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Healthcare terms A–Z

P healthcare terms

61 plain-English navigation terms beginning with P. These entries explain administrative and care routes, not diagnosis or treatment.

61 terms beginning with P · All letters

P

PaediatricsThe hospital service route for children; providers may set campus, department, age, booking and guardian-document requirements.Paid test reschedulingChanging a hospital test time while separately checking whether the clinical order, payment and booking remain active.Panoramic dental imageA dental image type that should be transferred with the correct patient, date, provider and available report; this definition does not say when it is needed.Paper receipt conversionA provider process that may make a paper receipt replace an electronic receipt; it is not always the same as printing another copy.Partially completed medical recordA record set in which completed portions may be copied first while later portions are still being completed under the applicable record-writing rules.Passport registrationReal-name hospital registration using a passport where the provider accepts that route.Pathology block requestA request through the issuing and receiving pathology services for a named tissue block or derived material, with availability, identifiers, handling and return terms confirmed separately.Pathology consultation materialsReports, slides, blocks or other items requested through the exact receiving pathology service; check identifiers, transport and return separately.Pathology slide custodyThe issuing pathology service's documented control of requested slides, including identifiers, release, transport, receipt and return; possession does not confer authority to interpret them.Patient companionA person accompanying a patient for practical support; this role does not automatically grant record access, consent authority or visiting access.Patient decision-makerThe person whose legally relevant decision controls the identified healthcare task; practical support, payment and communication do not by themselves transfer that role.Patient master indexThe hospital identity layer used to associate patient details and multiple encounter records with a unique patient identity.Patient numberA provider-generated identifier used with identity details to connect appointments, visits, reports and payments; one patient can have older numbers that need linkage.Patient wristbandAn inpatient identity tool carrying provider-controlled information; staff still use the institution's required checks and must not identify a patient by room or bed alone.Pediatric complaint routeThe accountable institution’s published channel for a factual child-care service concern, kept separate from current clinical follow-up, record correction, billing review and a formal medical dispute.Pediatric consent recordThe institution’s record of its explanation and consent process for the child’s actual service, distinct from a guardian login, interpreter role or general authorization form.Pediatric departmentA hospital’s registered child-care service whose campus, age scope, clinic name and current appointment route must be confirmed before booking.Pediatric insurance decisionA payer’s current response for the identified child, policy, provider, campus and service rather than a general promise that child care is covered.Pediatric medicine recordA connected set of the child’s provider-issued prescription, pharmacy label, package, dispensing evidence, receipt and responsible follow-up contact without an online dosing decision.Pediatric online follow-upAn accountable internet-hospital route linking the child’s identity, guardian evidence and prior records to a physician-controlled online service decision.Pediatric price add-onA locally implemented child-related addition permitted for specified medical-service price items, not one nationwide surcharge or proof of insurance payment.Pediatric record handoffA receiving-provider pack connecting the child’s identity, source institutions, reports, images, prescriptions, vaccination record and named next step after a move.Pediatric service availabilityA dated confirmation from the exact institution and campus; national service-expansion goals do not prove today’s clinic, opening hours, appointment or bed.Pending emergency reportA test or imaging report not yet finalized when the patient leaves; confirm the provider's release and clinician-review route without interpreting it independently.Pending hospital document after dischargeA report, pathology result, finalized record or other item not ready at discharge that needs a named issuing office, collection route and follow-up reference.Pharmacist review of an online prescriptionThe pharmacy professional's review before an online prescription becomes effective for dispensing; it remains separate from the physician's decision and seller transaction.PharmacyA licensed hospital or retail route for lawfully dispensing medicine.Physical Examination Record for ForeignerA prescribed record used in some foreign-national work, study or residence routes; completion abroad does not itself prove that a China recipient will validate or accept it.Physical-evidence sealingThe joint preservation route for the specified on-site materials named by the medical-dispute regulation, such as material connected with suspected infusion, transfusion, injection or medication harm.Physical-examination validation certificateA document issued after the responsible institution validates an overseas record; it is separate from the original overseas report and the final administrative decision.Planned care from overseasA provider-confirmed pre-arrival route covering records, campus, appointment, payment, language and aftercare without predicting a clinical outcome.Post-death immigration and work closureSeparate cancellation and record-closing tasks for stay or residence documents and, where applicable, the foreigner's work-permit file; one authority's closure does not complete the other.Post-discharge handoffThe