Allied health professions
Allied health professions
Allied health professions (/əˈlaɪd hɛlθ prəˈfɛʃənz/) are a distinct group of health professionals who apply their expertise to prevent disease transmission, diagnose, treat, and rehabilitate people of all ages and all specialties. Together with a range of technical and support staff, they may deliver direct patient care, rehabilitation, treatment, diagnostics, and health improvement interventions to restore and maintain optimal physical, sensory, psychological, cognitive, and social functions.
Etymology
The term "allied health" is believed to have been first used in the 1960s to identify health professions that were not part of the traditional medical and nursing professions. The word "allied" means joined or linked for a common purpose, reflecting the collaborative nature of these professions in the healthcare team.
Related Terms
- Healthcare team: A group of health professionals who work together to deliver care to patients. This can include doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, and support staff.
- Healthcare professional: A person who provides preventive, curative, promotional, or rehabilitative health care services in a systematic way to people, families, or communities.
- Patient care: The services rendered by members of the health professions for the benefit of a patient.
- Rehabilitation: A treatment or treatments designed to facilitate the process of recovery from injury, illness, or disease to as normal a condition as possible.
- Diagnostics: The process of determining which disease or condition explains a person's symptoms and signs.
- Health improvement: The process of making changes to health behaviors and environments in order to improve health and quality of life.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Allied health professions
- Wikipedia's article - Allied health professions
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