Health Care Terms You Should Know
Of course, you know M.D. is a medical doctor, but did you know DME is durable medical equipment, such as a wheelchair?
Recognizing health care-related terms and abbreviations can help you understand treatment plans and insurance coverage, which can improve your care and help you control costs. The following glossary is from the nonprofit group Academy Health.
Activities of daily living (ADL): a measure of a person's degree of independence in bathing, dressing, eating and walking
Acute disease: a disease such as appendicitis, which is characterized by a single short-term episode a doctor can treat so the person can return to his or her normal level of activity
Adverse drug reaction (ADR): a person's undesirable or dangerous response to a drug
Behavioral health care: a term that includes treatment for mental health and substance abuse
Board-certified: a designation for a medical specialist who completes extra education and training and passes an extensive examination
Chronic disease: a disease that's permanent, involves some disability and requires a long period of care
Disability: any limitation of physical, mental or social activity of a person, compared with others of a similar age, sex and occupation
Drug formulary: a list of prescription drugs covered by a health insurance plan
Evidence-based medicine: using the best current evidence when making treatment decisions
Health: the state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease
Health risk factors: chemical, psychological, physiological, environmental or genetic conditions that make it more likely someone will develop a disease
Hospice: a program that provides supportive care for terminally ill people and their families
Medical error: an error in medical care provided to a patient; medical errors can occur in diagnosis, treatment or failure of equipment used in treatment
Medically necessary: a treatment that's appropriate for a person's diagnosis and if not performed, will negatively affect the person's condition
Physician assistant (PA): a specially trained and licensed health care provider who performs tasks under the direction of a doctor
Usual, customary and reasonable (UCR): fees determined by health insurers for payment to doctors for their services
Wellness: a dynamic state of physical, mental and social well-being; a lifestyle that recognizes the importance of nutrition, physical fitness, stress reduction and self-responsibility in health