Public Health Law Map - Beta 5 - Medical and Public Health Law Site

for the aged and the disabled.
Medicaid A federal health insurance program
for the poor.
Misdemeanor An unlawful act of a less serious
nature than a felony, usually
punishable by fine or imprisonment
for a term of less than one year.
MSAFP Maternal Serum Alpha-Fetoprotein.
Used in the prenatal diagnosis of
neural tube defects and Down
syndrome.
MSDS Material Safety Data Sheet.
National Practitioner A national clearing house for data
about physician disciplinary actions,
Data Bank including adverse peer review finds
and payments in medical malpractice
litigation.
Negligence The failure to exercise the degree of
diligence and care that a reasonable
and ordinarily prudent person would
exercise under the same or similar
circumstances.
Negligence Per Se Violation of a law or statute that
leads to an injury. The law or statute
provides the proof of the proper
standard of care. The harm
complained of must be the kind the
statute was intended to prevent, and
the plaintiff must be in the class of
persons that the law was intended to
protect. If a person catches a
communicable disease because the
physician does not comply with a
state disease reporting law, then the
physician can be liable for
negligence per se.
Nonfeasance Failure to do an act that should have
been done.
Notary Public Historically, a notary was a powerful
public official who approved the
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