Updated June 24, 2008.
Definition:
Anyone who has patient healthcare responsibilities. It usually means a physician, but there are several other healthcare professionals who can also be considered clinicians, such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
The word is used to recognize that patients encounter many types of healthcare providers who are not physicians, but are still able to deliver some form of medical care.
For example, many chronic hepatitis patients may actually see nurse practitioners during routine follow-up visits instead of physicians.
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