BHPC Registration Exam key terms

The level of care and skill that a reasonably prudent practitioner with similar training would provide in the same circumstances, used as the benchmark for judging professional conduct.

The legally defined boundaries of duties, procedures, and decisions a licensed professional may perform based on education, licensure, and employer policy.

Assigning a specific task to another person while the delegating professional retains accountability for the appropriateness of the assignment and the supervision given.

The formal line of authority that defines who reports to whom and the sequence of escalation when a concern is not resolved at the bedside level.

A structured communication format covering Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation, used to deliver concise, complete handoffs between care team members.

The transfer of patient information and accountability from one caregiver or team to another, which must include current condition, pending actions, and anticipated changes.

A patient's voluntary agreement to a procedure after receiving and understanding information about its purpose, risks, benefits, and available alternatives.

The ethical principle that a competent person has the right to make decisions about their own care, including the right to refuse recommended treatment.

The ethical obligation to act in ways that promote the patient's welfare and to choose actions that provide benefit rather than harm.

The ethical duty to avoid causing harm to patients, including avoiding interventions whose risks outweigh their expected benefits.

A written statement prepared while a person is capable, specifying preferences for future medical treatment or naming someone to decide if the person cannot speak.

The professional and legal duty to protect patient information from unauthorized disclosure and to share it only with those who need it for care or lawful purposes.

Individually identifiable health information held or transmitted by a covered entity, protected by federal privacy rules governing its use and disclosure.

The principle that when using or disclosing health information, only the least amount needed to accomplish the intended purpose should be shared.

Failure to meet the applicable standard of care that results in injury, established by showing a duty, a breach, causation, and actual damages.

The systematic process of identifying, evaluating, and reducing exposures that could cause patient harm, financial loss, or legal liability for an organization.

A structured review conducted after a serious event to identify underlying system failures and contributing factors, with the goal of preventing recurrence rather than assigning blame.

Any occurrence that could have caused or did cause unintended harm to a patient, including near misses, adverse events, and sentinel events.

An event that could have resulted in harm but did not reach the patient or was intercepted before injury occurred, valuable for learning and prevention.

An organizational approach that treats human error without blame while holding individuals accountable for reckless behavior, encouraging open reporting of safety concerns.

A four-step improvement cycle in which a change is planned, tested on a small scale, studied for results, and then adopted, adapted, or abandoned.

A measurable element of practice or outcome used to monitor performance, compare it with a target, and guide improvement efforts.

Comparing an organization's performance measures against recognized standards or peer organizations to identify gaps and set realistic improvement goals.

The contemporaneous written or electronic record of assessment findings, interventions, patient responses, and communications that demonstrates care delivered and supports continuity.

A note added to the record after the time of the event, which must be clearly labeled with the actual date and time of writing and the reason for the delay.

Observable, measurable findings obtained through examination, monitoring, or testing, such as vital signs, laboratory values, and visible physical signs.

Information reported by the patient or family, including symptoms, feelings, and history, that cannot be independently verified by the observer.

The organized collection and interpretation of patient data, including history, physical findings, and risk screening, used to identify problems and plan care.

Cleaning hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based product at specified moments to remove transient organisms and prevent transmission between patients and staff.

A set of infection control practices applied to all patients regardless of diagnosis, including hand hygiene, gloves, gowns, and safe handling of sharps and body fluids.

Barriers such as gloves, gowns, masks, and eye protection worn to prevent contact with infectious agents or hazardous materials during patient care tasks.

Additional contact, droplet, or airborne measures used beyond standard precautions for patients known or suspected to carry a specific transmissible pathogen.

A written document describing how an organization will respond to disasters, including roles, resources, communication pathways, and procedures for escalating and recovering operations.

A standardized management structure that assigns clear roles for operations, planning, logistics, and finance during an emergency so responders coordinate under one authority.

An organization's ability to expand staff, space, supplies, and services quickly to meet a sudden increase in patient volume or demand.

The schedule specifying how long clinical records must be kept to satisfy legal, regulatory, and accreditation requirements before authorized destruction.

The authorized process of disclosing patient records to a requesting party, requiring valid consent or a legal exception and careful verification of the request.

An ongoing self-reflective practice of recognizing one's own biases and power while remaining open to the patient's cultural identity, values, and preferences.

A person's capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information needed to make appropriate decisions about care and treatment.