A detailed review and evaluation of selected clinical records by qualified professional personnel for evaluating quality of medical care.

A detailed review and evaluation of selected clinical records by qualified professional personnel to improve the quality of patient care and outcomes. The clinical audit was formally introduced in 1993 into the United Kingdom's National Health Service.

A detailed review and evaluation of selected clinical records by qualified professional personnel for evaluating quality of nursing care.

A detailed review and evaluation of selected clinical records by qualified professional personnel for evaluating quality of dental care.

Management review designed to evaluate efficiency and to identify areas in need of management improvement within the institution in order to ensure effectiveness in meeting organizational goals.

An examination, review and verification of all financial accounts.

I'm sorry for any confusion, but 'England' is not a medical term and does not have a medical definition. England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, known for its rich history, cultural heritage, and contributions to medical science. However, in a medical context, it may refer to the location of a patient, healthcare provider, or research study, but it is not a term with a specific medical meaning.

The non-profit, non-governmental organization which collects, processes, and distributes data on hospital use. Two programs of the Commission are the Professional Activity Study and the Medical Audit Program.

Committees of professional personnel who have responsibility for determining policies, procedures, and controls related to professional matters in health facilities.

Great Britain is not a medical term, but a geographical name for the largest island in the British Isles, which comprises England, Scotland, and Wales, forming the major part of the United Kingdom.

A system of medical care regulated, controlled and financed by the government, in which the government assumes responsibility for the health needs of the population.

Large hospitals with a resident medical staff which provides continuous care to maternity, surgical and medical patients.

Activities and programs intended to assure or improve the quality of care in either a defined medical setting or a program. The concept includes the assessment or evaluation of the quality of care; identification of problems or shortcomings in the delivery of care; designing activities to overcome these deficiencies; and follow-up monitoring to ensure effectiveness of corrective steps.

Conformity in fulfilling or following official, recognized, or institutional requirements, guidelines, recommendations, protocols, pathways, or other standards.

Recording of pertinent information concerning patient's illness or illnesses.

A medical specialty concerned with the provision of continuing, comprehensive primary health care for the entire family.

I'm sorry for any confusion, but "Wales" is not a medical term and does not have a medical definition. It is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, located in Europe. If you have any questions about a specific medical topic, I would be happy to help answer those!

Directions or principles presenting current or future rules of policy for assisting health care practitioners in patient care decisions regarding diagnosis, therapy, or related clinical circumstances. The guidelines may be developed by government agencies at any level, institutions, professional societies, governing boards, or by the convening of expert panels. The guidelines form a basis for the evaluation of all aspects of health care and delivery.

Professional medical personnel approved to provide care to patients in a hospital.

Studies used to test etiologic hypotheses in which inferences about an exposure to putative causal factors are derived from data relating to characteristics of persons under study or to events or experiences in their past. The essential feature is that some of the persons under study have the disease or outcome of interest and their characteristics are compared with those of unaffected persons.

Hospitals controlled by various types of government, i.e., city, county, district, state or federal.

I'm sorry for any confusion, but "Scotland" is not a medical term and does not have a medical definition. Scotland is one of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom, located in the northern part of Great Britain. If you have any questions related to healthcare or medical terminology, I would be happy to help answer those!

Hospital department which administers and provides pathology services.

The practice of sending a patient to another program or practitioner for services or advice which the referring source is not prepared to provide.

#### I must clarify that 'Northern Ireland' is not a medical term and does not have a medical definition. It is a geographical and political term referring to a part of the United Kingdom located in the northeastern portion of the island of Ireland, consisting of six of the nine counties of the historic province of Ulster.

The levels of excellence which characterize the health service or health care provided based on accepted standards of quality.

Evaluation procedures that focus on both the outcome or status (OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT) of the patient at the end of an episode of care - presence of symptoms, level of activity, and mortality; and the process (ASSESSMENT, PROCESS) - what is done for the patient diagnostically and therapeutically.

Hospitals engaged in educational and research programs, as well as providing medical care to the patients.

I'm sorry for any confusion, but "London" is a place name and not a medical term, so it doesn't have a medical definition. It's the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, known for its rich history, culture, and landmarks. If you have any questions related to health or medicine, I'd be happy to help answer those!

A management function in which standards and guidelines are developed for the development, maintenance, and handling of forms and records.

