Key Terms1
Chinese medicine treatment in which tiny needles are inserted into specific points in the body to alleviate pain and relieve various physical, mental, and emotional conditions.
Health care systems, practices, and products that have not traditionally been performed by practitioners of Western medicine; practices used instead of conventional medicine.
alternative medicine
Progressive, degenerative disorder that attacks the brain’s nerve cells resulting in memory loss, impaired thinking and language skills, and changes in behavior.
Alzheimer's disease
Also known as outpatient services, they provide diagnostic, treatment, and rehabilitation services for patients who do not require hospitalization.
ambulatory services
Health care practice based on the belief that pressure on the nerves leaving the spinal column causes pain and dysfunction of the body part served by that nerve.
chiropractic
Decline in memory and/or other thinking skills.
dementia
The insertion of normal DNA into cells to correct a genetic defect or to treat certain diseases.
gene therapy
Physician in ancient Greece, often referred to as the Father of Medicine.
Hippocrates
Health care practices based on the belief that all aspects of the individual—physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and environmental—contribute to states of health and disease.
holistic medicine
A health care practice that is based on the idea that “like cures like.” Disorders are treated with very small amounts of the natural substances that cause symptoms of the same disorder in healthy people.
homeopathy
A facility or service that offers palliative (relieves but does not cure) care and support to dying patients and their families.
hospice
Admitted to, and treated within, a hospital.
inpatient
Racism outside one’s consciousness or awareness.
implicit racism
Manipulation of soft tissues by rubbing or kneading to achieve health benefits.
massage therapy
Federally funded but state-administered insurance plan for individuals who qualify due to low income.
Medicaid
When referring to bacteria, means they change in ways that reduce or eliminate the effectiveness of antibiotics to destroy them.
mutate
Reducing pain or severity of a disease or condition rather than curing it.
palliative
Rapidly spreading diseases that attack many people at the same time.
pandemic
Approval from an insurance company prior to receiving certain health care services, for the purposes of determining medical necessity and cost effectiveness.
preauthorization
Facilities that offer treatment to individuals with mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders.
psychiatric hospital
Disorders, including physical illness, caused by mental or emotional factors.
The number of occurrences related to a specific event (e.g., births and deaths) for purposes of reporting.
vital statistics
Promotion of health through preventive measures and the practice of good health habits; when the body is in a state of homeostasis.
wellness
Based on a scientific approach, it treats symptoms and diseases using drugs, radiation, or surgery.
Use of drugs to block the growth and spread of cancer cells by preventing them from dividing or by destroying them.
targeted drug therapy