Conferences, conventions or formal meetings usually attended by delegates representing a special field of interest.

An agency of the PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE concerned with the overall planning, promoting, and administering of programs pertaining to maintaining standards of quality of foods, drugs, therapeutic devices, etc.

Authoritative treatises on drugs and preparations, their description, formulation, analytic composition, physical constants, main chemical properties used in identification, standards for strength, purity, and dosage, chemical tests for determining identity and purity, etc. They are usually published under governmental jurisdiction (e.g., USP, the United States Pharmacopoeia; BP, British Pharmacopoeia; P. Helv., the Swiss Pharmacopoeia). They differ from FORMULARIES in that they are far more complete: formularies tend to be mere listings of formulas and prescriptions.

The collective designation of three organizations with common membership: the European Economic Community (Common Market), the European Coal and Steel Community, and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). It was known as the European Community until 1994. It is primarily an economic union with the principal objectives of free movement of goods, capital, and labor. Professional services, social, medical and paramedical, are subsumed under labor. The constituent countries are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. (The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1997, p842)

Process that is gone through in order for a drug to receive approval by a government regulatory agency. This includes any required pre-clinical or clinical testing, review, submission, and evaluation of the applications and test results, and post-marketing surveillance of the drug.

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

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.

Authors' withdrawal or disavowal of their participation in performing research or writing the results of their study.

Freedom of equipment from actual or potential hazards.

Process that is gone through in order for a device to receive approval by a government regulatory agency. This includes any required preclinical or clinical testing, review, submission, and evaluation of the applications and test results, and post-marketing surveillance. It is not restricted to FDA.

International organizations which provide health-related or other cooperative services.

Chemistry dealing with the composition and preparation of agents having PHARMACOLOGIC ACTIONS or diagnostic use.

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.

An application that must be submitted to a regulatory agency (the FDA in the United States) before a drug can be studied in humans. This application includes results of previous experiments; how, where, and by whom the new studies will be conducted; the chemical structure of the compound; how it is thought to work in the body; any toxic effects found in animal studies; and how the compound is manufactured. (From the "New Medicines in Development" Series produced by the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association and published irregularly.)

State-provided health insurance marketplaces established under the PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT.

Laws concerned with manufacturing, dispensing, and marketing of drugs.

Exploitation through misrepresentation of the facts or concealment of the purposes of the exploiter.

## I'm sorry for any confusion, but "Japan" is not a medical term or concept. It is a country located in Asia, known as Nihon-koku or Nippon-koku in Japanese, and is renowned for its unique culture, advanced technology, and rich history. If you have any questions related to medical topics, I would be happy to help answer them!

Control of drug and narcotic use by international agreement, or by institutional systems for handling prescribed drugs. This includes regulations concerned with the manufacturing, dispensing, approval (DRUG APPROVAL), and marketing of drugs.

An independent agency within the Executive Branch of the United States Government. It administers a national social insurance program whereby employees, employers, and the self-employed pay contributions into pooled trust funds. Part of the contributions go into a separate hospital insurance trust fund for workers at age 65 to provide help with medical expenses. Other programs include the supplemental social security income program for the aged, blind, and disabled and the Old Age Survivors and Disability Insurance Program. It became an independent agency March 31, 1995. It had previously been part of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, later the Department of Health and Human Services. (From United States Government Manual, 1994-95)

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.

Persons whose profession is to give legal advice and assistance to clients and represent them in legal matters. (American Heritage Dictionary, 3d ed)

Insurance designed to compensate persons who lose wages because of illness or injury; insurance providing periodic payments that partially replace lost wages, salary, or other income when the insured is unable to work because of illness, injury, or disease. Individual and group disability insurance are two types of such coverage. (From Facts on File Dictionary of Health Care Management, 1988, p207)

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

Regulations to assure protection of property and equipment.

A 1974 Federal act which preempts states' rights with regard to workers' pension benefits and employee benefits. It does not affect the benefits and rights of employees whose employer is self-insured. (From Slee & Slee, Health Care Reform Terms, 1993)

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

Laws and regulations concerned with industrial processing and marketing of foods.

Any process by which toxicity, metabolism, absorption, elimination, preferred route of administration, safe dosage range, etc., for a drug or group of drugs is determined through clinical assessment in humans or veterinary animals.

Government sponsored social insurance programs.

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.

I'm sorry for any confusion, but 'Europe' is a geographical continent and not a medical term; therefore, it doesn't have a medical definition.

Drugs used by veterinarians in the treatment of animal diseases. The veterinarian's pharmacological armamentarium is the counterpart of drugs treating human diseases, with dosage and administration adjusted to the size, weight, disease, and idiosyncrasies of the species. In the United States most drugs are subject to federal regulations with special reference to the safety of drugs and residues in edible animal products.

The commitment in writing, as authentic evidence, of something having legal importance. The concept includes certificates of birth, death, etc., as well as hospital, medical, and other institutional records.

An Act prohibiting a health plan from establishing lifetime limits or annual limits on the dollar value of benefits for any participant or beneficiary after January 1, 2014. It permits a restricted annual limit for plan years beginning prior to January 1, 2014. It provides that a health plan shall not be prevented from placing annual or lifetime per-beneficiary limits on covered benefits. The Act sets up a competitive health insurance market.

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.

A component of the Department of Health and Human Services to oversee and direct the Medicare and Medicaid programs and related Federal medical care quality control staffs. Name was changed effective June 14, 2001.

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)

Information intended for potential users of medical and healthcare services. There is an emphasis on self-care and preventive approaches as well as information for community-wide dissemination and use.

Contamination of bodies of water (such as LAKES; RIVERS; SEAS; and GROUNDWATER.)

The presence of organisms, or any foreign material that makes a drug preparation impure.

Freedom from exposure to danger and protection from the occurrence or risk of injury or loss. It suggests optimal precautions in the workplace, on the street, in the home, etc., and includes personal safety as well as the safety of property.

Drugs intended for human or veterinary use, presented in their finished dosage form. Included here are materials used in the preparation and/or formulation of the finished dosage form.

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.

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

Calamities producing great damage, loss of life, and distress. They include results of natural phenomena and man-made phenomena. Normal conditions of existence are disrupted and the level of impact exceeds the capacity of the hazard-affected community.

Complex pharmaceutical substances, preparations, or matter derived from organisms usually obtained by biological methods or assay.

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

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)

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.

Disorders that result from the intended use of PHARMACEUTICAL PREPARATIONS. Included in this heading are a broad variety of chemically-induced adverse conditions due to toxicity, DRUG INTERACTIONS, and metabolic effects of pharmaceuticals.

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

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

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

Methods of creating machines and devices.

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

The selecting and organizing of visual stimuli based on the individual's past experience.

Focusing on certain aspects of current experience to the exclusion of others. It is the act of heeding or taking notice or concentrating.

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.