Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), located in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas, US, is a health sciences university. It includes a medical school, Baylor College of Medicine; the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences; the School of Allied Health Sciences; and the National School of Tropical Medicine. The school, located in the middle of the world's largest medical center, is part owner of Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center, part of the CHI St. Luke's Health system, and has hospital affiliations with: Harris Health System, Texas Children's Hospital, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Memorial Hermann – The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research, Menninger Clinic, the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Children's Hospital of San Antonio.
Primary care is the day-to-day healthcare given by a health care provider. Typically this provider acts as the first contact and principal point of continuing care for patients within a healthcare system, and coordinates other specialist care that the patient may need. Patients commonly receive primary care from professionals such as a primary care physician, a nurse practitioner, or a physician assistant. In some localities, such a professional may be a registered nurse, a pharmacist, a clinical officer, or a Ayurvedic or other traditional medicine professional. Depending on the nature of the health condition, patients may then be referred for secondary or tertiary care.
A primary care physician (PCP) is a physician who provides both the first contact for a person with an undiagnosed health concern as well as continuing care of varied medical conditions, not limited by cause, organ system, or diagnosis. The term is primarily used in the United States. In the past in the US and still in the United Kingdom, the equivalent term was/is general practitioner.
A nurse practitioner (NP) is an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) classified as a mid-level practitioner. A nurse practitioner is trained to assess patient needs, order and interpret diagnostic and laboratory tests, diagnose illness and disease, prescribe medication and formulate treatment plans. NP training covers basic disease prevention, coordination of care, and health promotion, but does not provide the depth of expertise needed to recognize more complex cases in which multiple symptoms suggest more serious conditions. According to the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, a nurse practitioner is educated at the masters or doctoral level to provide "primary, acute, chronic, and specialty care to patients of all ages and all walks of life". In United States, nurse practitioners have been lobbying for independent practice. The opponents of independent practice have argued that nurse practitioner education is "flimsy," because it can consist of online coursework with few hours of actual patient contact. The number of patient contact hours in nurse practitioner training is less than or equal to 3% of physician training.
Norton Healthcare is one of Kentucky's health care systems with more than 40 clinics and hospitals in and around Louisville, Kentucky. The hospital and health care system is the Louisville area's third largest private employer, providing care at more than 140 locations throughout Greater Louisville and Southern Indiana. The Louisville-based not-for-profit system includes five Louisville hospitals with 1,837 licensed beds; seven outpatient centers; 12 Norton Immediate Care Centers; over 13,000 employees; some 654 employed medical providers; and approximately 2,000 total physicians on its medical staff.
The Jade Ribbon Campaign (JRC) was launched by the Asian Liver Center (ALC) at Stanford University in May 2001 during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month to help spread awareness internationally about hepatitis B (HBV) and liver cancer in Asian and Pacific Islander (API) communities.
The National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) is the world's largest nonprofit organization serving people with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. NPF provides information and services to help people take control of their condition, while supporting research to find a cure. In addition to serving more than 3 million people annually through patient and professional health education and advocacy initiatives, the National Psoriasis Foundation has funded more than $12 million in psoriatic disease research grants and fellowships.
A nurse-managed health center provides health care services in medically underserved rural and urban areas in the United States where there is limited access to health care. Nurse-managed health centers provide health care to thousands of uninsured and underinsured people every year. Nurse-managed health centers are usually affiliated with nursing schools, universities, and/or independent non-profit organizations. Managed by advanced practice nurses, nurse-managed health centers provide health care to vulnerable communities using a nursing model.
Health advocacy encompasses direct service to the individual or family as well as activities that promote health and access to health care in communities and the larger public. Advocates support and promote the rights of the patient in the health care arena, help build capacity to improve community health and enhance health policy initiatives focused on available, safe and quality care. Health advocates are best suited to address the challenge of patient-centered care in our complex healthcare system. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) defines patient-centered care as: Health care that establishes a partnership among practitioners, patients, and their families to ensure that decisions respect patients’ wants, needs, and preferences and that patients have the education and support they need to make decisions and participate in their own care. Patient-centered care is also one of the overreaching goals of health advocacy, in addition to safer medical systems, and greater patient involvement in healthcare delivery and design.
Patient advocacy is an area of specialization in health care concerned with advocacy for patients, survivors, and caregivers. The patient advocate may be an individual or an organization, often, though not always, concerned with one specific group of disorders. The terms patient advocate and patient advocacy can refer both to individual advocates providing services that organizations also provide, and to organizations whose functions extend to individual patients. Some patient advocates work for the institutions that are directly responsible for the patient's care.
Mission Hospital is located in Mission Viejo, California.
The American Liver Foundation is a non-profit organization that promotes liver health and disease prevention. The mission of the ALF is to facilitate, advocate and promote education, support and research for the prevention, treatment, and cure of liver disease.
Lupus Canada is a national voluntary organization dedicated to improving the lives of people living with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) through advocacy, education, public awareness, support and research. Formed in 1987, Lupus Canada is a federally registered non-profit charity and its national office is located in Markham, Ontario.
The Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition (RIPAC) is Rhode Island's non-profit grassroots medical marijuana community. Patients, caregivers, doctors, nurses, health care providers, advocates, lawyers, organizations, and residents all make up a part of the coalition. RIPAC advances discourse, research, and policy related to medical marijuana in four main areas: patient advocacy, professional education, research, and policy development. RIPAC works to protect the medical use of marijuana under state law by facilitating dialogue among patients, medical professionals, law enforcement, and policymakers.
A family nurse practitioner (FNP) provides continuing and comprehensive healthcare for the individual and family across all ages, genders, diseases, and body systems. Primary care emphasises the holistic nature of health and it is based on knowledge of the patient in the context of the family and the community, emphasizing disease prevention and health promotion.
The American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) is a professional organization for physicians specializing in Hospice and Palliative Medicine, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership is open to all health care providers committed to improving the care of patients with serious or life-threatening illnesses. AAHPM has more than 5,200 members; 82 percent are physicians, 12 percent are nurses or other health care providers and 6 percent are residents or students.
Hospice care in the United States is a type and philosophy of end-of-life care which focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's symptoms. These symptoms can be physical, emotional, spiritual or social in nature. The concept of hospice as a place to treat the incurably ill has been evolving since the 11th century. Hospice care was introduced to the United States in the 1970s in response to the work of Cicely Saunders in the United Kingdom. This part of health care has expanded as people face a variety of issues with terminal illness. In the United States, it is distinguished by extensive use of volunteers and a greater emphasis on the patient's psychological needs in coming to terms with dying.
St. Vincent's HealthCare, based in Jacksonville, Florida is a network of three acute-care hospitals, a long-term skilled nursing facility, 30+ primary care centers, nearly a dozen medical laboratories, transportation and prescription services, and a health outreach ministry. St.Vincent's is also an affiliate of Ascension Health.
Chronic disease in Northern Ontario is a population health problem. The population in Northern Ontario experiences worse outcomes on a number of important health indicators, including higher rates of chronic disease compared to the population in the rest of Ontario.
Faxton St. Luke's Healthcare is a non-profit healthcare system providing services to residents of the Mohawk Valley in Central New York. Faxton St. Luke's Healthcare has two campuses for inpatient and outpatient care, long term care at St. Luke's Home and continuing care services through the Visiting Nurse Association of Utica and Oneida County, Senior Network Health and Mohawk Valley Home Care.
