Midwifery is the health science and health profession that deals with pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period, in addition to the sexual and reproductive health of women throughout their lives. In many countries, midwifery is a medical profession. A professional in midwifery is known as a midwife.
Caesarean section, also known as C-section, or caesarean delivery, is the use of surgery to deliver babies. A caesarean section is often necessary when a vaginal delivery would put the baby or mother at risk. Reasons for this may include obstructed labor, twin pregnancy, high blood pressure in the mother, breech birth, or problems with the placenta or umbilical cord. A caesarean delivery may be performed based upon the shape of the mother's pelvis or history of a previous C-section. A trial of vaginal birth after C-section may be possible. The World Health Organization recommends that caesarean section be performed only when medically necessary. Some C-sections are performed without a medical reason, upon request by someone, usually the mother.
Childbirth, also known as labour and delivery, is the ending of pregnancy where one or more babies leaves the uterus by passing through the vagina or by Caesarean section. In 2015, there were about 135 million births globally. About 15 million were born before 37 weeks of gestation, while between 3 and 12 percent were born after 42 weeks. In the developed world most deliveries occur in hospitals, while in the developing world most births take place at home with the support of a traditional birth attendant.
In the medical profession, a general practitioner (GP) is a medical doctor who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education to patients.
Health care, health-care, or healthcare is the maintenance or improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, recovery, or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health professionals in allied health fields. Physicians and physician associates are a part of these health professionals. Dentistry, pharmacy, midwifery, nursing, medicine, optometry, audiology, psychology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, athletic training and other health professions are all part of health care. It includes work done in providing primary care, secondary care, and tertiary care, as well as in public health.
A birthing center or centre is a healthcare facility, staffed by nurse midwives, midwives and/or obstetricians, for mothers in labor, who may be assisted by doulas and coaches. By attending the laboring mother, the doulas can assist the midwives and make the birth easier. The midwives monitor the labor, and well-being of the mother and fetus during birth. Should additional medical assistance be required the mother can be transferred to a hospital. Some hospitals are now adding birth centers to their facilities as an alternative to the high tech maternity wards commonly found at most hospitals.
Episiotomy, also known as perineotomy, is a surgical incision of the perineum and the posterior vaginal wall generally done by a midwife or obstetrician. Episiotomy is usually performed during second stage of labor to quickly enlarge the opening for the baby to pass through. The incision, which can be done at a 90 degree angle from the vulva towards the anus or at an angle from the posterior end of the vulva, is performed under local anesthetic, and is sutured after delivery.
A teaching hospital is a hospital or medical center that provides medical education and training to future and current health professionals and that is involved in medical research. Teaching hospitals are often affiliated with medical schools and work closely with medical students throughout their period of matriculation, and especially during their clerkship (internship) years. In most cases, teaching hospitals also offer graduate medical education (GME)/physician residency programs, where medical school graduates train under a supervising (attending) physician to assist with the coordination of care.
Caesarean delivery on maternal request (CDMR) is a caesarean section birth requested by the pregnant woman without a medical reason.
Case management is a managed care technique within the health care coverage system of the United States. It involves an integrated system that manages the delivery of comprehensive healthcare services for enrolled patients. Case managers are employed in almost every aspect of health care and these employ different approaches in the control of clinical actions.
Sham peer review or malicious peer review is a name given to the abuse of a medical peer review process to attack a doctor for personal or other non-medical reasons. The American Medical Association conducted an investigation of medical peer review in 2007 and concluded that while it is easy to allege misconduct and 15% of surveyed physicians indicated that they were aware of peer review misuse or abuse, cases of malicious peer review able to be proven through the legal system are rare.
In the United States, anesthesia can be administered by physician anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, or anesthesiology assistants.
In economics, supplier induced demand (SID) may occur when asymmetry of information exists between supplier and consumer. The supplier can use superior information to encourage an individual to demand a greater quantity of the good or service they supply than the Pareto efficient level, should asymmetric information not exist. The result of this is a welfare loss.