Hospital department which administers all departmental functions and the provision of surgical diagnostic and therapeutic services.

Hospital facilities equipped to carry out investigative procedures.

Patterns of practice related to diagnosis and treatment as especially influenced by cost of the service requested and provided.

Systematic organization, storage, retrieval, and dissemination of specialized information, especially of a scientific or technical nature (From ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science, 1983). It often involves authenticating or validating information.

Major administrative divisions of the hospital.

The concurrent or retrospective review by practicing physicians or other health professionals of the quality and efficiency of patient care practices or services ordered or performed by other physicians or other health professionals (From The Facts On File Dictionary of Health Care Management, 1988).

An organized procedure carried out through committees to review admissions, duration of stay, professional services furnished, and to evaluate the medical necessity of those services and promote their most efficient use.

Predetermined sets of questions used to collect data - clinical data, social status, occupational group, etc. The term is often applied to a self-completed survey instrument.

A medical-surgical specialty concerned with management and care of women during pregnancy, parturition, and the puerperium.

Educational programs designed to inform physicians of recent advances in their field.

Observation of a population for a sufficient number of persons over a sufficient number of years to generate incidence or mortality rates subsequent to the selection of the study group.

The branch of psychology concerned with psychological methods of recognizing and treating behavior disorders.

Hospital department responsible for the administration and provision of immediate medical or surgical care to the emergency patient.

Systematic gathering of data for a particular purpose from various sources, including questionnaires, interviews, observation, existing records, and electronic devices. The process is usually preliminary to statistical analysis of the data.

Precise and detailed plans for the study of a medical or biomedical problem and/or plans for a regimen of therapy.

The care of women and a fetus or newborn given before, during, and after delivery from the 28th week of gestation through the 7th day after delivery.

Care which provides integrated, accessible health care services by clinicians who are accountable for addressing a large majority of personal health care needs, developing a sustained partnership with patients, and practicing in the context of family and community. (JAMA 1995;273(3):192)

Disorders related to or resulting from abuse or mis-use of alcohol.

Hospital department responsible for the administration and management of services provided for obstetric and gynecologic patients.

The capability to perform acceptably those duties directly related to patient care.

Organized services in a hospital which provide medical care on an outpatient basis.

An evaluation procedure that focuses on how care is delivered, based on the premise that there are standards of performance for activities undertaken in delivering patient care, in which the specific actions taken, events occurring, and human interactions are compared with accepted standards.

Blood, mucus, tissue removed at surgery or autopsy, soiled surgical dressings, and other materials requiring special disposal procedures.

Organizations representing designated geographic areas which have contracts under the PRO program to review the medical necessity, appropriateness, quality, and cost-effectiveness of care received by Medicare beneficiaries. Peer Review Improvement Act, PL 97-248, 1982.

Operations carried out for the correction of deformities and defects, repair of injuries, and diagnosis and cure of certain diseases. (Taber, 18th ed.)

Institutions with an organized medical staff which provide medical care to patients.

Attitudes of personnel toward their patients, other professionals, toward the medical care system, etc.

A surgical specialty which utilizes medical, surgical, and physical methods to treat and correct deformities, diseases, and injuries to the skeletal system, its articulations, and associated structures.

A voluntary contract between two or more doctors who may or may not share responsibility for the care of patients, with proportional sharing of profits and losses.

A system for verifying and maintaining a desired level of quality in a product or process by careful planning, use of proper equipment, continued inspection, and corrective action as required. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

Formal programs for assessing drug prescription against some standard. Drug utilization review may consider clinical appropriateness, cost effectiveness, and, in some cases, outcomes. Review is usually retrospective, but some analysis may be done before drugs are dispensed (as in computer systems which advise physicians when prescriptions are entered). Drug utilization review is mandated for Medicaid programs beginning in 1993.

The integration of epidemiologic, sociological, economic, and other analytic sciences in the study of health services. Health services research is usually concerned with relationships between need, demand, supply, use, and outcome of health services. The aim of the research is evaluation, particularly in terms of structure, process, output, and outcome. (From Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed)

A surgical specialty concerned with the structure and function of the eye and the medical and surgical treatment of its defects and diseases.

The attainment or process of attaining a new level of performance or quality.

