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)

Those individuals engaged in research.

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

Organized services to provide mental health care.

Financial support of research activities.

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.

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.

Disciplines concerned with the interrelationships of individuals in a social environment including social organizations and institutions. Includes Sociology and Anthropology.

A cabinet department in the Executive Branch of the United States Government concerned with overall planning, promoting, and administering programs pertaining to VETERANS. It was established March 15, 1989 as a Cabinet-level position.

Critical and exhaustive investigation or experimentation, having for its aim the discovery of new facts and their correct interpretation, the revision of accepted conclusions, theories, or laws in the light of newly discovered facts, or the practical application of such new or revised conclusions, theories, or laws. (Webster, 3d ed)

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

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

The comparative and theoretical study of culture, often synonymous with cultural anthropology.

The process by which decisions are made in an institution or other organization.

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

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.

Activities concerned with governmental policies, functions, etc.

An agency of the PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE established in 1990 to "provide indexing, abstracting, translating, publishing, and other services leading to a more effective and timely dissemination of information on research, demonstration projects, and evaluations with respect to health care to public and private entities and individuals engaged in the improvement of health care delivery..." It supersedes the National Center for Health Services Research. The United States Agency for Health Care Policy and Research was renamed Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) under the Healthcare Research and Quality Act of 1999.

The interactions between representatives of institutions, agencies, or organizations.

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.

Services for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases in the aged and the maintenance of health in the elderly.

Individuals responsible for the development of policy and supervision of the execution of plans and functional operations.

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.

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 providing medical care to veterans of wars.

Lists of persons or organizations, systematically arranged, usually in alphabetic or classed order, giving address, affiliations, etc., for individuals, and giving address, officers, functions, and similar data for organizations. (ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science, 1983)

Hospital or other institutional committees established to protect the welfare of research subjects. Federal regulations (the "Common Rule" (45 CFR 46)) mandate the use of these committees to monitor federally-funded biomedical and behavioral research involving human subjects.

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)

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

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.

Any type of research that employs nonnumeric information to explore individual or group characteristics, producing findings not arrived at by statistical procedures or other quantitative means. (Qualitative Inquiry: A Dictionary of Terms Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1997)

The field of information science concerned with the analysis and dissemination of medical data through the application of computers to various aspects of health care and medicine.

The broad dissemination of new ideas, procedures, techniques, materials, and devices and the degree to which these are accepted and used.

The interaction of two or more persons or organizations directed toward a common goal which is mutually beneficial. An act or instance of working or acting together for a common purpose or benefit, i.e., joint action. (From Random House Dictionary Unabridged, 2d ed)

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)

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

A geographic area defined and served by a health program or institution.

Conduct and synthesis of systematic research comparing interventions and strategies to prevent, diagnose, treat, and monitor health conditions. The purpose of this research is to inform patients, providers, and decision-makers, responding to their expressed needs, about which interventions are most effective for which patients under specific circumstances. (hhs.gov/recovery/programs/cer/draftdefinition.html accessed 6/12/2009)

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

Health care services related to human REPRODUCTION and diseases of the reproductive system. Services are provided to both sexes and usually by physicians in the medical or the surgical specialties such as REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE; ANDROLOGY; GYNECOLOGY; OBSTETRICS; and PERINATOLOGY.

Process of substituting a symbol or code for a term such as a diagnosis or procedure. (from Slee's Health Care Terms, 3d ed.)

Communication, in the sense of cross-fertilization of ideas, involving two or more academic disciplines (such as the disciplines that comprise the cross-disciplinary field of bioethics, including the health and biological sciences, the humanities, and the social sciences and law). Also includes problems in communication stemming from differences in patterns of language usage in different academic or medical disciplines.

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

Organized systems for providing comprehensive prepaid health care that have five basic attributes: (1) provide care in a defined geographic area; (2) provide or ensure delivery of an agreed-upon set of basic and supplemental health maintenance and treatment services; (3) provide care to a voluntarily enrolled group of persons; (4) require their enrollees to use the services of designated providers; and (5) receive reimbursement through a predetermined, fixed, periodic prepayment made by the enrollee without regard to the degree of services provided. (From Facts on File Dictionary of Health Care Management, 1988)

Research carried out by nurses, generally in clinical settings, in the areas of clinical practice, evaluation, nursing education, nursing administration, and methodology.

The privacy of information and its protection against unauthorized disclosure.

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.

