Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws > Chapter 5-37.7 - Rhode Island Health Information Exchange Act of 2008

• Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
• Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Authorized representative: means :

  (i)  A person empowered by the patient to assert or to waive confidentiality, or to disclose or authorize the disclosure of confidential information, as established by this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.7-3

• Business associate: means a business associate as defined by HIPAA. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.7-3
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Confidential healthcare information: means all information relating to a patient's healthcare history, diagnosis, condition, treatment, or evaluation. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.7-3
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Data-submitting partner: means an individual, organization, or entity who or that has entered into a business associate agreement with the RHIO and submits a patient's confidential healthcare information through the HIE. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.7-3
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Department of health: means the Rhode Island department of health. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.7-3
• Disclosure report: means a report generated by the HIE relating to the record of access to, review of, and/or disclosure of a patient's confidential healthcare information received, accessed, or held by the HIE. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.7-3
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• Electronic mobilization: means the capability to move confidential health information electronically between disparate healthcare information systems while maintaining the accuracy of the information being exchanged. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.7-3
• Emergency: means the sudden onset of a medical, mental, or substance use, or other condition manifesting itself by acute symptoms of severity (e. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.7-3
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Executive session: A portion of the Senate's daily session in which it considers executive business.
• Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
• Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Health plan: means an individual plan or a group plan that provides, or pays the cost of, healthcare services for a patient. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.7-3
• Healthcare provider: means any person or entity licensed by this state to provide or lawfully providing healthcare services, including, but not limited to, a physician, hospital, intermediate-care facility or other healthcare facility, dentist, nurse, optometrist, podiatrist, physical therapist, psychiatric social worker, pharmacist, or psychologist, and any officer, employee, or agent of that provider acting in the course and scope of his or her employment or agency related to or supportive of healthcare services. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.7-3
• Healthcare services: means acts of diagnosis, treatment, medical evaluation, referral, or counseling, or any other acts that may be permissible under the healthcare licensing statutes of this state. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.7-3
• HIE: means the technical system operated, or to be operated, by the RHIO under state authority allowing for the statewide electronic mobilization of confidential healthcare information, pursuant to this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.7-3
• HIPAA: means the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.7-3
• in writing: include printing, engraving, lithographing, and photo-lithographing, and all other representations of words in letters of the usual form. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-16
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• Joint committee: Committees including membership from both houses of teh legislature. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation.
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Mortgage loan: A loan made by a lender to a borrower for the financing of real property. ^{Source: OCC}
• Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
• Mortgagor: The person who pledges property to a creditor as collateral for a loan and who receives the money.
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Opt out: means the ability of a patient to choose to not have their confidential healthcare information disclosed from HIE in accordance with § 5-37. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.7-3
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Patient: means a person who receives healthcare services from a provider participant. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.7-3
• person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Probate: Proving a will
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Provider participant: means a pharmacy, laboratory, healthcare provider, or health plan who or that is providing healthcare services or pays for the cost of healthcare services for a patient and/or is submitting and/or accessing healthcare information through the HIE and has executed an electronic and/or written agreement regarding disclosure, access, receipt, retention, or release of confidential healthcare information from the HIE. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.7-3
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• real estate: may be construed to include lands, tenements, and hereditaments and rights thereto and interests therein. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-10
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• RHIO: means the organization designated as the RHIO by the state to provide administrative and operational support to the HIE. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.7-3
• seal: shall be construed to include an impression of the seal made with or without the use of wax or wafer on the paper. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-15
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• town: may be construed to include city; the words "town council" include city council; the words "town clerk" include city clerk; the words "ward clerk" include clerk of election district; the words "town treasurer" include city treasurer; and the words "town sergeant" include city sergeant. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-9
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• United States: include the several states and the territories of the United States. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-8