Yisrael Safeek is an American physician, author, and healthcare software company executive. For the past 29 years, Safeek occupied a wide spectrum of roles within the US healthcare system - doctor, medical director, hospital co-owner, Joint Commission surveyor, Malcolm Baldrige Board of Examiners, health system Chief Medical Officer, book author, speaker, and software developer. Safeek made the short list for United States Undersecretary of Health. In 2010, he founded The SafeCare Group, a healthcare software firm with headquarters in Lexington, Kentucky with the motto of "Innovating Disrupting Transforming" healthcare. Before founding The SafeCare Group, Safeek served in the dual roles as system Chief Quality Officer of Covenant Health System and at the time the largest health system between Dallas and Los Angeles, and first Chief Medical Officer of the second largest clinical integration program in the US, Health Partners. As Covenant, Safeek accelerated the implementation of advanced clinical technologies, facilitated the adoption of evidence-based medicine,and reduced the overuse and misuse of clinical resources. The network aligned hundreds of independent physicians with the health system's goals and yielded tangible outcomes in patient safety, quality, and efficiency of care. Between 2005 and 2014, Safeek was employed by The Joint Commission holding certifications in the Hospital Accreditation Program (2005–2014), and the Outpatient-Based Surgery Program (2009–2014). In 2007, he was the first Kentucky physician appointed to the Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award program. Safeek is a diplomate Certified Physician Executive from the Certifying Commission in Medical Management, the American Board of Medical Specialties in Anesthesiology, and the National Board of Medical Examiners. He is a Vanguard Advisory Member of the American Association for Physician Leadership. and Fellow, the “highest honor awarded to physician leaders who have made significant contributions in improving the delivery and outcomes in medicine." In 2017, Safeek published a seven-point Making American Healthcare Great Again strategy. For each policy initiative, there was an outline of the Scope of the Problem; Policy Priorities; Deployment Phases; Special Considerations; and Accountability. A copy of the document was sent to President Trump at the White House.
Clinical peer review, also known as medical peer review is the process by which health care professionals, including those in nursing and pharmacy, evaluate each other's clinical performance. A discipline-specific process may be referenced accordingly.
The move to electronic medical records (EMRs) is becoming increasingly prevalent in health care delivery systems in the United States.
Joseph Bolivar DeLee was an American physician who became known as the father of modern obstetrics. DeLee founded the Chicago Lying-in Hospital, where he introduced the first portable infant incubator. Early in his career, he was associated with the medical school at Northwestern University. After 1929, he was employed by the medical school at the University of Chicago.
Credentialing is the process of establishing the qualifications of licensed medical professionals and assessing their background and legitimacy. Many health care institutions and provider networks conduct their own credentialing, generally through a credentialing specialist or electronic service, with review by a credentialing committee. It may include granting and reviewing specific clinical privileges, and allied health staff membership.
An obstetric hospitalist is an obstetrician and gynaecologist physician who is either employed by a hospital or a physician practice and whose duties include providing care for laboring patients and managing obstetric emergencies. Some obstetrics hospitalists also have responsibilities including resident and medical student teaching; providing backup support for family practitioners and nurse midwives, assisting private physicians with surgery, assuming care for ob-gyn patients unassigned to a physician and providing vacation coverage for the private practicing physician.
An acute care nurse practitioner (ACNP) is a registered nurse who has completed an accredited graduate-level educational program that prepares them as a nurse practitioner. This program includes supervised clinical practice to acquire advanced knowledge, skills, and abilities. This education and training qualifies them to independently: (1) perform comprehensive health assessments; (2) order and interpret the full spectrum of diagnostic tests and procedures; (3) use a differential diagnosis to reach a medical diagnosis; and (4) order, provide, and evaluate the outcomes of interventions. The purpose of the ACNP is to provide advanced nursing care across the continuum of health care services to meet the specialized physiologic and psychological needs of patients with acute, critical, and/or complex chronic health conditions. This care is continuous and comprehensive and may be provided in any setting where the patient may be found. The ACNP is a licensed independent practitioner and may autonomously provide care. Whenever appropriate, the ACNP considers formal consultation and/or collaboration involving patients, caregivers, nurses, physicians, and other members of the interprofessional team.