Adverse or favorable selection bias exhibited by insurers or enrollees resulting in disproportionate enrollment of certain groups of people.

The introduction of error due to systematic differences in the characteristics between those selected and those not selected for a given study. In sampling bias, error is the result of failure to ensure that all members of the reference population have a known chance of selection in the sample.

Insurance providing coverage of medical, surgical, or hospital care in general or for which there is no specific heading.

Organized institutions which provide services to ameliorate conditions of need or social pathology in the community.

The protection of animals in laboratories or other specific environments by promoting their health through better nutrition, housing, and care.

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.

Generally refers to the amount of protection available and the kind of loss which would be paid for under an insurance contract with an insurer. (Slee & Slee, Health Care Terms, 2d ed)

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

Innovation and improvement of the health care system by reappraisal, amendment of services, and removal of faults and abuses in providing and distributing health services to patients. It includes a re-alignment of health services and health insurance to maximum demographic elements (the unemployed, indigent, uninsured, elderly, inner cities, rural areas) with reference to coverage, hospitalization, pricing and cost containment, insurers' and employers' costs, pre-existing medical conditions, prescribed drugs, equipment, and services.

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

Any deviation of results or inferences from the truth, or processes leading to such deviation. Bias can result from several sources: one-sided or systematic variations in measurement from the true value (systematic error); flaws in study design; deviation of inferences, interpretations, or analyses based on flawed data or data collection; etc. There is no sense of prejudice or subjectivity implied in the assessment of bias under these conditions.

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

Payment by individuals or their family for health care services which are not covered by a third-party payer, either insurance or medical assistance.

The complex of political institutions, laws, and customs through which the function of governing is carried out in a specific political unit.

Support systems that provide assistance and encouragement to individuals with physical or emotional disabilities in order that they may better cope. Informal social support is usually provided by friends, relatives, or peers, while formal assistance is provided by churches, groups, etc.

Any behavior caused by or affecting another individual, usually of the same species.

Differential and non-random reproduction of different genotypes, operating to alter the gene frequencies within a population.

Coverage by contract whereby one part indemnifies or guarantees another against loss by a specified contingency.

Adaptation of the person to the social environment. Adjustment may take place by adapting the self to the environment or by changing the environment. (From Campbell, Psychiatric Dictionary, 1996)

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

Health insurance to provide full or partial coverage for long-term home care services or for long-term nursing care provided in a residential facility such as a nursing home.

Insurance providing for payment of a stipulated sum to a designated beneficiary upon death of the insured.

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.

Organizations which assume the financial responsibility for the risks of policyholders.

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.

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

Federal, state, or local government organized methods of financial assistance.

The term "United States" in a medical context often refers to the country where a patient or study participant resides, and is not a medical term per se, but relevant for epidemiological studies, healthcare policies, and understanding differences in disease prevalence, treatment patterns, and health outcomes across various geographic locations.

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.

Individuals or groups with no or inadequate health insurance coverage. Those falling into this category usually comprise three primary groups: the medically indigent (MEDICAL INDIGENCY); those whose clinical condition makes them medically uninsurable; and the working uninsured.

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.

Organized efforts by communities or organizations to improve the health and well-being of the child.

An organization of insurers or reinsurers through which particular types of risk are shared or pooled. The risk of high loss by a particular insurance company is transferred to the group as a whole (the insurance pool) with premiums, losses, and expenses shared in agreed amounts.

The individual's experience of a sense of fulfillment of a need or want and the quality or state of being satisfied.

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

I'm sorry for any confusion, but "India" is not a medical term that can be defined in a medical context. It is a geographical location, referring to the Republic of India, a country in South Asia. If you have any questions related to medical topics or definitions, I would be happy to help with those!

The amounts spent by individuals, groups, nations, or private or public organizations for total health care and/or its various components. These amounts may or may not be equivalent to the actual costs (HEALTH CARE COSTS) and may or may not be shared among the patient, insurers, and/or employers.

A generic concept reflecting concern with the modification and enhancement of life attributes, e.g., physical, political, moral and social environment; the overall condition of a human life.

The level of governmental organization and function at the national or country-wide level.

Health insurance plans for employees, and generally including their dependents, usually on a cost-sharing basis with the employer paying a percentage of the premium.

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

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)

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

The aggregate of social and cultural institutions, forms, patterns, and processes that influence the life of an individual or community.

Smallest political subdivisions within a country at which general governmental functions are carried-out.

Payments or services provided under stated circumstances under the terms of an insurance policy. In prepayment programs, benefits are the services the programs will provide at defined locations and to the extent needed.

