Visits made by patients to health service providers' offices for diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up.

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)

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 interactions between physician and patient.

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

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

The organization and operation of the business aspects of a physician's practice.

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

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)

Health insurance plans intended to reduce unnecessary health care costs through a variety of mechanisms, including: economic incentives for physicians and patients to select less costly forms of care; programs for reviewing the medical necessity of specific services; increased beneficiary cost sharing; controls on inpatient admissions and lengths of stay; the establishment of cost-sharing incentives for outpatient surgery; selective contracting with health care providers; and the intensive management of high-cost health care cases. The programs may be provided in a variety of settings, such as HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATIONS and PREFERRED PROVIDER ORGANIZATIONS.

The freedom of patients to review their own medical, genetic, or other health-related records.

Planning and control of time to improve efficiency and effectiveness.

The room or rooms in which the dentist and dental staff provide care. Offices include all rooms in the dentist's office suite.

Arrangements negotiated between a third-party payer (often a self-insured company or union trust fund) and a group of health-care providers (hospitals and physicians) who furnish services at lower than usual fees, and, in return, receive prompt payment and an expectation of an increased volume of patients.

Provisions of an insurance policy that require the insured to pay some portion of covered expenses. Several forms of sharing are in use, e.g., deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments. Cost sharing does not refer to or include amounts paid in premiums for the coverage. (From Dictionary of Health Services Management, 2d ed)

The room or rooms in which the physician and staff provide patient care. The offices include all rooms in the physician's office suite.

Longitudinal patient-maintained records of individual health history and tools that allow individual control of access.

The art and science of studying, performing research on, preventing, diagnosing, and treating disease, as well as the maintenance of health.

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).

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

A medical specialty concerned with maintaining health and providing medical care to children from birth to adolescence.

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.

The utilization of drugs as reported in individual hospital studies, FDA studies, marketing, or consumption, etc. This includes drug stockpiling, and patient drug profiles.

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

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.

Use of computers or computer systems for doing routine clerical work, e.g., billing, records pertaining to the administration of the office, etc.

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

Planning, organizing, and administering activities in an office.

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)

Messages between computer users via COMPUTER COMMUNICATION NETWORKS. This feature duplicates most of the features of paper mail, such as forwarding, multiple copies, and attachments of images and other file types, but with a speed advantage. The term also refers to an individual message sent in this way.

A federal area located between Maryland and Virginia on the Potomac river; it is coextensive with Washington, D.C., which is the capital of the United States.

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.

Individuals licensed to practice medicine.

Providers of initial care for patients. These PHYSICIANS refer patients when appropriate for secondary or specialist care.

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.

The exchange or transmission of ideas, attitudes, or beliefs between individuals or groups.

A system for classifying patient care by relating common characteristics such as diagnosis, treatment, and age to an expected consumption of hospital resources and length of stay. Its purpose is to provide a framework for specifying case mix and to reduce hospital costs and reimbursements and it forms the cornerstone of the prospective payment system.

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.

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.

Directions written for the obtaining and use of DRUGS.

Persons who receive ambulatory care at an outpatient department or clinic without room and board being provided.

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.

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.

The teaching or training of patients concerning their own health needs.

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 expected function of a member of the medical profession.

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

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)

The giving of advice and assistance to individuals with educational or personal problems.

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)

Insurance providing for payment of services rendered by the pharmacist. Services include the preparation and distribution of medical products.

Services designed for HEALTH PROMOTION and prevention of disease.

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

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.

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

The seeking and acceptance by patients of health service.

Voluntary cooperation of the patient in following a prescribed regimen.

Computer-based systems for input, storage, display, retrieval, and printing of information contained in a patient's medical record.

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

A medical specialty concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the internal organ systems of adults.

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

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

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

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.

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 confinement of a patient in a hospital.

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.

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.

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

Visits to the patient's home by professional personnel for the purpose of diagnosis and/or treatment.

Mathematical or statistical procedures used as aids in making a decision. They are frequently used in medical decision-making.

Systematic and thorough inspection of the patient for physical signs of disease or abnormality.

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.

Small-scale tests of methods and procedures to be used on a larger scale if the pilot study demonstrates that these methods and procedures can work.

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

Patient involvement in the decision-making process in matters pertaining to health.

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

An infant during the first month after birth.

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.

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

A group of symptoms that are two- to three-fold more common in those who work in large, energy-efficient buildings, associated with an increased frequency of headaches, lethargy, and dry skin. Clinical manifestations include hypersensitivity pneumonitis (ALVEOLITIS, EXTRINSIC ALLERGIC); allergic rhinitis (RHINITIS, ALLERGIC, PERENNIAL); ASTHMA; infections, skin eruptions, and mucous membrane irritation syndromes. Current usage tends to be less restrictive with regard to the type of building and delineation of complaints. (From Segen, Dictionary of Modern Medicine, 1992)

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

Persistently high systemic arterial BLOOD PRESSURE. Based on multiple readings (BLOOD PRESSURE DETERMINATION), hypertension is currently defined as when SYSTOLIC PRESSURE is consistently greater than 140 mm Hg or when DIASTOLIC PRESSURE is consistently 90 mm Hg or more.

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.

A loose confederation of computer communication networks around the world. The networks that make up the Internet are connected through several backbone networks. The Internet grew out of the US Government ARPAnet project and was designed to facilitate information exchange.

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.

Method in which repeated blood pressure readings are made while the patient undergoes normal daily activities. It allows quantitative analysis of the high blood pressure load over time, can help distinguish between types of HYPERTENSION, and can assess the effectiveness of antihypertensive therapy.

Aspects of health and disease related to travel.

The planning of the furnishings and decorations of an architectural interior.

Organized services in a hospital which provide medical care on an outpatient basis.

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)

The different methods of scheduling patient visits, appointment systems, individual or group appointments, waiting times, waiting lists for hospitals, walk-in clinics, etc.

Those facilities which administer health services to individuals who do not require hospitalization or institutionalization.

Techniques for measuring blood pressure.

Place or physical location of work or employment.

Practice of a health profession by an individual, offering services on a person-to-person basis, as opposed to group or partnership practice.