Category: M

Legal action taken by an individual or group of individuals, usually patients, against hospitals, health-service providers or health professionals in respect of alleged inadequacies in the provision of health care.  

This term is used to define the process of learning and knowledge-acquisition in the study of medicine from undergraduate through postgraduate to lifelong learning.  

Now subsumed into the Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), it was set up by the Department of Health in the UK to regulate and advise on the sale or use of any product, other than a medicine, used in the health-care environment for the diagnosis, prevention, monitoring or treatment of illness or disease.…

These are UK bodies that provide doctors with advice and, where appropriate, financial support in defending claims for clinical negligence. They also advise doctors on all legal aspects of their work, including patients’ complaints, and provide representation for members called to account by the general medical council (GMC) or other regulatory body. The defence societies…

Also known as shin splints. A condition characterized by pain over the inner border of the shin, which occurs mostly in runners, and sometimes in joggers. It is caused by muscular swelling resulting in partial obstruction of local blood flow. The disorder may be the result of compartment syndrome (build-up of pressure in the muscles),…

A direct relaxant of the smooth muscle in the intestine, this drug may relieve pain in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or diverticular disease. Adverse effects are rare.  

A complication of walking and running over long distances. It is caused by damage to red blood cells in the blood vessels of the soles of the feet. This results in haemoglobin being released into the bloodstream, which is then voided in the urine a condition known as haemoglobinuria. No treatment is required.  

This process aims to reduce the costs of health care while maintaining its quality. The concept originated in the United States but has attracted interest in the United Kingdom and Europe, where the spiralling costs of health care have been causing widespread concern. It involves designing and implementing methods of financing and organizing the delivery…

Organophosphorus insecticide which is a preferred scabicide and pediculocide; applied externally; resistance is rare. An effective pesticide; an organophosphate that inhibits the enzyme cholinesterase. An insecticide with neurotoxic properties, this substance is an organic phosphate that effectively eliminates lice. Malathion is an antiparasitic medication used to treat skin and hair infestations like lice and scabies.…