Plain-English explanations of the technical terms and legislation used in this document.
- Accident and emergency (A&E)
- The hospital department that treats people with serious or life-threatening injuries and illnesses needing urgent care.
- Acute kidney injury (AKI)
- A sudden drop in how well the kidneys work, often caused by dehydration or illness, which can be serious if not treated.
- Acute pancreatitis
- Sudden, painful inflammation of the pancreas that can become a medical emergency.
- Adverse drug reaction
- An unwanted or harmful effect experienced after taking a medicine.
- Adverse event
- Any unexpected or unwanted occurrence linked to a treatment that harms, or could harm, a patient.
- Body mass index (BMI)
- A measure of body weight in relation to height, used to estimate whether a person is underweight, a healthy weight or overweight.
- Caldicott Guardian
- The senior person responsible for protecting the confidentiality of people's health and care 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.
- Clinical governance
- The system through which a service monitors and improves the quality and safety of the care it provides.
- Cold chain
- Keeping vaccines and certain medicines within a safe temperature range from delivery to use.
- Comorbidity
- An additional long-term health condition a person has alongside the main condition being treated.
- Contraindication
- A specific situation or condition in which a medicine or treatment should not be used because it could cause harm.
- Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH)
- The law for safely managing chemicals and other hazardous substances at work.
- Data Protection Act 2018
- The UK law that sits alongside the UK General Data Protection Regulation and governs how personal information must be handled.
- Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA)
- A check done before a new activity to identify and reduce risks to people's personal data.
- Data Protection Officer (DPO)
- The person responsible for overseeing how an organisation protects and uses personal data and for advising on data-protection law.
- Diversion
- The redirecting of a medicine away from its intended patient, for example for resale or misuse.
- Drug Safety Update
- A regular safety bulletin from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency giving prescribers important advice about medicines.
- Duty of candour
- The legal duty to be open and honest with a person and their family when something goes wrong with their care.
- Excursion (temperature)
- An occasion when a medicine is stored outside its required safe temperature range.
- Falsified medicine
- A fake medicine with a false identity, history or source, which may be unsafe or ineffective.
- Fundamental standards
- The minimum standards of safety and quality below which care must never fall.
- Gallbladder disease
- Problems affecting the gallbladder, such as gallstones, which can cause pain and may need treatment.
- General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
- The body that regulates pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and registered pharmacies in Great Britain.
- General practitioner (GP)
- A doctor based in the community who provides general medical care and coordinates a patient's wider treatment.
- GLP-1 receptor agonist
- A type of injectable or oral medicine that mimics a natural gut hormone to lower appetite and help manage weight or blood sugar.
- Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP)
- A natural gut hormone involved in blood sugar control; some weight-management medicines act on both this and the GLP-1 hormone.
- Good Distribution Practice (GDP)
- The quality standards a medicines wholesaler must follow so that products are stored and transported safely and remain genuine.
- Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014
- The regulations setting out the fundamental standards that providers of regulated care must meet.
- Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)
- The UK regulator that upholds information rights and enforces data-protection law.
- 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.
- Liraglutide
- A GLP-1 receptor agonist medicine (brand name Saxenda) given by injection to help manage weight.
- Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
- The UK body that regulates medicines and medical devices and monitors their safety.
- National Early Warning Score
- A scoring system used to spot and respond to patients whose condition is deteriorating.
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
- The body that produces evidence-based guidance on treatments and care for use across health and social care.
- National Patient Safety Alert
- An official warning telling health services to take specific action to prevent harm to patients.
- Near miss
- An event that could have caused harm but did not, by chance or because it was caught in time.
- Needlestick injury
- An accidental skin puncture from a needle or sharp instrument, which carries a risk of infection.
- Nominated Individual
- The senior person responsible to the regulator for supervising how a service is provided.
- Off-licence (off-label) use
- Using a medicine in a way not covered by its official licence, for example for a different condition or group of people.
- Pharmacovigilance
- The monitoring of medicines once in use to detect and reduce side effects and other safety problems.
- Prescription-only medicine (POM)
- A medicine that may lawfully be supplied only on the instruction of an appropriate prescriber.
- 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.
- Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR)
- The law requiring certain workplace injuries, diseases and dangerous events to be reported to the Health and Safety Executive.
- Residual risk
- The level of risk that remains after existing control measures have been put in place.
- Responsible Pharmacist
- The pharmacist legally accountable for the safe and effective running of a pharmacy at a given time.
- Risk assessment
- A structured check identifying what could cause harm and what is being done to prevent it.
- Risk matrix
- A grid that combines how likely harm is with how serious it would be to give each risk a rating.
- Safeguarding
- Protecting people's health, wellbeing and rights and keeping them safe from abuse, harm or neglect.
- Safety-netting
- Giving a patient clear advice on what warning signs to watch for and what to do if their condition worsens.
- SCOFF questionnaire
- A short set of screening questions used to help identify a possible eating disorder.
- Semaglutide
- A GLP-1 receptor agonist medicine (brand name Wegovy for weight management) given by injection.
- Sharps
- Needles, blades and other items that can cut or puncture the skin.
- 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).
- Special-category data
- Sensitive personal information, such as health details, that the law gives extra protection.
- Standard operating procedure (SOP)
- A written, step-by-step instruction for carrying out a routine task safely and consistently.
- Statement of Purpose
- A required document describing who a service is, what it does and where, shared with the regulator.
- Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC)
- The official document for a medicine setting out how it should be prescribed, used and monitored.
- Superintendent Pharmacist
- The senior pharmacist with overall professional responsibility for the running of a pharmacy business.
- Tirzepatide
- A medicine (brand name Mounjaro) that acts on both the GIP and GLP-1 gut hormones to help manage weight or blood sugar.
- Titration
- Gradually adjusting a medicine dose, usually increasing it in steps, to reach the right level while limiting side effects.
- UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)
- The UK's main data-protection law governing how personal information is collected and used.
- Unlicensed medicine
- A medicine that does not have a UK licence for the way it is being supplied or used.
- Wholesaler
- A licensed company that buys medicines in bulk and supplies them to pharmacies and clinics.
- Yellow Card Scheme
- The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency system for reporting suspected side effects and faulty medicines or devices.