Nursing practice

The passing of information and responsibility for a client's care from one nurse or team to another.

The licensed professional who diagnoses and prescribes for a client, such as a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant.

A person a client chooses in a legal document to make health care decisions for them if they cannot decide for themselves.

A difference in health, illness or access to care between groups of people that is linked to social, economic or environmental disadvantage.

A fair chance for every person to reach their best possible health.

The information about a client's past and present health that a nurse or provider gathers by asking questions.

A person's ability to find, understand and use health information to make decisions about their health.

A change in a person's or a group's health that results from care, a program or other factors.

Helping people take actions that keep them well and improve their health.

The official, legal record of a client's health information and the care they receive.

The US government's set of national health goals and measurable targets for the years 2020 to 2030.

A brand of closed suction drain whose round reservoir is pressed flat to make suction that draws fluid from a wound.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, a US law that protects the privacy of health information.

The record of a patient's health history and physical examination, written by a provider before surgery and other care; abbreviated H&P.

Health maintenance organization, a group of providers that gives care for a set fee under guidelines meant to keep costs down.

The area near the operating rooms where patients wait just before surgery and are checked and prepared before they go into the OR.

Care that looks after the whole person: body, mind, emotions, relationships and spiritual needs.

Care for people expected to live about six months or less, focused on comfort and quality of life rather than cure.

The incident command system as used by a single hospital or other health care facility to run its response to an emergency.

A stay in a hospital as an admitted client, or the act of being admitted to one.

A charting abbreviation for history, such as a client's medical history.

A self-adhesive dressing wafer containing gel-forming agents that absorb a little drainage and keep a wound moist.