The largest country in North America, comprising 10 provinces and three territories. Its capital is Ottawa.

A province of Canada lying between the provinces of Manitoba and Quebec. Its capital is Toronto. It takes its name from Lake Ontario which is said to represent the Iroquois oniatariio, beautiful lake. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p892 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p391)

A province of Canada on the Pacific coast. Its capital is Victoria. The name given in 1858 derives from the Columbia River which was named by the American captain Robert Gray for his ship Columbia which in turn was named for Columbus. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p178 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p81-2)

A province of western Canada, lying between the provinces of British Columbia and Saskatchewan. Its capital is Edmonton. It was named in honor of Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p26 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p12)

A province of eastern Canada. Its capital is Quebec. The region belonged to France from 1627 to 1763 when it was lost to the British. The name is from the Algonquian quilibek meaning the place where waters narrow, referring to the gradually narrowing channel of the St. Lawrence or to the narrows of the river at Cape Diamond. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p993 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p440)

A province of Canada, lying between the provinces of Saskatchewan and Ontario. Its capital is Winnipeg. Taking its name from Lake Manitoba, itself named for one of its islands, the name derived from Algonquian Manitou, great spirit. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p724 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p332)

A province of eastern Canada, one of the Maritime Provinces with NEW BRUNSWICK; PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND; and sometimes NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR. Its capital is Halifax. The territory was granted in 1621 by James I to the Scotsman Sir William Alexander and was called Nova Scotia, the Latin for New Scotland. The territory had earlier belonged to the French, under the name of Acadia. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p871 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p384)

A federally administered division of Canada. Its capital is Yellowknife. The former northern and eastern-most parts of the Territory comprise the new territory of Nunavut, effective April 1, 1999.

The Arctic Ocean and the lands in it and adjacent to it. It includes Point Barrow, Alaska, most of the Franklin District in Canada, two thirds of Greenland, Svalbard, Franz Josef Land, Lapland, Novaya Zemlya, and Northern Siberia. (Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p66)

A province of Canada, lying between the provinces of Alberta and Manitoba. Its capital is Regina. It is entirely a plains region with prairie in the south and wooded country with many lakes and swamps in the north. The name was taken from the Saskatchewan River from the Cree name Kisiskatchewani Sipi, meaning rapid-flowing river. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p1083 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p486)

A self-governing territory formed from the central and eastern portions of the Northwest Territories. It was officially established April 1, 1999. The capital is Iqaluit.

Inuktitut-speakers generally associated with the northern polar region.

Province of Canada consisting of the island of Newfoundland and an area of Labrador. Its capital is St. John's.

Individual members of North American ethnic groups with ancient historic ancestral origins in Asia.

Individuals whose ancestral origins are in the continents of the Americas.

Societies whose membership is limited to physicians.

A province of eastern Canada, one of the Maritime Provinces with NOVA SCOTIA; PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND; and sometimes NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR. Its capital is Fredericton. It was named in honor of King George III, of the House of Hanover, also called Brunswick. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p828 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p375)

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 territory of northwest Canada, bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the south by British Columbia, and on the west by Alaska. Its capital is Whitehorse. It takes its name from the Yukon River, the Indian yu-kun-ah, meaning big river. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p1367 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p608)

Travel to another country for the purpose of medical treatment.

An island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence constituting a province of Canada in the eastern part of the country. It is very irregular in shape with many deep inlets. Its capital is Charlottetown. Discovered by the French in 1534 and originally named Ile Saint-Jean, it was renamed in 1799 in honor of Prince Edward, fourth son of George III and future father of Queen Victoria. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p981 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p433)

Components of a national health care system which administer specific services, e.g., national health insurance.

A systematic collection of factual data pertaining to health and disease in a human population within a given geographic area.

An aspect of personal behavior or lifestyle, environmental exposure, or inborn or inherited characteristic, which, on the basis of epidemiologic evidence, is known to be associated with a health-related condition considered important to prevent.

The total number of cases of a given disease in a specified population at a designated time. It is differentiated from INCIDENCE, which refers to the number of new cases in the population at a given time.

A subspecialty of internal medicine concerned with the study of the physiology and diseases of the digestive system and related structures (esophagus, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas).

The process of leaving one's country to establish residence in a foreign country.

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.

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.

Studies in which the presence or absence of disease or other health-related variables are determined in each member of the study population or in a representative sample at one particular time. This contrasts with LONGITUDINAL STUDIES which are followed over a period of time.

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

A specialty in which manual or operative procedures are used in the treatment of disease, injuries, or deformities.

Individuals licensed to practice medicine.

Age as a constituent element or influence contributing to the production of a result. It may be applicable to the cause or the effect of a circumstance. It is used with human or animal concepts but should be differentiated from AGING, a physiological process, and TIME FACTORS which refers only to the passage of time.

Programs of training in medicine and medical specialties offered by hospitals for graduates of medicine to meet the requirements established by accrediting authorities.

