Accreditation
Approval by an authorizing agency for institutions and programs that meet or exceed a set of pre-determined standards.

Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)
Activities performed as part of a person's daily routine of self-care such as bathing, dressing, toileting and eating.

Acute care
Hospital care given to patients who generally require a stay of several days and that focuses on a physical or mental condition requiring immediate intervention and constant medical attention, equipment and personnel.

Adult Day Care

A place that provides a program of activities and services to individuals in need of long-term care.  It is a helpful option for individuals living at home whose family caregivers work during the day and who require someone to be with them throughout the day.

Advance Directive
A document that patients complete to direct their medical care when they are unable to communicate their own wishes due to a medical condition. 

Advanced Practice Nurse (APN)
A registered nurse who is approved by the Board of Nursing to practice nursing in a specified area of advanced nursing practice. APN is an umbrella term given to a registered nurse who has met advanced educational and clinical practice requirements beyond the two to four years of basic nursing education required of all RNs. There are four types: 1) Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA); 2) Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS); 3) Certified Nurse Practitioner (CNP); and 4) Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM).

Advocate
A person, often a family member, who is designated to speak with healthcare providers on behalf of a patient. An advocate does not have legal powers, unlike a healthcare proxy.

Alzheimer's disease

A progressive neurological disease that  affects brain functions, including hwor-term ememory loss, inability to reason, and the deterioration of language and the ability to care for oneself.     

Ancillary
A term used to describe additional services performed related to care, such as lab work, X-ray and anesthesia.

Beneficiary
A person designated by an insuring organization as eligible to receive insurance benefits.

Board Certified
A clinician who has passed the national examination in a particular field. Board certification is available for most physician specialties, as well as for many allied medical professions.

Caregiver
A healthcare professional, family member or friend who attends to the needs of a patient.

Care Manager

A healthcare professional who creates a specific care plan for a client/patient.  A Care Manager will coordinate and monitor the care that the client/patient is receiving.  Care Managers are generally hired privately by the individual or family to act as an advocate for the client/patient. 

Case Manager
A health care professional who monitors the allocation and coordination of a patient's overall care, generally on behalf of a facility or insurance company.

Comfort Care
Also called "palliative care." Treatment whose focus is to improve quality of life through pain management and relief from psychological, emotional and spiritual stress. May be used in tandem with a curative course of treatment.

Continence                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   An activity of daily living – the ability of the body to control urination or bowel movements or both.

Deductible
Out-of-pocket expenses that must be paid by the health insurance subscriber before the insurer will begin reimbursing the subscriber for additional medical expenses.

Diagnosis
The identification of a disease from its signs and symptoms. Also see "prognosis."

Discharge Planning
The evaluation of patients' health needs for appropriate care after discharge from an inpatient setting.

Do Not Resuscitate (DNR)
An advance directive that patients may make to forego cardiopulmonary resuscitation or other resuscitative efforts (see advance directive).

Durable Medical Equipment (DME)

Equipment that can stand repeated use, is primarily and customarily used to serve a medical purpose, generally is not useful to a person in the absence of illness or injury, and is appropriate for use at home, such as hospital beds, wheelchairs and oxygen equipment.

Durable Power of Attorney
A document in which competent individuals can select other individuals to make decisions, including health care decisions, for them in the event they become incapacitated. (see advance directive)

Eldercare Law
A specialized practice of law that deals with the rights and issues of health, finances, and the well-being of the elderly. Issues which are addressed include social security, nursing home arrangements, pensions, and housing disputes.

Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
A system of health care professionals, facilities and equipment providing emergency care. 

General Practitioner
A physician whose practice is based on a broad understanding of all illnesses and who does not restrict his/her practice to any particular field of medicine.

Geriatric Care Manager 

A geriatric care manager is a health and human services professional, such as a gerontologist, nurse, social worker, or psychologist with a specialized focus on issues related to aging and elder care.  Geriatric care managers work privately with older adults and their families to create a plan of care that meets the needs of the older adult.  They will meet with you to help you understand your loved one's needs and to learn what resources and options are available to meet those needs.

Grief Therapist
A specially trained individual whose area of expertise is dealing with the distress or sorrow of the patient or of the family and friends after someone dies.

Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA)
An agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that is responsible for the administration of the Medicare and Medicaid programs. 

Healthcare Proxy
Also called "medical power of attorney." An appointed stand-in with the legal authority to make medical decisions. Written form is called "durable power of attorney."

Home Health Agency
An organization that provides medical, therapeutic or other health services in patients' homes.

Hospice
A program that is licensed, certified or otherwise authorized by law, which provides supportive care of the terminally ill;  A form of palliative care in which the main focus is on comfort, rather than cure.  Hospice care primarily takes place in a patient's home.

Incontinence                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Loss of control of bladder and or bowel movements.

Inpatient
An individual who has been admitted to a hospital for at least 24 hours.

Intractable pain
Pain for which there is no cure.

Living Will
A legal document stating the preferences of an individual about his or her preferences for future medical treatment in case he or she cannot make competent decisions at a later date.

Long-term Care (LTC)
Care given to patients with chronic illnesses who usually require a length of stay longer than 30 days.

Medicaid
A joint federal and state program that helps pay medical costs for some people with low incomes and limited resources. Medicaid programs vary by state. People on Medicaid may also get coverage for nursing home care and outpatient prescription drugs that are not covered by Medicare. For more information about Medicaid, go to: http://www.medicare.gov/basics/helptopay.asp

Medical Power of Attorney
Also called "healthcare proxy." An appointed stand-in with the legal authority to make medical decisions. Written form is called "durable power of attorney."

Medicare
A federally funded program that provides health insurance primarily for individuals entitled to Social Security who are age 65 or older. 

Medicare Part A

One of two parts of the Medicare program that covers inpatient hospital services and services furnished by other health care providers.

Medicare Part B

One of two parts of the Medicare program that covers outpatient and physician services.

Out of Hospital Do Not Resuscitate Order

The Out-of-Hospital Do Not Resuscitate program allows people to decide that they do not want to be resuscitated if they stop breathing and their hearts stop beating.  The program allows people to declare that certain resuscitative measures will not be used on them.  Those resuscitative measures specifically listed in the OOH DNR legislation are cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), advanced airway management, defibrillation, artifical ventilations and transcutaneous cardiac pacing.

Physical Therapist (PT)
A health care professional who evaluates and treats patients with health problems resulting from injury or disease; licensed by Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Athletic Trainers Board in Ohio. PTs assess joint motion, muscle strength and endurance, function of heart and lungs, and performance of activities required in daily living, among other responsibilities.

Primary Care
Entry-level care which may include diagnostic, therapeutic or preventive services.

Provider
A hospital, physician, group practice, nursing home, pharmacy or any individual or group of individuals that provides a health care service.

Respite Care
Temporary care given by another in place of the primary caregiver so the primary caregiver can take a break.

Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF)
A facility, either freestanding or part of a hospital, that accepts patients in need of rehabilitation and medical care that is of a lesser intensity than that received in the acute care setting of a hospital.

Social Security Administration
The administrative branch of the federal government established in 1935 to provide old age and survivor benefits. 

Spend Down

Depletion of income and assets ot meet eligibility requirements for Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California).