The medical field is broad in terms of definitions and terminologies because of the different specialties and areas it has. If a person has little or no background at all in health and medicine, he or she might find it difficult to understand things when he or she encounters them. This might become a problem, especially if other people’s health depends on it like in the case of the insurance officer.
“Improper management of information could lead to bad clinical practice and damage to patient, disrespect to patient’s autonomy, legal/ professional sanctions and damage to doctor” (www. drmed. org, n. d. ) For people who have no background in health and medicine but needs the knowledge for work-related reasons, it is suggested that they consult the Internet for reference. The Internet has a wide variety of resources for health and medicine, which would help them understand terminologies better and easier.
However, they should keep in mind to always check the accuracy and validity of the websites that they use because not all websites can be trusted and can sometimes even provide the wrong information, which is crucial because we are dealing with people’s lives. Another way, which the insurance officer can use is to ask for a reference book or medical dictionary from his or her company so that he or she can quickly find out what a certain term means without having to use a computer. This is also easier because the book is portable and can be used anywhere they need to.
It is always important to remember to have compassion and concern to patients because there are times when these qualities can save their lives. If people cared enough to know that two or several terms might mean differently even if they may sound alike, there might be less patients to serve and there might be less money to spend on health and insurance bills.
Reference
“Management of Information and Its Importance for Medical Ethics and Law. ” (n. d. ). Retrieved January 29, 2009, from http://www. drmed. org/pdfji/consentconf. pdf