ESL Podcast 662 - Doctor-Patient Confidentiality
to consult - to speak with someone on a particular topic, requesting their expert advice or guidance
Please consult with a tax attorney before selling your stock.
medical ethics - ideas and standards about what types of behavior are morally right or wrong when healthcare providers interact with patients
In our medical ethics class, we're discussing the morality of extending life if the patient will be in a lot of pain.
patient - a person who receives medical care or treatment from a doctor
Dr. Perez has so many patients that he can spend only about 10 minutes with each one.
to spread to - to expand; to move over a larger area or to affect additional people; to have a larger scope
Elida went to school when she was sick, and now the virus has spread to almost all her classmates.
to breach - to break a rule or expectation; to break a promise
They had to leave their apartment because they breached their lease agreement when they didn't pay the rent on time.
doctor-patient confidentiality - the agreement or promise that doctors will not tell other people what their patients have said without their permission
Remember that our conversations are covered by doctor-patient confidentiality, so I won't repeat anything you tell me about your health or lifestyle.
a tricky one - a difficult problem or situation; something that is complex and complicated; something that does not have an obvious solution
Have you figured out the answer to Problem #8? That's a tricky one.
to divulge - to share a secret; to tell a secret to someone who shouldn't know about it
My grandmother told me that a woman should never divulge her real age.
sensitive information - confidential, personal, or private information that one does not want other people to know, such as bank account numbers and passwords
Companies are required to use secure storage for customers' credit card numbers and other types of sensitive information.
to trust - to believe what another person is saying; to believe that another person is reliable; to believe that another person wants to help
Would you trust a 13-year-old to watch your children for a few hours?
to put aside - to temporarily not consider, follow, or comply with something; to stop considering something as a factor in one's decision
We aren't ready to buy a house. Even putting aside the financial burden, it's too much responsibility for us!
Hippocratic Oath - a promise made by many new doctors, stating that they will obey certain principles and ethics related to medicine
As part of the Hippocratic Oath, new doctors swear, "I will prevent disease whenever I can."
to do no harm - to not do anything that hurts another person or animal
Hopefully this medicine will make you feel better, but even if it doesn't, at least it will do no harm.
to adhere to - to comply with or follow a rule or guidelines
Adhering to all the tax laws would mean reporting all of your income - even coins that you find on the sidewalk.
the spirit of - the idea behind something, even if it is not explicitly written down
There probably aren't any laws specifically against spitting on your neighbor's grass, but that act violates the spirit of our homeowners' association.
to sit (someone) down - to have a serious conversation with another person, trying to get all of that person's attention
Did your parents ever sit you down and talk to you about the dangers of illegal drugs?
to drop it - an informal phrase meaning to forget about something or no longer pursue something, usually because it is too difficult or uncomfortable; to change the subject without first getting the answer or response one was hoping for
One of the keys to a happy marriage is knowing when an argument is necessary and when it would be better to drop it.
miraculous recovery - an unexplained improvement in one's health so that one is no longer sick, but doctors do not know why
Molly said she was too sick to go to school this morning, but when I reminded her that today was Saturday, she suddenly had a miraculous recovery.