Rule 111-8-40-.02 - DefinitionsUnless a context otherwise requires, these identified terms mean the following when used in these rules:
(a)Board certified means current certification of a licensed physician by a specialty board recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) or American Osteopathic Association (AOA) or other nationally recognized specialty's certifying board.(b)Board eligible means a licensed physician who meets the criteria for examination for the designated specialty as published by that nationally recognized specialty's certifying board.(c)Bylaws means a set of laws or rules formally adopted internally by the facility, organization, or specified group of persons to govern internal functions or practices within that group, facility, or organization.(d)Department means the Department of Community Health of the State of Georgia.(e)Governing body means the hospital authority, board of trustees or directors, partnership, corporation, entity, person, or group of persons who maintain and control the hospital.(f)Hospital means any building, facility, or place in which are provided two (2) or more beads and other facilities and services that are used for persons received for examination, diagnosis, treatment, surgery, or maternity care for periods continuing for twenty-four (24) hours or longer and which is classified by the department as a hospital.(g)Inpatient means a person admitted to a hospital for an intended length of stay of twenty-four (24) hours or longer.(h)Rural Free Standing Emergency Department means any hospital that downgrades its existing scope of services to meet all of the following conditions: (i) is currently licensed by the Department as a hospital or was previously licensed by the Department as a hospital and such license expired within the previous 12 months;(ii) is located in a rural county as defined by O.C.G.A. § 31-6-2(32);(iii) is located no more than 35 miles from a licensed general hospital;(iv) is open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day;(v) provides non-elective emergency treatment and procedures for periods continuing less than 24 hours;(vi) may provide elective, out-patient surgical treatment and procedures for periods continuing less than 24 hours;(vii) may provide basic obstetrics and gynecology treatment and procedures for periods continuing less than 24 hours; and(viii) is classified by the department, as provided for in this chapter, as a Rural Free Standing Emergency Department. Rural Free Standing Emergency Departments may provide elective endoscopy or other elective treatment and procedures which are not performed in an operating room environment.
(i)Medical record means the written or electronic collection of diagnostic and/or treatment information and data pertaining to the patient, including but not limited to identifying information and, as applicable, medical orders, assessment findings, diagnostic test results, progress notes, x-rays films, monitoring data, and details of treatment.(j)Medical staff means the body of licensed physicians, dentists, and/or podiatrists, appointed or approved by the governing body, to which the governing body has assigned responsibility and accountability for the patient care provided at the hospital.(k)Organized service(s) means any inpatient or outpatient service offered by the hospital which functions as an administrative or operational unit under the governing body of the hospital.(l)Outpatient means a person who presents to a hospital for diagnostic or treatment services and who is not admitted to the hospital as an inpatient by a member of the medical staff.(m)Patient means any person presenting at a hospital for the purpose of evaluation, diagnosis, monitoring, or treatment of a medical condition, mental condition, disease, or injury.(n)Peer review means the procedure by which professional health care providers evaluate the quality and efficiency of services ordered or performed by other professional health care providers in the hospital for the purposes of fostering safe and adequate treatment of the patients and compliance with standards set by an association of health care providers and with the laws, rules, and regulations applicable to hospitals.(o)Permit means the authorization granted by the Department to a hospital governing body to operate the hospital's authorized services.(p)Physical restraint means any manual method or physical or mechanical device used with a patient such that the patient's freedom of movement or access to his/her own body is restricted.(q)Physician means any person who is licensed to practice medicine in this state by the Georgia Composite State Board of Medical Examiners. (r)Practitioner means any individual engaged in the practice of the profession for which they are licensed, certified, or otherwise qualified or authorized to practice.(s)Professional staff means a person or persons licensed by the state of Georgia to practice a specified health profession and employed by or contracting with the hospital for the practice of that profession.(t)Rules and regulations means the set of rules formally adopted internally by a specified hospital body to provide guidance for internal functions or practices.(u)Seclusion means the confinement of a person to a room or an area where the person is prevented from leaving.(v)Surveillance means the systematic method of collecting, consolidating, and analyzing data concerning the distribution and determinants of a given disease or medical event, followed by the dissemination of that information to those who can improve the outcomes.(w) The singular indicates the plural, the plural indicates the singular, and the masculine the feminine, when consistent with the intent of these rules.Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 111-8-40-.02
O.C.G.A. §§ 31-7-1, 31-7-2.1, 31-7-15 and 31-7-131.
Original Rule entitled "Definitions" adopted. F. Feb. 20, 2013; eff. Mar. 12, 2013.Amended: F. Apr. 29, 2014; eff. May 19, 2014.