Certification as complying with a standard set by non-governmental organizations, applied for by institutions, programs, and facilities on a voluntary basis.

A private, voluntary, not-for-profit organization which establishes standards for the operation of health facilities and services, conducts surveys, and awards accreditation.

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.

Facilities equipped to carry out investigative procedures.

The application of industrial management practice to systematically maintain and improve organization-wide performance. Effectiveness and success are determined and assessed by quantitative quality measures.

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.

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

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.

Health care professionals, technicians, and assistants staffing LABORATORIES in research or health care facilities.

Societies whose membership is limited to physicians.

A medical discipline that is based on the philosophy that all body systems are interrelated and dependent upon one another for good health. This philosophy, developed in 1874 by Dr. Andrew Taylor Still, recognizes the concept of "wellness" and the importance of treating illness within the context of the whole body. Special attention is placed on the MUSCULOSKELETAL SYSTEM.

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

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).

Information centers primarily serving the needs of hospital medical staff and sometimes also providing patient education and other services.

Management of the internal organization of the hospital.

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

Hospital facilities equipped to carry out investigative procedures.

Formal voluntary or governmental procedures and standards required of hospitals and health or other facilities to improve operating efficiency, and for the protection of the consumer.

An organized procedure carried out by a select committee of professionals in evaluating the performance of other professionals in meeting the standards of their specialty. Review by peers is used by editors in the evaluation of articles and other papers submitted for publication. Peer review is used also in the evaluation of grant applications. It is applied also in evaluating the quality of health care provided to patients.

A course or method of action selected to guide and determine present and future decisions.

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

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.

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

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

Books designed to give factual information or instructions.

A course of study offered by an educational institution.

A medical specialty concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of SLEEP WAKE DISORDERS and their causes.

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)

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

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.

Organizations which certify physicians and dentists as specialists in various fields of medical and dental practice.

The assessing of academic or educational achievement. It includes all aspects of testing and test construction.

Institutions which provide medical or health-related services.

Educational programs designed to ensure that students attain prespecified levels of competence in a given field or training activity. Emphasis is on achievement or specified objectives.

Techniques used to carry out clinical investigative procedures in the diagnosis and therapy of disease.

Professional society representing the field of medicine.

The process of formulating, improving, and expanding educational, managerial, or service-oriented work plans (excluding computer program development).

A course or method of action selected, usually by an organization, institution, university, society, etc., from among alternatives to guide and determine present and future decisions and positions on matters of public interest or social concern. It does not include internal policy relating to organization and administration within the corporate body, for which ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION is available.

A novel composition, device, or process, independently conceived de novo or derived from a pre-existing model.

Management activities concerned with hospital employees.

Theoretical representations and constructs that describe or explain the structure and hierarchy of relationships and interactions within or between formal organizational entities or informal social groups.

Licensed physicians trained in OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE. An osteopathic physician, also known as D.O. (Doctor of Osteopathy), is able to perform surgery and prescribe medications.

Physicians who serve in a medical and administrative capacity as head of an organized medical staff and who also may serve as liaison for the medical staff with the administration and governing board.

The purposes, missions, and goals of an individual organization or its units, established through administrative processes. It includes an organization's long-range plans and administrative philosophy.

Travel to another country for the purpose of medical treatment.

The obligations and accountability assumed in carrying out actions or ideas on behalf of others.

The interaction of persons or groups of persons representing various nations in the pursuit of a common goal or interest.

Economic aspects related to the management and operation of a hospital.

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.

The total amount of work to be performed by an individual, a department, or other group of workers in a period of time.

A specialty field of radiology concerned with diagnostic, therapeutic, and investigative use of radioactive compounds in a pharmaceutical form.

Hospital department responsible for the administration and management of nuclear medicine services.

A class of hospitals that includes profit or not-for-profit hospitals that are controlled by a legal entity other than a government agency. (Hospital Administration Terminology, AHA, 2d ed)

Educational programs for pharmacists who have a bachelor's degree or a Doctor of Pharmacy degree entering a specific field of pharmacy. They may lead to an advanced degree.

The legal relation between an entity (individual, group, corporation, or-profit, secular, government) and an object. The object may be corporeal, such as equipment, or completely a creature of law, such as a patent; it may be movable, such as an animal, or immovable, such as a building.

The obtaining and management of funds for hospital needs and responsibility for fiscal affairs.

Administration and functional structures for the purpose of collectively systematizing activities for a particular goal.

Educational institutions for individuals specializing in the field of pharmacy.

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

The recognition of professional or technical competence through registration, certification, licensure, admission to association membership, the award of a diploma or degree, etc.

The function of directing or controlling the actions or attitudes of an individual or group with more or less willing acquiescence of the followers.

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

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.

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

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

Hospital department which administers and provides pathology services.

A republic in western Africa, south of GUINEA and east of COTE D'IVOIRE. Its capital is Monrovia.

Method of measuring performance against established standards of best practice.

Educational institutions for individuals specializing in the field of dentistry.