Recognizing the difficulties that an increasing number of workers face when they combine job with family responsibilities, many lawmakers and activists fought for and won the passage of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993. Moving beyond prior legislation that allowed maternity leave, the FMLA mandates that employers provide up to 12 weeks
Medical genetics is the study of the interrelationship between human biological variation, including both genetic and environmental sources, and the phenotypic outcomes of health and disease. The field has rapidly moved to the forefront of biomedical research. Its overall goal is the detection and treatment of pathological genetic variation. In the past, medical genetics focused
The study of medical education as a process of professional socialization is at best a dormant and at worse a dying object of academic inquiry. What once helped to legitimate an emerging academic field (medical sociology) in the 1950s and 1960s has since fallen on hard conceptual and analytic times. Today, cutting edge work on
Medical laboratory technicians, also known as clinical laboratory technicians, perform routine tests in medical laboratories. These tests help physicians and other professional medical personnel diagnose and treat disease. Technicians prepare samples of body tissue; perform laboratory tests, such as urinalysis and blood counts; and make chemical and biological analyses of cells, tissue, blood, or other
Medical technologists, also called clinical laboratory technologists, are health professionals whose jobs include many health care roles. They perform laboratory tests essential to the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of disease. They work under the direction of laboratory managers and pathologists. Approximately 302,000 medical technologists and technicians are employed in the United States. The history of
Medical secretaries perform administrative and clerical work in medical offices, hospitals, or private physicians’ offices. They answer phone calls, order supplies, handle correspondence, bill patients, complete insurance forms, and transcribe dictation. Medical secretaries also handle bookkeeping, greet patients, schedule appointments, arrange hospital admissions, and schedule surgeries. There are approximately 373,000 medical secretaries employed throughout the
In any hospital, clinic, or other health care facility, permanent records are created and maintained for all the patients treated by the staff. Each patient’s medical record describes in detail his or her condition over time. Entries include illness and injuries, operations, treatments, outpatient visits, and the progress of hospital stays. Medical record technicians compile
Medical librarians, also called medical information specialists, help doctors, patients, and other medical personnel find health information and select materials best suited to their needs. These specialized librarians work in hospitals, medical schools, corporations, and university medical centers. Over the years the duties of librarians have evolved along with the development of different kinds of
Medical illustrators and photographers use graphics, drawings, and photographs to make medical concepts easier to understand. Medical illustrators provide illustrations of anatomical and biological structures and processes, as well as surgical and medical techniques and procedures. Medical photographers take photos that communicate complex medical or scientific information for use in textbooks, professional journals, and other
Medical ethicists are consultants, teachers, researchers, and policy makers in the field of medical ethics, the branch of philosophy that addresses the moral issues involved in medical practice and research. Medical ethics as a distinct field arose in the 1960s, although, of course, the realization that an ethical code is an essential aspect of the
Medical billers help doctors and other health care professionals get payment for services. They send bills to patients, private insurance companies, Medicare, and other insurers. Using special software, they file insurance claims electronically via an Internet connection. They keep files on patients and insurers, and use medical codes when filing claims. Most billers work from
Medical assistants help physicians in offices, hospitals, and clinics. They keep medical records, help examine and treat patients, and perform routine office duties to allow physicians to spend their time working directly with patients. Medical assistants are vitally important to the smooth and efficient operation of medical offices. There are approximately 387,000 medical assistants employed
Doctors and other health care professionals often make tape recordings documenting what happened during their patients’ appointments or surgical procedures. Medical transcriptionists listen to these tapes and transcribe, or type, reports of what the doctor said. The reports are then included in patients’ charts. Medical transcriptionists work in a variety of health care settings, including
Globalization has inevitably become part of all industries, as we observe the economy stretch worldwide due to cheaper travel, better communication methods, and common solutions to problems. Over the past decade a healthcare practice that has emerged with an unimagined scale of magnitude as a multibillion dollar industry is the global medical tourism industry. Privatization
An efficient system of medical malpractice liability law should induce physicians to supply precautionary medical treatments as long as the benefits exceed the costs. In practice, the US malpractice system may deviate from this ideal along two dimensions. First, it may create incentives to supply cost ineffective treatments based on fear of legal liability –
The notion of traveling abroad for the purposes of health and well-being is well established. The spas of Hungary, baths of Turkey, and geysers of Sweden have long been popular destinations for those seeking convalescence. Where surgical care was required, the direction of travel generally saw the wealthy citizens of poorer nations traveling to the
Science and medical writers translate technical medical and scientific information so it can be disseminated to the general public and professionals in the field. Science and medical writers research, interpret, write, and edit scientific and medical information. Their work often appears in books, technical studies and reports, magazine and trade journal articles, newspapers, company newsletters
Medical sociology is a subdiscipline of sociology that studies the social causes and consequences of health and illness (Cockerham 2004). Major areas of investigation include the social aspects of health and disease, the social behavior of health care workers and the people who utilize their services, the social functions of health organizations and institutions, the
This article delves into the intricate landscape of medical complications associated with bulimia, a serious eating disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors such as vomiting, fasting, or excessive exercise. The introduction sets the stage by providing an overview of bulimia’s definition, prevalence, and demographics, emphasizing the critical need to
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which is intended to balance the demands of the workplace with the needs of families, became effective for most employers in August 1993. The passage of the FMLA represented a legislative reaction to dramatic changes in the U.S. workforce that had taken place over the previous 40 years.