Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws > Chapter 5-37.3 - Confidentiality of Health Care Communications and Information Act

• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
• Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Authorized representative: means :

  (i)  A person empowered by the patient/client to assert or to waive the confidentiality, or to disclose or consent to the disclosure of confidential information, as established by this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.3-3

• Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• Board of medical licensure and discipline: means the board created under chapter 37 of this title. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.3-3
• Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Confidential healthcare information: means all information relating to a patient's healthcare history, diagnosis, condition, treatment, or evaluation obtained from a healthcare provider who has treated the patient. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.3-3
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• 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.
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
• 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.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
• 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.
• Healthcare provider: means any person licensed by this state to provide or lawfully providing healthcare services, including, but not limited to, a physician, hospital, intermediate-care facility or other healthcare facility, dentist, nurse, optometrist, podiatrist, physical therapist, psychiatric social worker, pharmacist, or psychologist, and any officer, employee, or agent of that provider acting in the course and scope of his or her employment or agency related to or supportive of health services. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.3-3
• Healthcare services: means acts of diagnosis, treatment, medical evaluation, or counseling or any other acts that may be permissible under the healthcare licensing statutes of this state. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.3-3
• in writing: include printing, engraving, lithographing, and photo-lithographing, and all other representations of words in letters of the usual form. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-16
• Joint committee: Committees including membership from both houses of teh legislature. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation.
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Managed-care contractor: means a person that:

  (i)  Establishes, operates, or maintains a network of participating providers;

  (ii)  Conducts or arranges for utilization review activities; and

  (iii)  Contracts with an insurance company, a hospital or medical-service plan, an employer, an employee organization, or any other entity providing coverage for healthcare services to operate a managed-care plan. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.3-3

• Managed-care entity: includes a licensed insurance company, hospital, or medical-service plan, health-maintenance organization, an employer or employee organization, or a managed-care contractor as described in subsection (6) of this section, that operates a managed-care plan. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.3-3
• Managed-care plan: means a plan operated by a managed-care entity as described in subsection (7), that provides for the financing and delivery of healthcare services to persons enrolled in the plan through:

  (i)  Arrangements with selected providers to furnish healthcare services;

  (ii)  Explicit standards for the selection of participating providers;

  (iii)  Organizational arrangements for ongoing quality assurance, utilization-review programs, and dispute resolution; and

  (iv)  Financial incentives for persons enrolled in the plan to use the participating providers and procedures provided for by the plan. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.3-3

• Medical peer-review board: means a peer-review board under chapter 37 of this title. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.3-3
• Minority leader: See Floor Leaders
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Nurse: means a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse licensed to practice nursing in the state. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.3-3
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• 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.
• Patient: means a person who receives healthcare services from a healthcare provider. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.3-3
• person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Personally identifiable confidential healthcare information: means confidential healthcare information, which explicitly or by implication identifies a particular patient. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.3-3
• Physician: means a person registered or licensed to practice allopathic or osteopathic medicine in this state under Rhode Island general laws. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.3-3
• Probate: Proving a will
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Psychiatric social worker: means a person holding a master's or further-advanced degree from a school of social work accredited by the council of social work education. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.3-3
• Psychologist: means a certified psychologist under chapter 44 of this title. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.3-3
• Public defender: Represent defendants who can't afford an attorney in criminal matters.
• Qualified personnel: means persons whose training and experience are appropriate to the nature and level of the work in which they are engaged and who, when working as part of an organization, are performing that work with published and adequate administrative safeguards against disclosure unauthorized under this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.3-3
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Subpoena duces tecum: A command to a witness to produce documents.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Third party: means a person other than the patient to whom the confidential healthcare information relates and other than a healthcare provider. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.3-3
• town: may be construed to include city; the words "town council" include city council; the words "town clerk" include city clerk; the words "ward clerk" include clerk of election district; the words "town treasurer" include city treasurer; and the words "town sergeant" include city sergeant. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-9
• town council: include city council; the words "town clerk" include city clerk; the words "ward clerk" include clerk of election district; the words "town treasurer" include city treasurer; and the words "town sergeant" include city sergeant. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-9
• United States: include the several states and the territories of the United States. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-8