The number of new cases of a given disease during a given period in a specified population. It also is used for the rate at which new events occur in a defined population. It is differentiated from PREVALENCE, which refers to all cases, new or old, in the population at a given time.

Ongoing scrutiny of a population (general population, study population, target population, etc.), generally using methods distinguished by their practicability, uniformity, and frequently their rapidity, rather than by complete accuracy.

Statistical measures of utilization and other aspects of the provision of health care services including hospitalization and ambulatory care.

The frequency of different ages or age groups in a given population. The distribution may refer to either how many or what proportion of the group. The population is usually patients with a specific disease but the concept is not restricted to humans and is not restricted to medicine.

Maleness or femaleness as a constituent element or influence contributing to the production of a result. It may be applicable to the cause or effect of a circumstance. It is used with human or animal concepts but should be differentiated from SEX CHARACTERISTICS, anatomical or physiological manifestations of sex, and from SEX DISTRIBUTION, the number of males and females in given circumstances.

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

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.

Studies in which subsets of a defined population are identified. These groups may or may not be exposed to factors hypothesized to influence the probability of the occurrence of a particular disease or other outcome. Cohorts are defined populations which, as a whole, are followed in an attempt to determine distinguishing subgroup characteristics.

Individuals with a degree in veterinary medicine that provides them with training and qualifications to treat diseases and injuries of animals.

Statistical models which describe the relationship between a qualitative dependent variable (that is, one which can take only certain discrete values, such as the presence or absence of a disease) and an independent variable. A common application is in epidemiology for estimating an individual's risk (probability of a disease) as a function of a given risk factor.

The degree to which individuals are inhibited or facilitated in their ability to gain entry to and to receive care and services from the health care system. Factors influencing this ability include geographic, architectural, transportational, and financial considerations, among others.

The number of males and females in a given population. The distribution may refer to how many men or women or what proportion of either in the group. The population is usually patients with a specific disease but the concept is not restricted to humans and is not restricted to medicine.

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

Physicians who hold degrees from medical schools in countries other than the ones in which they practice.

Social and economic factors that characterize the individual or group within the social structure.

Consumer Product Safety refers to the measures and regulations implemented to ensure household items, toys, and other consumer products are designed, manufactured, and distributed in a manner that minimizes risks of harm, injury, or death to consumers during normal use or foreseeable misuse.

People who leave their place of residence in one country and settle in a different country.

An infant during the first month after birth.

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

Decisions, usually developed by government policymakers, for determining present and future objectives pertaining to the health care system.

Educational programs for medical graduates entering a specialty. They include formal specialty training as well as academic work in the clinical and basic medical sciences, and may lead to board certification or an advanced medical degree.

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

Prospective patient listings for appointments or treatments.

Individuals classified according to their sex, racial origin, religion, common place of living, financial or social status, or some other cultural or behavioral attribute. (UMLS, 2003)

Elements of residence that characterize a population. They are applicable in determining need for and utilization of health services.

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.

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

Use for general articles concerning medical education.

The qualitative or quantitative estimation of the likelihood of adverse effects that may result from exposure to specified health hazards or from the absence of beneficial influences. (Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 1988)

Absolute, comparative, or differential costs pertaining to services, institutions, resources, etc., or the analysis and study of these costs.

The confinement of a patient in a hospital.

An approach to health care financing with only one source of money for paying health care providers. The scope may be national (the Canadian System), state-wide, or community-based. The payer may be a governmental unit or other entity such as an insurance company. The proposed advantages include administrative simplicity for patients and providers, and resulting significant savings in overhead costs. (From Slee and Slee, Health Care Reform Terms, 1993, p106)

Revenues or receipts accruing from business enterprise, labor, or invested capital.

The concept concerned with all aspects of providing and distributing health services to a patient population.

Health services, public or private, in rural areas. The services include the promotion of health and the delivery of health care.

While there isn't a specific medical definition for "North America," I can provide a geographical definition that is often used in public health and medical contexts: North America is the third largest continent by area, encompassing 23 independent states, including the United States, Canada, and Mexico, which are home to diverse populations, cultures, and ecosystems, and share common health-related challenges such as obesity, diabetes, and healthcare access disparities.

Sudden increase in the incidence of a disease. The concept includes EPIDEMICS and PANDEMICS.

The systems and processes involved in the establishment, support, management, and operation of registers, e.g., disease registers.

The actual costs of providing services related to the delivery of health care, including the costs of procedures, therapies, and medications. It is differentiated from HEALTH EXPENDITURES, which refers to the amount of money paid for the services, and from fees, which refers to the amount charged, regardless of cost.

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

Geographic area in which a professional person practices; includes primarily physicians and dentists.

The personal cost of acute or chronic disease. The cost to the patient may be an economic, social, or psychological cost or personal loss to self, family, or immediate community. The cost of illness may be reflected in absenteeism, productivity, response to treatment, peace of mind, or QUALITY OF LIFE. It differs from HEALTH CARE COSTS, meaning the societal cost of providing services related to the delivery of health care, rather than personal impact on individuals.