documented connection from the inpatient team to the exact follow-up department, campus, appointment, records and responsible contact without changing the clinical plan informally.Practitioner registrationThe public registration information for an identified health professional, checked against the exact person, institution and stated practice scope without treating name similarity as proof.Pre-arrival record reviewA provider-controlled review of submitted material before travel; its stated administrative or clinical scope must be confirmed and it is not a treatment or admission guarantee.Pre-authorizationApproval an insurer may require before a visit, test, procedure or admission.Pre-travel health appointmentA provider-controlled appointment prepared against an itinerary and requested document, without an online promise that a vaccine, certificate or travel clearance will result.Preauthorization statusThe insurer or administrator's recorded state for a pre-care request, including scope, requested information and validity; it is not a final claim decision.Preliminary hospital responseA provider message acknowledging or commenting on an enquiry before every clinical, scheduling, payment and admission decision is final.Prenatal screening serviceA licensed institutional service whose availability and booking route must be confirmed with the provider; the label is not a recommendation that an individual should use it.Preoperative discussion recordThe medical-record entry documenting the institution's required discussion before a non-emergency inpatient operation; it is not a patient self-preparation checklist.PrescriptionA medical document issued by a qualified prescriber for dispensing prescription medicine.Prescription validityThe period in which a prescription can lawfully support dispensing; payment status and the prescribed days of medicine are separate questions.Prescription-flow traceabilityThe connected records showing how an online prescription moved from the treating institution to review, dispensing or the agreed delivery route without being reused improperly.Price complaintA request for the responsible hospital desk to review a specific charge against the itemized statement, price information and payment record.Primary-care referralA documented community or family-doctor handoff to another institution under the applicable local pathway; it does not guarantee acceptance, a clinical outcome or insurance payment.Prior diagnosis recordA provider-issued outpatient, inpatient, discharge or diagnosis document showing a clear earlier diagnosis for receiving-physician review; it is not automatic proof of follow-up eligibility.Proof of saleA pharmacy transaction record; a commercial insurer may separately request an invoice, prescription or translation.Provider-domain verificationChecking a message, address, upload link or payment instruction against the hospital's official domain and independently published contact route before using it.Psychiatric departmentA medical institution's registered clinical route for psychiatric diagnosis and treatment; confirm the exact campus, service label, clinician and booking channel.Psychiatric hospitalA licensed medical institution providing psychiatric services within its registered scope; its name alone does not prove language, appointment, insurance or clinical suitability.Psychiatric medical appraisalThe formal appraisal route available within the Mental Health Law's specified hospitalization process after the required prior diagnosis and re-diagnosis steps.Psychiatric prescriptionA registered physician's medical document that remains subject to ingredient-specific controls, pharmacist review, dispensing rules and the treating professional's decision.Psychiatric re-diagnosisA statutory safeguard in the Mental Health Law's specified harm-to-others hospitalization branch, requested and performed through the defined institution-controlled process.PsychiatristA physician registered to practise in the relevant psychiatric scope; official registration helps verify identity but does not establish language, quality, schedule or fit.Psychological assistance hotline (12356)China's unified number for psychological education, consultation, support and crisis intervention; it does not replace 120 medical dispatch or 110 police response.Psychological counsellorA non-physician support role that may not provide psychotherapy in place of a medical institution or diagnose and treat a mental disorder under the national legal boundary.Psychological treatment technicianA professional role operating within a medical institution's treatment system and without authority to diagnose a mental disorder or issue a prescription.Psychotherapy in a medical institutionPsychological treatment delivered within an accountable medical institution under the national role boundary; this term does not select a therapy or provider.Psychotropic medicine controlIngredient-specific legal controls applying when a substance appears in the current official psychotropic-drug catalogue; the label must not be generalized to every psychiatric medicine.Public hospitalA provider type that can include general, specialist, teaching and international-service routes.

Need the complete adult-vaccination or travel-health route?

The adult vaccination and travel health center separates clinic access, domestic records, International Travel Health Care Centers, ICVPs, border checks, destination requirements and outbound medical forms. It does not recommend a vaccine or confirm one journey’s live requirement.

Need the complete diagnostic-service route?

The diagnostic tests, imaging and pathology center connects provider checks, orders, identity, costs, reports, image data, pathology material and clinician-led follow-up. It does not choose a test or interpret a result.

Use this index for navigation, not clinical decisions

This index explains administrative terms and care routes. For symptoms, diagnosis or treatment, contact a qualified healthcare professional; a glossary entry cannot replace clinical advice.