keywords and phrases

Key words, phrases and their meaning from our Medical Protection System

Understanding key phrases such as Advanced Decision Notice, and others used within the UK Medical Healthcare System

Medical intervention – any medical procedure or treatment. This includes anything from surgery to medication, injections, and even the requirement to wear a mask.

Bodily autonomy – the absolute right under law to decide what is put in or on the body.

Informed choice – the absolute right under law to know what is involved in any medical procedure or treatment (both the good and bad), as well as the ingredients of and side effects or contraindications of any pharmaceutical drugs or products in order to make a choice based on all the information available.

Autologous donation – is using your own blood recycled for transfusion. It may be used via:

  • Bypass from one area of the body to another, for example, Cell Salvage Machine
  • Sucked out of a wound, cleaned up, then reintroduced into a vein,
  • Red cells are removed and ‘padded out’ with saline before being reintroduced to the body, etc.
  • Blood can be taken and stored a few weeks prior to planned surgery

Directed donation – the use of private blood donors.

Bloodless surgery – means using minimally invasive techniques for surgery to limit blood loss, such as ‘keyhole surgery, or using self-cauterising equipment, such as cryogenic or thermogenic tools, lasers, etc.

Bloodless surgery machines – use equipment such as cell salvage and haemodialysis machines to clean up and recycle the patient’s own blood. Every NHS trust will have at least one – although not every hospital within the trust will.

Advance Decision Notice (ADN) – also known as Advance Directives and a living will. A legally binding document that states a person’s express wishes for healthcare, particularly treatments and procedures they wish to reject. This document, and the ability for medical staff to find it, is crucial to protecting against unwanted medical interventions.

Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) – a legal document registered with the Court of Protection that allows the appointment of an attorney to oversee a person’s healthcare wishes and make medical decisions on their behalf when they are not competent to do so.

ICE contact – stands for ‘In Case of Emergency’ contact. This can be an appointed attorney, next of kin, friend, or family members – basically, someone you trust.

Medical alert service – an automated service that’s part of the My Medical Choice membership. It lets up to two people know you’re in hospital, so they can take care of vulnerable people and/or pets at home, pick children up from school, etc.

Medical alert tools – cards, screensavers, jewellery tags, etc., that warn medical staff not to administer blood and to look for an Advance Decision Notice and login to a member’s personal account page

For more information on protecting yourself from unwanted medical treatment, watch our short video:

Understanding Medical Advanced Decision Notice in the MMC Welcome Pack

Our new Advance Decision Notice gives members even more protection

 

My Medical Choice is not here to judge your decision, it is about empowering people to control their own healthcare.

My Medical Choice is all about your Medical Autonomy in healthcare and making sure the emergency team treating you follows your specific wishes.

Using the My Medical Choice System

When used correctly, it is a robust system that can notify medical teams about allergies, procedures etc., right down to more personalised decisions such as people concerned about mRNA in blood, and/or, wanting a solution to vaccinated blood (as listed in the examples in some articles).

Just a friendly reminder that no information in this publication constitutes legal or medical advice from My Medical Choice or any of our affiliates and the contents of this document are for educational and support purposes only.