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.

"The business or profession of the commercial production and issuance of literature" (Webster's 3d). It includes the publisher, publication processes, editing and editors. Production may be by conventional printing methods or by electronic publishing.

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).

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

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

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.

A bibliographic database that includes MEDLINE as its primary subset. It is produced by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), part of the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE. PubMed, which is searchable through NLM's Web site, also includes access to additional citations to selected life sciences journals not in MEDLINE, and links to other resources such as the full-text of articles at participating publishers' Web sites, NCBI's molecular biology databases, and PubMed Central.

Organized services to provide health care to expectant and nursing mothers.

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.

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 publication issued at stated, more or less regular, intervals.

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.

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

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

Services designed for HEALTH PROMOTION and prevention of disease.

Organized services to provide health care to adolescents, ages ranging from 13 through 18 years.

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

The seeking and acceptance by patients of health service.

The state wherein the person is well adjusted.

The organization and administration of health services dedicated to the delivery of health care.

Health services for employees, usually provided by the employer at the place of work.

A system of categories to which morbid entries are assigned according to established criteria. Included is the entire range of conditions in a manageable number of categories, grouped to facilitate mortality reporting. It is produced by the World Health Organization (From ICD-10, p1). The Clinical Modifications, produced by the UNITED STATES DEPT. OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, are larger extensions used for morbidity and general epidemiological purposes, primarily in the U.S.

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

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.

Nurses professionally qualified in administration.

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

The process of making a selective intellectual judgment when presented with several complex alternatives consisting of several variables, and usually defining a course of action or an idea.

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

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

Health care programs or services designed to assist individuals in the planning of family size. Various methods of CONTRACEPTION can be used to control the number and timing of childbirths.

Management of public health organizations or agencies.

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.

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.

Organized services to provide health care to women. It excludes maternal care services for which MATERNAL HEALTH SERVICES is available.

Theoretical representations that simulate the behavior or activity of systems, processes, or phenomena. They include the use of mathematical equations, computers, and other electronic equipment.

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.

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

Health care provided to specific cultural or tribal peoples which incorporates local customs, beliefs, and taboos.

A constituent organization of the DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES concerned with protecting and improving the health of the nation.

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 state of the organism when it functions optimally 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.

A health care system which combines physicians, hospitals, and other medical services with a health plan to provide the complete spectrum of medical care for its customers. In a fully integrated system, the three key elements - physicians, hospital, and health plan membership - are in balance in terms of matching medical resources with the needs of purchasers and patients. (Coddington et al., Integrated Health Care: Reorganizing the Physician, Hospital and Health Plan Relationship, 1994, p7)

Community health and NURSING SERVICES providing coordinated multiple services to the patient at the patient's homes. These home-care services are provided by a visiting nurse, home health agencies, HOSPITALS, or organized community groups using professional staff for care delivery. It differs from HOME NURSING which is provided by non-professionals.

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.

Organizational development including enhancement of management structures, processes and procedures, within organizations and among different organizations and sectors to meet present and future needs.

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

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

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

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

A division of the UNITED STATES PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE that is responsible for the public health and the provision of medical services to NATIVE AMERICANS in the United States, primarily those residing on reservation lands.

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

Psychiatric illness or diseases manifested by breakdowns in the adaptational process expressed primarily as abnormalities of thought, feeling, and behavior producing either distress or impairment of function.

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.

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).

A course of study offered by an educational institution.

An agency of the NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH concerned with overall planning, promoting, and administering programs pertaining to advancement of medical and related sciences. Major activities of this institute include the collection, dissemination, and exchange of information important to the progress of medicine and health, research in medical informatics and support for medical library development.

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

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

The status of health in rural populations.

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

Planning for health resources at a regional or multi-state level.

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.

Services designed to promote, maintain, or restore dental health.

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

Available manpower, facilities, revenue, equipment, and supplies to produce requisite health care and services.

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

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

Institutions which provide medical or health-related services.

Planning that has the goals of improving health, improving accessibility to health services, and promoting efficiency in the provision of services and resources on a comprehensive basis for a whole community. (From Facts on File Dictionary of Health Care Management, 1988, p299)

An island in the Greater Antilles in the West Indies, south of Florida. With the adjacent islands it forms the Republic of Cuba. Its capital is Havana. It was discovered by Columbus on his first voyage in 1492 and conquered by Spain in 1511. It has a varied history under Spain, Great Britain, and the United States but has been independent since 1902. The name Cuba is said to be an Indian name of unknown origin but the language that gave the name is extinct, so the etymology is a conjecture. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p302 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p132)

A cabinet department in the Executive Branch of the United States Government concerned with administering those agencies and offices having programs pertaining to health and human services.

