Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 37 > Chapter 2 - General Provisions Relating to Health Care Practitioners

• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• Collaborative pharmacy practice agreement: has the meaning provided in 37-7-101. See Montana Code 37-2-101
• Community pharmacy: when used in relation to a medical practitioner, means a pharmacy situated within 10 miles of any place at which the medical practitioner maintains an office for professional practice. See Montana Code 37-2-101
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Controlled substance: has the meaning provided in 37-7-101. See Montana Code 37-2-101
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Data: means written reports, notes, or records or oral reports or proceedings created by or at the request of a quality assurance committee that may be shared with a medical practitioner, including the medical practitioner being reviewed, and that are used exclusively in connection with quality assessment or improvement activities, including but not limited to the professional training, supervision, or discipline of a medical practitioner by a medical practice group. See Montana Code 37-2-401
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Dispense: has the meaning provided in 37-7-101. See Montana Code 37-2-101
• Drug: has the meaning provided in 37-7-101. See Montana Code 37-2-101
• Drug company: means any person engaged in the manufacturing, processing, packaging, or distribution of drugs. See Montana Code 37-2-101
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Health care facility: has the meaning provided in 50-5-101. See Montana Code 37-2-401
• Health care provider: means an individual licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized by the laws of this state to provide health care in the ordinary course of business or practice of a profession. See Montana Code 37-2-502
• Impeachment: (1) The process of calling something into question, as in "impeaching the testimony of a witness." (2) The constitutional process whereby the House of Representatives may "impeach" (accuse of misconduct) high officers of the federal government for trial in the Senate.
• Knowingly: means only a knowledge that the facts exist which bring the act or omission within the provisions of this code. See Montana Code 1-1-204
• Labeling: means any written material that accompanies, supplements, or explains a product. See Montana Code 37-2-502
• Medical practice group: means a group of two or more medical practitioners practicing medicine in a professional corporation, professional limited liability company, partnership, sole proprietorship, or associations of these entities. See Montana Code 37-2-401
• Medical practitioner: means an individual licensed by the state of Montana to engage in the practice of medicine, osteopathy, podiatry, optometry, or a nursing specialty described in 37-8-202 or licensed as a physician assistant pursuant to 37-20-203. See Montana Code 37-2-401
• Medical practitioner: means any person licensed by the state of Montana to engage in:

  (a)the practice of medicine, dentistry, osteopathy, podiatry, or optometry;

  (b)the practice of pharmacy and authorized to:

  (i)prescribe immunizations pursuant to 37-7-105; or

  (ii)prescribe drugs pursuant to 37-7-106 or in accordance with a collaborative pharmacy practice agreement; or

  (c)a nursing specialty as described in 37-8-202 and in the licensed practice to administer or prescribe drugs. See Montana Code 37-2-101

• Naturopathic physician: means a person licensed under Title 37, chapter 26, to practice naturopathic health care. See Montana Code 37-2-101
• occurrence report: means the written business record of a medical practice group that:

  (i)may be but is not required to be created by the staff involved in response to an untoward event, including but not limited to a patient injury, adverse outcome, or interventional error, for the purpose of ensuring a prompt evaluation of the event; and

  (ii)is a factual rendition of the event. See Montana Code 37-2-401

• Off-label use: means any use of a prescription drug, biologic, approved medical device, or dietary supplement approved by the United States food and drug administration in a manner not specified in the labeling or indications for the product if the product is used for medical purposes. See Montana Code 37-2-502
• Opioid: has the meaning of "opiate" provided in 50-32-101. See Montana Code 37-2-101
• Opioid-naive patient: means a patient who has not been prescribed a drug containing an opioid in the 90 days prior to the acute event or surgery for which an opioid is prescribed. See Montana Code 37-2-101
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: means any individual and any partnership, firm, corporation, association, or other business entity. See Montana Code 37-2-101
• Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Pharmacy: has the meaning provided in 37-7-101. See Montana Code 37-2-101
• Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
• Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Montana Code 1-1-202
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• Punish: means the imposition of any penalty, sanction, or disciplinary action to discourage the exercise of the right to freedom of speech under this part. See Montana Code 37-2-502
• Quality assurance committee: means a duly appointed committee within a medical practice group that administers a quality assurance program and may be called by another name within the medical practice group, including but not limited to a utilization review, peer review, medical ethics review, professional standards review, quality assurance, or quality improvement committee. See Montana Code 37-2-401
• Quality assurance program: means a comprehensive, ongoing system of mechanisms established by a medical practice group for monitoring and evaluating the quality and appropriateness of the care provided to patients in order to:

  (a)identify and take steps to correct any significant problems and trends in the delivery of care; and

  (b)take advantage of opportunities to improve care. See Montana Code 37-2-401

• Records: means records of interviews, internal reviews and investigations, and all reports, statements, minutes, memoranda, charts, statistics, and other documentation generated during the activities of a quality assurance program. See Montana Code 37-2-401
• State: means the state of Montana or any political subdivision of the state. See Montana Code 37-2-101
• State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testify: means every mode of oral statement under oath or affirmation. See Montana Code 1-1-202
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Unprofessional conduct: has the meaning provided in 37-1-316. See Montana Code 37-2-502
• Usual: means according to usage. See Montana Code 1-1-206
• Writing: includes printing. See Montana Code 1-1-203