, patient care, and research).  

A limited but measurable element of the health of a community that is used to gauge public health as a whole.  

A standardized coding system used to process claims for insurance payments by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. It consists of two parts: a coding system devised by the American Medical Association called the Current Procedural Terminology, which describes procedures and services provided by health care professionals; and a system that identifies health-related products…

A synonym, preferred in some health care communications, for nosocomial pneumonia. It includes both ventilator-associated pneumonias and other lower respiratory tract infections that are contracted during a stay in a hospital or health care facility.  

A legal document that allows individuals to name someone they know and trust to make health care decisions for them if, for any reason and at any time, the individual becomes unable to make or communicate those decisions. Some states limit the age at which such a proxy may be established and prohibit certain persons,…

Any organism, chemical, condition, or circumstance that may cause injury or illness. With respect to chemicals, a substance is considered a health hazard if at least one study, conducted in accordance with established scientific principles, documents that acute or chronic effects may occur in connection with use of or exposure to that chemical. These are…

An official statement signed by a physician attesting to the state of health of a particular individual.  

An individual who cures diseases, eases discomfort, or relieves the suffering of others.  

A maneuver used to open the airway of an unconscious patient who may need ventilatory assistance. With the patient in the supine position, the head is tilted back into a hyperextended position with one hand and the bony part of the mandible is gently lifted by the other hand. The procedure helps to prevent the…

A pad made of soft material placed beneath the occiput, around the neck or lower face or both, designed to limit head movement during surgery or to prevent neck pain in cervical arthritis.