Criteria and standards used for the determination of the appropriateness of the inclusion of patients with specific conditions in proposed treatment plans and the criteria used for the inclusion of subjects in various clinical trials and other research protocols.

The state wherein the person is well adjusted.

Health services required by a population or community as well as the health services that the population or community is able and willing to pay for.

A stratum of people with similar position and prestige; includes social stratification. Social class is measured by criteria such as education, occupation, and income.

Payment by a third-party payer in a sum equal to the amount expended by a health care provider or facility for health services rendered to an insured or program beneficiary. (From Facts on File Dictionary of Health Care Management, 1988)

Services for the diagnosis and treatment of disease and the maintenance of health.

Public attitudes toward health, disease, and the medical care system.

Insurance providing coverage for dental care.

Exercise of governmental authority to control conduct.

A plan for collecting and utilizing data so that desired information can be obtained with sufficient precision or so that an hypothesis can be tested properly.

That distinct portion of the institutional, industrial, or economic structure of a country that is controlled or owned by non-governmental, private interests.

The separation of individuals or groups resulting in the lack of or minimizing of social contact and/or communication. This separation may be accomplished by physical separation, by social barriers and by psychological mechanisms. In the latter, there may be interaction but no real communication.

Activities concerned with governmental policies, functions, etc.

Planning for needed health and/or welfare services and facilities.

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

Organized services to provide health care for children.

Administrative units of government responsible for policy making and management of governmental activities.

The state of the organism when it functions optimally without evidence of disease.

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.

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)

National Health Insurance in the United States refers to a proposed system of healthcare financing that would provide comprehensive coverage for all residents, funded through a combination of government funding and mandatory contributions, and administered by a public agency.

Government sponsored social insurance programs.

Economic sector concerned with the provision, distribution, and consumption of health care services and related products.

Federal program, created by Public Law 89-97, Title XIX, a 1965 amendment to the Social Security Act, administered by the states, that provides health care benefits to indigent and medically indigent persons.

State plans prepared by the State Health Planning and Development Agencies which are made up from plans submitted by the Health Systems Agencies and subject to review and revision by the Statewide Health Coordinating Council.

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.

Behaviors expressed by individuals to protect, maintain or promote their health status. For example, proper diet, and appropriate exercise are activities perceived to influence health status. Life style is closely associated with health behavior and factors influencing life style are socioeconomic, educational, and cultural.

A situation in which the level of living of an individual, family, or group is below the standard of the community. It is often related to a specific income level.

The level of governmental organization and function below that of the national or country-wide government.

Financial assistance provided by the government to indigent families with dependent children who meet certain requirements as defined by the Social Security Act, Title IV, in the U.S.

The use of community resources, individual case work, or group work to promote the adaptive capacities of individuals in relation to their social and economic environments. It includes social service agencies.

The perceiving of attributes, characteristics, and behaviors of one's associates or social groups.

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.

The design, completion, and filing of forms with the insurer.

The concept pertaining to the health status of inhabitants of the world.

Insurance against loss resulting from liability for injury or damage to the persons or property of others.

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).

Variation in rates of disease occurrence and disabilities between population groups defined by socioeconomic characteristics such as age, ethnicity, economic resources, or gender and populations identified geographically or similar measures.

Programs and activities sponsored or administered by local, state, or national governments.

A course or method of action selected, usually by a government, from among alternatives to guide and determine present and future decisions.

An interactive process whereby members of a community are concerned for the equality and rights of all.

Men and women working in the provision of health services, whether as individual practitioners or employees of health institutions and programs, whether or not professionally trained, and whether or not subject to public regulation. (From A Discursive Dictionary of Health Care, 1976)

The seeking and acceptance by patients of health service.

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).

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

Education that increases the awareness and favorably influences the attitudes and knowledge relating to the improvement of health on a personal or community basis.

Management of public health organizations or agencies.

Statistical formulations or analyses which, when applied to data and found to fit the data, are then used to verify the assumptions and parameters used in the analysis. Examples of statistical models are the linear model, binomial model, polynomial model, two-parameter model, etc.

Public Law 104-91 enacted in 1996, was designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the healthcare system, protect health insurance coverage for workers and their families, and to protect individual personal health information.

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.

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.

Insurance providing a broad range of medical services and supplies, when prescribed by a physician, whether or not the patient is hospitalized. It frequently is an extension of a basic policy and benefits will not begin until the basic policy is exhausted.

Insurance providing coverage for physical injury suffered as a result of unavoidable circumstances.

Studies in which variables relating to an individual or group of individuals are assessed over a period of time.

