ARE VISITORS TO HEALTHCARE FACILITIES SICK PERSONS, PATIENTS, CLIENTS OR CONSUMERS OF MEDICAL SERVICES?

Abstract

Introduction. The relevance of the study of the scientific and conceptual content of the terms “patient”, “client”, “sick” is confirmed by the need to unify all types of medical documentation. It is also advisable to organize and standardize its key element – Ukrainian medical terminology. The purpose of this analytical problem article is to clarify the content of the concepts, as well as the meaning and rules for using terms that determine the status of visitors to healthcare institutions. The materials for the study were regulatory and directive, medical and technological documents, medical accounting documentation, as well as publications from PubMed, indexed in scientific abstract and citation databases. The term “patient” characterizes a person as a participant in legal relations with any subject of the healthcare system, while the term “sick” characterizes only the state of health of a person. Although the concepts of “sick” and “patient” are diverse in meaning, in some primary accounting documents one can still find a combination of the terms “patient” and “sick”. An analysis of the semantic content of the term “client” showed that this term defines an individual or legal entity (while only an individual can be a patient) who uses any services on the basis of an oral or written agreement. The legislation of Ukraine also uses the term “consumer of medical services” in relation to any person who has made a responsible choice of the place and method of receiving such a service. The problem of the unity of terminology used in all branches of healthcare has acquired particular importance in recent years. That is why, in our opinion, it is necessary to update and disseminate scientific and reference publications that help unify Ukrainian medical terminology. A sick person acquires the status of a “patient” when he enters into legal relations with a healthcare institution. Under the same conditions, an individual without a disease can also acquire the status of a “patient” or “consumer of medical services”. The term “client” is defined as an individual or legal entity who uses medical services on the basis of an oral or written agreement. A consumer of medical services can be a person who is simultaneously a sick person, a patient, and a client. The use of all the mentioned terms in medical documentation does not meet the requirements of unambiguousness, but rather the principles of synonymy.