Behavioral Medicine (Collection: Mental Health )

Broadly, the branch of Clinical Psychology that deals with the use of psychological interventions in the 'physical health' aspect of life. Also called Health Psychology. Applications are many - for example, Behavioral Medicine psychologists foster wellness in healthy persons (developing programs to help people stick with exercise, lose weight and stop smoking), augment and extend medical treatments (developing treatments for chronic physical pain, for instance), and to help the relationship between medical patients and physicians to work better (developing programs to help patients take their medicines on schedule).

SPAIN JOINS GLOBAL HEALTH TERMINOLOGY EFFORT

§ 11 more countries apart from Spain belong to IHTSDO, an organisation aiming to spread the use of a standardised clinical terminology called SNOMED CT.

§ The use and diffusion of this terminology within health record systems will improve the accuracy of clinical information and its multilingual interpretation, which will contribute to improved patient safety.

§ The Ministry of Health and Social Policy, in coordination with the Regional Authorities, works in the development of Electronic Health Records within the National Health System.

July 14^th, 2009. Spain, through the Ministry of Health and Social Policy, is now one in the group of countries that are part of International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation (IHTSDO). Spain joins the global effort to develop, maintain and spread the use of a clinical terminology called SNOMED CT (Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine-Clinical Terms).

Spain is the third country joining IHTSDO after Charters Members (Australia, Canada, Denmark, Netherlands, United States of America, New Zealand, Lithuania, United Kingdom and Sweden) plus Singapore and Cyprus, that joined in 2008.

“We are delighted to welcome Spain as a new member of IHTSDO”, says Martin Severs, Chair of IHTSDO’s Management Board. He also added “Our work on health terminology standards is a global effort to respond to needs that we all share. By pooling our experiences and our resources, we can make more progress than any one country could do on its own, which benefits patients and health professionals in all of our nations”.

The use of a standardised clinical terminology like SNOMED CT, to describe the information that health records contains, promotes consistency, accuracy, and reliability of health information and contributes to improved patient safety.

“SNOMED CT is already being used in Spain in some specific cases by some professional groups and institutions. What we aim now is to boost the use in the Spanish health organizations and in coordination with the Regional Authorities” says Javier Etreros, director of the Project “Electronic Health Record within the National Health System”

In joining IHTSDO, Spain will be able to distribute the international core of this standard to all the public and private organizations that need to use it within the Spanish territory. Furthermore, Spanish experts’ participation in the different IHTSDO working groups and committees, will ensure that future versions of SNOMED CT give better support to the Spanish system’s unique characteristics.

All of this will permit that the main standardised health terminology in the world (used in more than 40 countries) will be available in the all Spanish territory to be used, in the electronic health records as well than in information systems that measure the health care assistance activity results, clinical investigation and other applications.

In the semantic interoperability roadmap, designed by the Ministry of Health and Social Policy at the beginning of 2008, the goals to enable exchange of information between different health record systems (including different languages) were identified. The use of SNOMED-CT terminology is one of these goals.

The Ministry keeps working in coordination with the Regional Authorities to develop the Electronic Health Record within the National Health System (EHRNHS). The objective of this project is to guarantee, to citizens and health professionals the access to all the relevant clinical information needed in the health care assistance process, from any point within the National Health System.

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GENERIC NAME: HYDROXYPROPYLMETHYLCELLULOSE - OPHTHALMIC INSERT (hi-DROX-ee-pro-pull-meth-ill-CELL-you-lohss, off-THAL-mick)

BRAND NAME(S): Lacrisert

USES: This medication is a tear-like substance used in the treatment of dry eye syndromes.

HOW TO USE: The inserts are to be properly placed in the eye once or twice daily as directed. Your doctor will demonstrate how to place the insert into the eye and how to remove it. Practice inserting and removing the insert while in the doctor's office so any questions you have can be answered.

SIDE EFFECTS: Vision may be temporarily blurred or unstable for a period after applying the insert. Use caution if driving or performing duties requiring clear vision. Eye irritation or discomfort, sticking of eyelashes and sensitivity to bright light may occur when first using this medication. If these symptoms continue or become worse, inform your doctor. Notify your doctor immediately if you develop: itching, pain burning, redness, swelling in or around the eyes, vision problems. If you notice other effects not listed above, contact your doctor or pharmacist.

PRECAUTIONS: Tell your doctor if you have any of the following conditions: eye problems, any allergies. As with any medication, this should be used cautiously during pregnancy or while breast-feeding. Discuss the risks and benefits with your doctor.

DRUG INTERACTIONS: Tell your doctor of any over-the-counter or prescription medication you may take. Do not start or stop any medicine without doctor or pharmacist approval.

OVERDOSE: If overdose is suspected, contact your local poison control center or emergency room immediately. US residents can call the US national poison hotline at 1-800-222-1222. Canadian residents should call their local poison control center directly.

NOTES: If the condition for which this was prescribed does not improve or becomes worse after a few days, consult your doctor.

MISSED DOSE: Each insert is to be used for a 24 hour period. If you forget to replace an insert, do it as soon as remembered. Do not "double-up" the dose to catch up.

STORAGE: Store at room temperature between 59 and 86 degrees F (15 and 30 degrees C) away from heat. Check the expiration date on the box and discard any expired medication.

Definition of Vaccination, DT

Definition of Vaccination, DT

Vaccination, DT: DT (diphtheria and tetanus) vaccine does not protect from pertussis and is usually reserved for individuals who have had a significant adverse reaction to a DPT shot or who have a personal or family history of a seizure disorder or brain disease

Definition of Beard

Beard: The hair that normally grows on the male face after puberty. Testosterone, the most potent of the naturally occurring androgens, causes the development of secondary sex features such as the beard that are characteristic of the adult male.

Although there is normally hair on everyone's face, the growth of a real beard on the face of a young child or a woman is not. It is a form of hirsutism (hairiness) and can sometimes reflect an underlying disorder.

The term "beard" may exclude the mustache.