Plain-English explanations of the technical terms and legislation used in this document.
- Asynchronous (store-and-forward) assessment
- A consultation based on information the patient submits in advance, such as a questionnaire or photographs, which a clinician reviews later rather than in real time.
- Best interests
- A decision made for someone who cannot decide for themselves, choosing the option that is best for them.
- Caldicott Guardian
- The senior person responsible for protecting the confidentiality of people's health and care information.
- Caldicott Principles
- A set of standards that guide how organisations use and protect confidential patient information.
- Care Quality Commission (CQC)
- The independent regulator of health and social care services in England.
- Chaperone
- A trained person present during an intimate examination to support and protect the patient and the clinician.
- Contemporaneous record
- A clinical note made at the time of, or immediately after, the event it describes.
- Controlled drug
- A medicine whose supply, storage and records are tightly restricted by law because of its potential for misuse.
- Data Protection Act 2018
- The UK law that sits alongside the UK General Data Protection Regulation and governs how personal information is handled.
- Data Protection Officer (DPO)
- The named person responsible for overseeing how an organisation protects personal data and follows data-protection law.
- Duty of candour
- The legal duty to be open and honest with a person and their family when something goes wrong with their care.
- Equality Act 2010
- The law protecting people from discrimination based on characteristics such as age, disability, sex or race.
- General Medical Council (GMC)
- The body that registers and regulates doctors in the UK and sets the standards they must meet.
- Good medical practice
- The General Medical Council's core guidance setting out the professional standards expected of all doctors.
- GP (general practitioner)
- A doctor who provides general medical care in the community and is usually a patient's main, ongoing clinician.
- Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014
- The regulations setting out the fundamental standards that providers of regulated care must meet, enforced by the Care Quality Commission.
- Human Medicines Regulations 2012
- The main UK law governing how medicines for human use are authorised, supplied and prescribed.
- Information governance
- The framework for handling people's personal and health information legally, securely and appropriately.
- Informed consent
- Agreement to treatment given freely after the risks, benefits and alternatives have been clearly explained.
- Medicines Act 1968
- An older UK law governing the manufacture and supply of medicines, much of which now sits within the Human Medicines Regulations 2012.
- Mental capacity
- Whether a person can understand and make a particular decision for themselves at the time it needs to be made.
- Mental Capacity Act 2005
- The law that protects and supports people who may be unable to make particular decisions for themselves.
- Modality
- The method used to deliver a consultation, for example telephone, video or written questionnaire.
- Nominated Individual
- The senior person responsible to the regulator for supervising how a service is provided.
- Person-centred care
- Care that is tailored to a person's own needs, preferences and circumstances.
- Prescription-only medicine (POM)
- A medicine that may lawfully be supplied only on the instruction of an appropriate prescriber.
- Red flag
- A symptom or sign that points to a potentially serious or time-critical condition needing urgent action or face-to-face review.
- Registered Manager
- The person registered with the regulator as responsible for the day-to-day running of a service.
- Regulated activity
- A type of care or treatment the law requires a provider to register with the regulator to deliver.
- Remote assessment
- A clinical assessment carried out when the clinician and the patient are not physically in the same place, for example by telephone, video or online questionnaire.
- Responsible clinician
- The registered professional who is accountable for the clinical decision made in a given assessment.
- Safeguarding
- Protecting people's health, wellbeing and rights and keeping them safe from abuse, harm or neglect.
- Safety-netting
- Clear, documented advice telling a patient what warning signs to watch for and what to do if their condition does not improve or gets worse.
- Patient
- A person who uses the clinic's services and receives clinical assessment, advice or treatment.
- Significant event
- Any notable incident in care that is reviewed so the service can learn from it and improve.
- Single assessment framework
- The structure the regulator uses to judge a service, built around quality statements and five key questions (safe, effective, caring, responsive, well-led).
- Synchronous consultation
- A consultation that happens in real time, such as a live video or telephone call.
- Triage
- The process of sorting and prioritising people according to the urgency and nature of their need.
- UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)
- The UK's main data-protection law governing how personal information is collected and used.
- Valid consent
- Agreement to care given voluntarily by someone with the capacity to decide, after being given enough clear information.