Glossary of terms
Hospitals, airlines, insurers and immigration authorities each have their own vocabulary. These are the terms families meet most often, with a link to the guide that explains each in context.
- Air ambulance
- An aircraft configured to carry a patient with a medical team and equipment, used only for that journey and flown by a licensed operator. How an air ambulance transfer works
- Attendant
- A family member or companion who stays with a patient during treatment. International attendants travel on a medical attendant visa. A guide for attendants
- Authorisation committee
- A committee that must approve a living-donor organ transplant in India before it goes ahead. Organ transplant
- Bed-to-bed transfer
- A transfer coordinated from the patient's bed at the sending hospital to a confirmed bed at the receiving hospital, including both road journeys and the flight. Air ambulance and transfers
- Case coordinator
- The named person who holds a patient's case and coordinates the practical arrangements around the clinical care. How we work
- DICOM
- The standard file format for medical images such as CT and MRI. Specialists usually prefer DICOM files to photographs of scans. Organising medical records
- Discharge summary
- The hospital's written summary of a stay: diagnosis, treatment given, condition at discharge, medicines and follow-up plan. After discharge
- e-Medical Visa
- The online form of India's medical visa, available to nationals of many countries, applied for through the Government of India's official portal. Medical visa
- Estimate
- A hospital's forecast of treatment cost based on the expected course of treatment. It is not a fixed price. Understanding estimates
- Fitness to fly
- A doctor's judgement of whether a patient can travel by air, and with what support. Fitness to fly
- FRRO
- Foreigners Regional Registration Office. Some foreign nationals must register with it after arriving in India, depending on their visa. Arriving in India
- Handover
- The formal transfer of responsibility for a patient from one clinical team to another, ideally documented in writing. Transfer day
- Interim bill
- A bill issued by a hospital during a longer stay, showing charges so far. Managing payments
- Medical escort
- A doctor, nurse or paramedic who travels with a patient, often on a scheduled flight. Airline medical escort
- Medical repatriation
- Bringing a patient back to their home country for continued care, once the treating doctors agree they can travel. Bringing a patient home
- MEDIF
- Medical information form. Airlines use it to decide whether a passenger with a medical condition can fly, and with what assistance. Air ambulance or airline escort
- Multidisciplinary team
- A group of specialists from different fields who discuss a case together, common in cancer care. Cancer care
- Receiving hospital
- The hospital that accepts a patient at the end of a transfer. How a transfer works
- Second opinion
- A review of a diagnosis or treatment plan by another specialist. Getting a second opinion
- Sending hospital
- The hospital where a patient is being treated before a transfer. Transfer documents
Coordination desk · 24 hours a day
A term we have not explained?
Ask a coordinator. We would rather explain something twice than have a family guess.
In a medical emergency, call 112 in India or your local emergency number first.