Glossary

Author: Glossary

  • Stone center

    A lithotripsy facility.  

  • Statute of limitations

    A law requiring that certain types of lawsuits be initiated within a specific length of time. For example, if a patient wishes to sue for malpractice, state law may require that the suit be started within two years after the date of the alleged act of malpractice (the length of time varies from state to…

  • Statute

    A law enacted (passed) by a legislative body.  

  • Standard operating procedure

    An action (or series of actions) to be carried out in a given situation. SOP may or may not be written. For example, it is “SOP” in most households to lock the doors at night.  

  • Divided standard of medical care

    A proposal by E. Haavi Morreim and others that the “standard of medical care” should be divided into two components: the standard of medical expertise (SME) and the standard of resource use (SRU) in order to distinguish between that which physicians are expected to do for their patients and the resources, monetary and technological, that…

  • Stakeholder

    An individual who has an interest in the activities of an organization and the ability to influence it. A hospital’s stakeholders, for example, include its patients, employees, medical staff, government, insurers, industry, and the community.  

  • Squeal rule

    A law requiring a family planning agency to report to parents when family planning advice or services are provided to a minor.  

  • Specialty

    A particular branch of medicine, or a limited division of another profession, such as nursing. The practitioner of a specialty is a specialist, usually qualified by added training, plus added experience, within the branch of the discipline. The branch of medicine, surgery, dentistry, or nursing in which a specialist practices.  

  • Snail mail

    A nickname for the postal service used to contrast it with e-mail, which travels at electronic speed.  

  • Smart card

    A card which stores in magnetic or optical form information about a patient which can be read by an electronic device. The typical storage medium is a magnetic strip.