Category: B

A special unit of the hospital set up to give intensive care to burn patients. It is a specialized intensive care unit.  

An implantable electronic device which periodically stimulates the phrenic nerves in the chest so that the diaphragm contracts and the patient inhales. When the electrical pulse stops, the diaphragm relaxes and the patient exhales. The device is useful for quadriplegic patients and patients with sleep apnea. A device that stimulates breathing by delivering electrical pulses…

Defined by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as “a finished, labeled product which contains as ingredients plant material or its constituents. This includes, but is not limited to whole plants or any parts of plants, algae, macroscopic fungi, etc., or combinations thereof, whether processed or unproscessed. The definitions of botanicals and plant materials do…

Standard language in a contract, often in small print. Boilerplate may be distinguished from language which has been written specifically for a certain contract, and which reflects the specific intentions of the unique parties involved. Boilerplate may not always be enforced, especially if it conflicts with the specific, expressed intentions of the parties.  

A term used to indicate the role of the executive committee and the chief executive officer (CEO) of an organization. When the full board (governing body) is not in session, but its executive committee is, the executive committee is “in residence” and has the authority of the full board in most matters. When the executive…

The nonprofit health care prepayment plans (health insurance plans) which originated with hospitals and physicians, respectively. In many areas the Blue Cross (BC) and Blue Shield (BS) plans have merged. There are about 77 of these health insurance plans linked by a national association, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA). The national association…

A facility which carries out the storage and distribution functions for a blood bank.  

A charge levied against the recipient of blood. It is called a deposit because the intent is to encourage the replenishment of the blood supply of the blood bank rather than to obtain money. If the blood is replaced, the deposit is returned.  

The testing steps taken to determine the group and type of blood available for transfusion, and its safety, and to prepare it for distribution and use, both as whole blood and as blood components.  

An increasing number of medical and surgical procedures in which techniques are being developed to decrease or eliminate the use of blood transfusions. Technology used to assist in this process includes the use of certain drugs, laser surgery, detailed surgical technique, autotransfusion, hyperbaric chambers, use of blood expanders, and recirculation of the patient’s own blood.…