Phenomenon of workers' usually exhibiting overall death rates lower than those of the general population due to the fact that the severely ill and disabled are ordinarily excluded from employment.

Diagnostic, therapeutic and preventive health services provided for individuals in the community.

Planning for the equitable allocation, apportionment, or distribution of available health resources.

An infant during the first month after birth.

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.

The promotion and maintenance of physical and mental health in the work environment.

The form and structure of analytic studies in epidemiologic and clinical research.

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.

Preferentially rated health-related activities or functions to be used in establishing health planning goals. This may refer specifically to PL93-641.

Amounts charged to the patient as payer for health care services.

Organized services to provide mental health care.

The optimal state of the mouth and normal functioning of the organs of the mouth without evidence of disease.

The statistical reproducibility of measurements (often in a clinical context), including the testing of instrumentation or techniques to obtain reproducible results. The concept includes reproducibility of physiological measurements, which may be used to develop rules to assess probability or prognosis, or response to a stimulus; reproducibility of occurrence of a condition; and reproducibility of experimental results.

Health insurance providing benefits to cover or partly cover hospital expenses.

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

Procedures for finding the mathematical function which best describes the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables. In linear regression (see LINEAR MODELS) the relationship is constrained to be a straight line and LEAST-SQUARES ANALYSIS is used to determine the best fit. In logistic regression (see LOGISTIC MODELS) the dependent variable is qualitative rather than continuously variable and LIKELIHOOD FUNCTIONS are used to find the best relationship. In multiple regression, the dependent variable is considered to depend on more than a single independent variable.

Federal program, created by Public Law 89-97, Title XVIII-Health Insurance for the Aged, a 1965 amendment to the Social Security Act, that provides health insurance benefits to persons over the age of 65 and others eligible for Social Security benefits. It consists of two separate but coordinated programs: hospital insurance (MEDICARE PART A) and supplementary medical insurance (MEDICARE PART B). (Hospital Administration Terminology, AHA, 2d ed and A Discursive Dictionary of Health Care, US House of Representatives, 1976)

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.

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.

Factors that can cause or prevent the outcome of interest, are not intermediate variables, and are not associated with the factor(s) under investigation. They give rise to situations in which the effects of two processes are not separated, or the contribution of causal factors cannot be separated, or the measure of the effect of exposure or risk is distorted because of its association with other factors influencing the outcome of the study.

Conditional probability of exposure to a treatment given observed covariates.

Social process whereby the values, attitudes, or institutions of society, such as education, family, religion, and industry become modified. It includes both the natural process and action programs initiated by members of the community.

Differences in access to or availability of medical facilities and 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.

Criteria to determine eligibility of patients for medical care programs and services.

The state of being engaged in an activity or service for wages or salary.

Social structure of a group as it relates to the relative social rank of dominance status of its members. (APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed.)

The science of controlling or modifying those conditions, influences, or forces surrounding man which relate to promoting, establishing, and maintaining health.

Application of statistical procedures to analyze specific observed or assumed facts from a particular study.

Review of claims by insurance companies to determine liability and amount of payment for various services. The review may also include determination of eligibility of the claimant or beneficiary or of the provider of the benefit; determination that the benefit is covered or not payable under another policy; or determination that the service was necessary and of reasonable cost and quality.

Financing of medical care provided to public assistance recipients.

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.

The status of health in urban populations.

Studies in which individuals or populations are followed to assess the outcome of exposures, procedures, or effects of a characteristic, e.g., occurrence of disease.

The activities and endeavors of the public health services in a community on any level.

Abstract standards or empirical variables in social life which are believed to be important and/or desirable.

The influence of study results on the chances of publication and the tendency of investigators, reviewers, and editors to submit or accept manuscripts for publication based on the direction or strength of the study findings. Publication bias has an impact on the interpretation of clinical trials and meta-analyses. Bias can be minimized by insistence by editors on high-quality research, thorough literature reviews, acknowledgement of conflicts of interest, modification of peer review practices, etc.

Platforms that provide the ability and tools to create and publish information accessed via the INTERNET. Generally these platforms have three characteristics with content user generated, high degree of interaction between creator and viewer, and easily integrated with other sites.

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

The ratio of two odds. The exposure-odds ratio for case control data is the ratio of the odds in favor of exposure among cases to the odds in favor of exposure among noncases. The disease-odds ratio for a cohort or cross section is the ratio of the odds in favor of disease among the exposed to the odds in favor of disease among the unexposed. The prevalence-odds ratio refers to an odds ratio derived cross-sectionally from studies of prevalent cases.