Definitions.

For the purposes of sections 17b-262-573 through 17b-262-585 the following definitions shall apply: (1) "Acute" means having rapid onset, severe symptoms, and a short course. (2) "Client" means a person eligible for goods or services under the department's Medical Assistance Program. (3) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Social Services appointed pursuant to subsection (a) of section 17b-1 of the Connecticut General Statutes. (4) "Consultation and Collaborative Management" means those services rendered by the obstetrician-gynecologist who is part of the health care team whose opinion or advice is requested by the client's nurse-midwife in the evaluation or treatment of the client. The consultant obstetrician-gynecologist may prescribe a course of treatment provided by the nurse-midwife. It does not necessarily mean the client shall be seen by the obstetrician-gynecologist. (5) "Department" means the Department of Social Services or its agent. (6) "Directed" means a nurse-midwife shall always function within a health care system in a team relationship with a physician and shall never be independent of physician back-up for consultation and collaborative management, or referral. (7) "Emergency" means a medical condition, including labor and delivery, manifesting itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity, including severe pain, such that the absence of immediate medical attention could reasonably be expected to result in placing the client's health in serious jeopardy, serious impairment to bodily functions, or serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part. (8) "Essentially Normal" means a philosophic view of childbirth as a natural, normal process. Essentially normal means that if a client develops complications, the nurse-midwife either consults or collaborates with the physician in the management of care of the client or, depending on the severity of the complication, refers the client to the physician. This reflects again the team relationship with the physician, because normal is defined by the nurse-midwifes and physicians in a particular practice setting. (9) "Family Planning Services" means any medically approved diagnostic procedure, treatment, counseling, drug, supply, or device which is prescribed or furnished by a provider to individuals of child-bearing age for the purpose of enabling such individuals to freely determine the number and spacing of their children. (10) "Health Care Team" means the nurse-midwife shall function in a team relationship with a physician and shall never be independent of physician back-up for consultation and collaborative management, or referral. (11) "HealthTrack Services" means the services described in subsection (r) of section 1905 of the Social Security Act. (12) "HealthTrack Special Services" means medically necessary and medically appropriate health care, diagnostic services, treatment, or other measures necessary to correct or ameliorate disabilities and physical and mental illnesses and conditions discovered as a result of a periodic comprehensive health screening or interperiodic encounter. Such services are provided in accordance with subdivision (5) of subsection (r) of section 1905 of the Social Security Act, and are: (A) services not covered under the State Plan or contained in a fee schedule published by the department; or (B) services covered under the State Plan and contained in a fee schedule published by the department which exceed the limit on the amount of services established by the department that are contained in regulation. (13) "Interperiodic Encounter" means any medically necessary visit to a Connecticut Medical Assistance provider, other than for the purpose of performing a periodic comprehensive health screening. Such encounters include, but are not limited to, physician's office visits, clinic visits, and other primary care visits. (14) "Licensed Practitioner of the Healing Arts" means a professional person providing health care pursuant to a license issued by the Department of Public Health (DPH). (15) "Long-Term Care Facility" means a medical institution which provides, at a minimum, skilled nursing services or nursing supervision and assistance with personal care on a daily basis. Long-term care facilities include: (A) nursing facilities, (B) chronic disease hospitals—inpatient, and (C) intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded (ICFs/MR). (16) "Management of Care" means the responsibilities and accountability the nurse-midwife shall assume and the mandatory relationship this shall require with a physician. This management is independent in the fact that a client who experiences an essentially normal maternity cycle or requires well-woman gynecological care may have her care provided entirely by the nurse-midwife. (17) "Maternity Cycle" means a period limited to: (A) pregnancy, (B) labor, (C) birth, and (D) the immediate postpartum period, not to exceed six weeks from the child's date of birth. (18) "Medical Appropriateness or Medically Appropriate" means health care that is provided in a timely manner and meets professionally recognized standards of acceptable medical care; is delivered in the appropriate medical setting; and is the least costly of multiple, equally-effective, alternative treatments or diagnostic modalities. (19) "Medical Assistance Program" means the medical assistance provided pursuant to Chapter 319v of the Connecticut General Statutes (CGS) and authorized by Title XIX of the Social Security Act. The program is also referred to as Medicaid. (20) "Medical Necessity or Medically Necessary" means health care provided to correct or diminish the adverse effects of a medical condition or mental illness; to assist an individual in attaining or maintaining an optimal level of health; to diagnose a condition; or prevent a medical condition from occurring. (21) "Medical Record" means the definition contained in section 19a-14-40 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, which is also the Public Health Code. (22) "Nurse-midwife" means a person who meets all of the conditions established in subsection (2) of section 20-86a of the Connecticut General Statutes. (23) "Nurse-midwifery Services" are the services established in subsection (1) of section 20-86a and section 20-86b of the Connecticut General Statutes. (24) "Physician" means a physician licensed pursuant to section 20-10 of the Connecticut General Statutes who practices as an obstetrician-gynecologist. (25) "Prior Authorization" means approval for the provision of a service or the delivery of goods from the department before the provider actually provides the service or delivers the goods. (26) "Provider" means a licensed nurse-midwife. (27) "Provider Agreement" means the signed, written, contractual agreement between the department and the provider of services or goods. (28) "Referral" means the nurse-midwife requests a consultation and collaboration with the physician on a client which results in the physician providing the care for the client. (29) "State Plan" means the document which contains the services covered by the Connecticut Medical Assistance Program in compliance with Part 430, Subpart B, of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).