Outpatient facility that provides medical services by a group of physicians practicing medicine together and assumes health care responsibility for ambulatory patients (e.g., physical therapy for rehabilitative purposes, diagnostic x-rays, laboratory tests, educational services).

Corporation formed by several medical practices with administrative and contracting functions centralized. Physicians’ offices have different locations, but all patient revenue is shared by the group. Sometimes called group practice without walls. See group without walls (GWW).

1. Pertaining to a clinic. 2. Pertaining to direct bedside medical or nursing care. 3. Pertaining to materials or equipment used in the care of a sick person. 4. Experience of students in training. 5. Pertaining to tasks connected with medical practice.

Examination of a patient by a physician to check for breast cancer by feeling and inspection. It is not the same as a mammogram and is performed in a doctor’s office during a Papanicolaou test and pelvic examination.

Computer-based patient record (CPR) that contains a collection of clinical key data from several sources. These data may be monitored and analyzed and are retrievable. The data can be assembled into reports or used for help in decision making. They can also be part of an institutional information warehouse or community or state health information system. Sometimes referred to as a data warehouse or clinical data warehouse (CDW).

Method used to provide clinical data to health care providers and clinicians with the use of embedded flags (e.g., alert to a case manager that a patient’s eligibility for a specific medical service is almost used up). CDSS is a major functional requirement to support a clinical or critical pathway.

In a workers’ compensation case, collection of data by a physician for assessing the health of an individual for the purpose of creating a medical management plan and beginning a course of treatment.

Medical cases that support clinical situations related to some evaluation and management services and shown in an appendix of the Current Procedural Terminology code book. These illustrations may be used as a tool in coding professional services for billing.

Computer system that maintains a database of actual patient information on active medical care and treatment. CIS may be used for supporting medical decisions. In expanded form, a CIS becomes an electronic health record system. Also called clinical system.

Workplace where diagnostic tests and procedures are performed on specimens that are directly related to the care of patients such as blood, infectious materials, saliva, and tissues.