malpractice
/mælˈpræktəs/Careless or improper treatment by a medical professional that causes harm to a patient.
Example: The family sued the hospital for malpractice.
C222 words · Proficient
Healthcare vocabulary — C2
Expert healthcare vocabulary for research and patient safety, including malpractice, a nosocomial infection, the mortality rate in a cohort study and herd immunity.
22 questions
Words in this set
22vector-borne
Describes a disease spread to humans through a carrier, such as a mosquito or tick.
Example:
Malaria is a vector-borne disease common in tropical regions.
nosocomial
Describes an infection caught while a patient is being treated in hospital.
Example:
Strict hygiene rules reduce nosocomial infections.
adverse event
An unexpected and harmful reaction caused by a medical treatment or drug.
Example:
The trial was paused after a serious adverse event.
informed refusal
A patient's documented decision to decline a recommended treatment after understanding the risks.
Example:
He signed an informed refusal after rejecting the surgery.
cohort study
Medical research that follows a group of people over time to see how a disease or outcome develops.
Example:
The cohort study tracked ten thousand patients for a decade.
mortality rate
The number of deaths from a disease or in a population within a given time.
Example:
The new treatment lowered the mortality rate significantly.
sequela
A health condition that results from an earlier disease or injury.
Example:
Chronic fatigue was a lasting sequela of the infection.
prodrome
Early symptoms that appear before the main signs of an illness develop.
Example:
A slight headache was the prodrome before her migraine began.
case fatality rate
The percentage of people with a certain disease who die from it.
Example:
The new strain had a lower case fatality rate than the original virus.
number needed to treat
How many patients must be treated for one to benefit.
Example:
A number needed to treat of ninety changes the conversation entirely.
confounding
/kənˈfaʊndɪŋ/A hidden factor that distorts an apparent relationship.
Example:
Confounding by age explained the whole effect.
intention to treat
Analysing trial results by original group, whatever happened after.
Example:
Intention to treat analysis is less flattering and more honest.
number of adverse events
How many harmful incidents were recorded in a study or service.
Example:
The number of adverse events was buried in an appendix.
shared decision making
Choosing treatment together with the patient rather than for them.
Example:
Shared decision making takes longer and produces fewer complaints.
clinical equipoise
Genuine uncertainty about which treatment is better.
Example:
Clinical equipoise is what makes a randomised trial ethical.
herd immunity
Protection of a whole population once enough people are immune.
Example:
Herd immunity thresholds depend on how infectious the disease is.
attributable risk
The share of cases that can be blamed on one exposure.
Example:
The attributable risk for that exposure was under two per cent.
never event
A serious mistake that should be entirely preventable.
Example:
One never event triggers an inquiry whatever the outcome.
safeguarding referral
A formal report that someone may be at risk of harm.
Example:
The safeguarding referral was made and then lost between two systems.
polypharmacy review
A check on whether a patient is taking too many medicines.
Example:
A polypharmacy review removed four of the eleven prescriptions.
clinical audit
Checking real practice against an agreed standard.
Example:
The clinical audit was completed and the loop was never closed.