The availability of HEALTH PERSONNEL. It includes the demand and recruitment of both professional and allied health personnel, their present and future supply and distribution, and their assignment and utilization.

Outside services provided to an institution under a formal financial agreement.

The moral obligations governing the conduct of research. Used for discussions of research ethics as a general topic.

Facilities which administer the delivery of health care services to people living in a community or neighborhood.

Differences in access to or availability of medical facilities and services.

The concept covering the physical and mental conditions of women.

Health care provided to individuals.

The status of health in urban populations.

Preventive health services provided for students. It excludes college or university students.

Application of marketing principles and techniques to maximize the use of health care resources.

Systematic identification of a population's needs or the assessment of individuals to determine the proper level of services needed.

Health services for college and university students usually provided by the educational institution.

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

A specialized agency of the United Nations designed as a coordinating authority on international health work; its aim is to promote the attainment of the highest possible level of health by all peoples.

The inhabitants of rural areas or of small towns classified as rural.

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.

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

Services specifically designed, staffed, and equipped for the emergency care of patients.

The area of a nation's economy that is tax-supported and under government control.

The physical condition of human reproductive systems.

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.

All organized methods of funding.

Those actions designed to carry out recommendations pertaining to health plans or programs.

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

Degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.

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.

Community or individual involvement in the decision-making process.

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.

Facilities which administer the delivery of health care services to mothers and children.

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

The application of discoveries generated by laboratory research and preclinical studies to the development of clinical trials and studies in humans. A second area of translational research concerns enhancing the adoption of best practices.

Organized services for the purpose of providing diagnosis to promote and maintain health.

Descriptions and evaluations of specific health care organizations.

Time period from 1901 through 2000 of the common era.

An infant during the first month after birth.

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.

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.

Research that involves the application of the natural sciences, especially biology and physiology, to medicine.

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.

Health care workers specially trained and licensed to assist and support the work of health professionals. Often used synonymously with paramedical personnel, the term generally refers to all health care workers who perform tasks which must otherwise be performed by a physician or other health professional.

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

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

Health care services provided to patients on an ambulatory basis, rather than by admission to a hospital or other health care facility. The services may be a part of a hospital, augmenting its inpatient services, or may be provided at a free-standing facility.

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

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

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.

Services offered to the library user. They include reference and circulation.

Process of shifting publicly controlled services and/or facilities to the private sector.

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.

An operating division of the US Department of Health and Human Services. It is concerned with the overall planning, promoting, and administering of programs pertaining to health and medical research. Until 1995, it was an agency of the United States PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE.

The interactions between members of a community and representatives of the institutions within that community.

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

Collaborative process of research involving researchers and community representatives.

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

The capacity of an organization, institution, or business to produce desired results with a minimum expenditure of energy, time, money, personnel, materiel, etc.

A nursing specialty concerned with promoting and protecting the health of populations, using knowledge from nursing, social, and public health sciences to develop local, regional, state, and national health policy and research. It is population-focused and community-oriented, aimed at health promotion and disease prevention through educational, diagnostic, and preventive programs.

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.

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.

Customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a benefit or service received.

Providing for the full range of personal health services for diagnosis, treatment, follow-up and rehabilitation of patients.

A general concept referring to the organization and administration of nursing activities.

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

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.

Professions or other business activities directed to the cure and prevention of disease. For occupations of medical personnel who are not physicians but who are working in the fields of medical technology, physical therapy, etc., ALLIED HEALTH OCCUPATIONS is available.

A geographic location which has insufficient health resources (manpower and/or facilities) to meet the medical needs of the resident population.

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.

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.

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)

Media that facilitate transportability of pertinent information concerning patient's illness across varied providers and geographic locations. Some versions include direct linkages to online consumer health information that is relevant to the health conditions and treatments related to a specific patient.

The inhabitants of a city or town, including metropolitan areas and suburban areas.

Countries in the process of change with economic growth, that is, an increase in production, per capita consumption, and income. The process of economic growth involves better utilization of natural and human resources, which results in a change in the social, political, and economic structures.

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

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

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 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.

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.