Situations or conditions requiring immediate intervention to avoid serious adverse results.

Research aimed at assessing the quality and effectiveness of health care as measured by the attainment of a specified end result or outcome. Measures include parameters such as improved health, lowered morbidity or mortality, and improvement of abnormal states (such as elevated blood pressure).

A mechanism of communication within a system in that the input signal generates an output response which returns to influence the continued activity or productivity of that system.

A primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. The disease is often progressive and fatal. It is characterized by impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking, most notably denial. Each of these symptoms may be continuous or periodic. (Morse & Flavin for the Joint Commission of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence and the American Society of Addiction Medicine to Study the Definition and Criteria for the Diagnosis of Alcoholism: in JAMA 1992;268:1012-4)

Institutional funding for facilities and for equipment which becomes a part of the assets of the institution.

Organized periodic procedures performed on large groups of people for the purpose of detecting disease.

The planning and managing of programs, services, and resources.

Maternal deaths resulting from complications of pregnancy and childbirth in a given population.

Occupations of medical personnel who are not physicians, and are qualified by special training and, frequently, by licensure to work in supporting roles in the health care field. These occupations include, but are not limited to, medical technology, physical therapy, physician assistant, etc.

Usually a written medical and nursing care program designed for a particular patient.

The structuring of the environment to permit or promote specific patterns of behavior.

The use of one's knowledge in a particular profession. It includes, in the case of the field of biomedicine, professional activities related to health care and the actual performance of the duties related to the provision of health care.

Individuals referred to for expert or professional advice or services.

The utilization of drugs as reported in individual hospital studies, FDA studies, marketing, or consumption, etc. This includes drug stockpiling, and patient drug profiles.

Those areas of the hospital organization not considered departments which provide specialized patient care. They include various hospital special care wards.

Studies designed to assess the efficacy of programs. They may include the evaluation of cost-effectiveness, the extent to which objectives are met, or impact.

Method of measuring performance against established standards of best practice.

Any group of three or more full-time physicians organized in a legally recognized entity for the provision of health care services, sharing space, equipment, personnel and records for both patient care and business management, and who have a predetermined arrangement for the distribution of income.

Patient-based medical care provided across age and gender or specialty boundaries.

The process of accepting patients. The concept includes patients accepted for medical and nursing care in a hospital or other health care institution.

Deaths occurring from the 28th week of GESTATION to the 28th day after birth in a given population.

Norms, criteria, standards, and other direct qualitative and quantitative measures used in determining the quality of health care.

Evaluation undertaken to assess the results or consequences of management and procedures used in combating disease in order to determine the efficacy, effectiveness, safety, and practicability of these interventions in individual cases or series.

Elements of limited time intervals, contributing to particular results or situations.

Directions written for the obtaining and use of DRUGS.

The reciprocal interaction of physicians and nurses.

Diagnostic, therapeutic, and investigative procedures prescribed and performed by health professionals, the results of which do not justify the benefits or hazards and costs to the patient.

Studies determining the effectiveness or value of processes, personnel, and equipment, or the material on conducting such studies. For drugs and devices, CLINICAL TRIALS AS TOPIC; DRUG EVALUATION; and DRUG EVALUATION, PRECLINICAL are available.

Care of patients by a multidisciplinary team usually organized under the leadership of a physician; each member of the team has specific responsibilities and the whole team contributes to the care of the patient.

The observation and analysis of movements in a task with an emphasis on the amount of time required to perform the task.

The smallest continent and an independent country, comprising six states and two territories. Its capital is Canberra.

Incorrect diagnoses after clinical examination or technical diagnostic procedures.

A formal process of examination of patient care or research proposals for conformity with ethical standards. The review is usually conducted by an organized clinical or research ethics committee (CLINICAL ETHICS COMMITTEES or RESEARCH ETHICS COMMITTEES), sometimes by a subset of such a committee, an ad hoc group, or an individual ethicist (ETHICISTS).

The degree to which the individual regards the health care service or product or the manner in which it is delivered by the provider as useful, effective, or beneficial.

An occupation limited in scope to a subsection of a broader field.

A surgical specialty concerned with the study and treatment of disorders of the ear, nose, and throat.

Studies to determine the advantages or disadvantages, practicability, or capability of accomplishing a projected plan, study, or project.