| medical assistance | Financing of medical care provided to public assistance recipients. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| medical audit | A detailed review and evaluation of selected clinical records by qualified professional personnel for evaluating quality of medical care. (12 Dec 1998) |
| medical biophysics | Biophysics related to diagnosis and therapy. (05 Mar 2000) |
| medical care | The portion of care under a physician's direction. (05 Mar 2000) |
| medical chemistry | Chemistry in its relation to pharmacy, physiology, or any science connected with medicine. (05 Mar 2000) |
| medical corps | The subdivision of a military organization, such as the U.S. Army, devoted to medical care of the troops. (05 Mar 2000) |
| medical diathermy | Diathermy of mild degree causing no destruction of tissue. Synonym: thermopenetration. (05 Mar 2000) |
| medical directives, advance | Advance directives preserve the person's right to accept or reject a course of medical treatment even after that person becomes mentally or physically incapacitated to the point of being unable to communicate those wishes. There ared two basic types of advance directives: (1) a living will, in which the person outlines specific treatment guidelines that are to be followed by health care providers; (2) a health care proxy (also called a power of attorney for health-care decision-making) in which the person designates a trusted individual to make medical decisions in the event that he or she becomes too incapacitated to make such decisions. Advance directive requirements vary greatly from one jurisdiction to another and should therefore be drawn up in consultation with an attorney who is familiar with the laws of the particular jurisdiction. (this entry is based upon material from the national ms society). (12 Dec 1998) |
| medical errors | Errors or mistakes committed by health professionals which result in harm to the patient. They include errors in diagnosis (diagnostic errors), errors in the administration of drugs and other medications (medication errors), errors in the performance of surgical procedures, in the use of other types of therapy, in the use of equipment, and in the interpretation of laboratory findings. Medical errors are differentiated from malpractice in that the former are regarded as honest mistakes or accidents while the latter is the result of negligence, reprehensible ignorance, or criminal intent. (12 Dec 1998) |
| medical ethics | The principles of proper professional conduct concerning the rights and duties of the physician, patients, and fellow practitioners, as well as the physician's actions in the care of patients and in relations with their families. (05 Mar 2000) |
| medical examiner | A physician who examines a person and reports upon his physical condition to the company or individual at whose request the examination was made, in states or municipalities where the office of coroner has been abolished, a physician appointed to investigate all cases of sudden, violent, or suspicious death. (05 Mar 2000) |
| medical futility | The absence of a useful purpose or useful result in a diagnostic procedure or therapeutic intervention. The situation of a patient whose condition will not be improved by treatment or instances in which treatment preserves permanent unconsciousness or cannot end dependence on intensive medical care. (12 Dec 1998) |
| medical genetics | The study of the aetiology, pathogenesis, and natural history of human diseases which are at least partially genetic in origin. Compare: clinical genetics, human genetics. (05 Mar 2000) |
| medical illustration | The field which deals with illustrative clarification of biomedical concepts, as in the use of diagrams and drawings. The illustration may be produced by hand, photography, computer, or other electronic or mechanical methods. (12 Dec 1998) |
| medical indigency | The condition in which an individual is unable to provide himself and his dependents with adequate medical care without depriving himself and his dependents of food, clothing, shelter, and other essentials of living. (12 Dec 1998) |