Knowledge, attitudes, and associated behaviors which pertain to health-related topics such as PATHOLOGIC PROCESSES or diseases, their prevention, and treatment. This term refers to non-health workers and health workers (HEALTH PERSONNEL).

Divisions of the year according to some regularly recurrent phenomena usually astronomical or climatic. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed)

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

Compliance with a set of standards defined by non-governmental organizations. Certification is applied for by individuals on a voluntary basis and represents a professional status when achieved, e.g., certification for a medical specialty.

Damage inflicted on the body as the direct or indirect result of an external force, with or without disruption of structural continuity.

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.

A method of comparing the cost of a program with its expected benefits in dollars (or other currency). The benefit-to-cost ratio is a measure of total return expected per unit of money spent. This analysis generally excludes consideration of factors that are not measured ultimately in economic terms. Cost effectiveness compares alternative ways to achieve a specific set of results.

An approach of practicing medicine with the goal to improve and evaluate patient care. It requires the judicious integration of best research evidence with the patient's values to make decisions about medical care. This method is to help physicians make proper diagnosis, devise best testing plan, choose best treatment and methods of disease prevention, as well as develop guidelines for large groups of patients with the same disease. (from JAMA 296 (9), 2006)

A systematic statement of policy rules or principles. Guidelines may be developed by government agencies at any level, institutions, professional societies, governing boards, or by convening expert panels. The text may be cursive or in outline form but is generally a comprehensive guide to problems and approaches in any field of activity. For guidelines in the field of health care and clinical medicine, PRACTICE GUIDELINES AS TOPIC is available.

The level of health of the individual, group, or population as subjectively assessed by the individual or by more objective measures.

Those physicians who have completed the education requirements specified by the American Academy of Family Physicians.

The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.

Stipends or grants-in-aid granted by foundations or institutions to individuals for study.

Branch of medicine concerned with the prevention and control of disease and disability, and the promotion of physical and mental health of the population on the international, national, state, or municipal level.

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)

That segment of commercial enterprise devoted to the design, development, and manufacture of chemical products for use in the diagnosis and treatment of disease, disability, or other dysfunction, or to improve function.

Individuals licensed to practice DENTISTRY.

The decision process by which individuals, groups or institutions establish policies pertaining to plans, programs or procedures.

Encouraging consumer behaviors most likely to optimize health potentials (physical and psychosocial) through health information, preventive programs, and access to medical care.

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

I'm sorry for any confusion, but the term "geese" is a common name for certain species of waterfowl and doesn't have a medical definition. It is not related to medical terminology or healthcare.

Diseases of domestic cattle of the genus Bos. It includes diseases of cows, yaks, and zebus.

Time period from 1901 through 2000 of the common era.

Selection of a type of occupation or profession.

Extensive collections, reputedly complete, of facts and data garnered from material of a specialized subject area and made available for analysis and application. The collection can be automated by various contemporary methods for retrieval. The concept should be differentiated from DATABASES, BIBLIOGRAPHIC which is restricted to collections of bibliographic references.

Inhaling and exhaling the smoke of burning TOBACCO.

Conversations with an individual or individuals held in order to obtain information about their background and other personal biographical data, their attitudes and opinions, etc. It includes school admission or job interviews.

Presentations of summary statements representing the majority agreement of physicians, scientists, and other professionals convening for the purpose of reaching a consensus--often with findings and recommendations--on a subject of interest. The Conference, consisting of participants representing the scientific and lay viewpoints, is a significant means of evaluating current medical thought and reflects the latest advances in research for the respective field being addressed.

The containment, regulation, or restraint of costs. Costs are said to be contained when the value of resources committed to an activity is not considered excessive. This determination is frequently subjective and dependent upon the specific geographic area of the activity being measured. (From Dictionary of Health Services Management, 2d ed)

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

The attitude of a significant portion of a population toward any given proposition, based upon a measurable amount of factual evidence, and involving some degree of reflection, analysis, and reasoning.

General agreement or collective opinion; the judgment arrived at by most of those concerned.

Health insurance coverage for all persons in a state or country, rather than for some subset of the population. It may extend to the unemployed as well as to the employed; to aliens as well as to citizens; for pre-existing conditions as well as for current illnesses; for mental as well as for physical conditions.

The amount that a health care institution or organization pays for its drugs. It is one component of the final price that is charged to the consumer (FEES, PHARMACEUTICAL or PRESCRIPTION FEES).

A phenomenon that is observed when a small subgroup of a larger POPULATION establishes itself as a separate and isolated entity. The subgroup's GENE POOL carries only a fraction of the genetic diversity of the parental population resulting in an increased frequency of certain diseases in the subgroup, especially those diseases known to be autosomal recessive.

The process of choosing employees for specific types of employment. The concept includes recruitment.

Societies whose membership is limited to dentists.