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.

Personal satisfaction relative to the work situation.

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

Customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a benefit or service received.

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 interactions between physician and patient.

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

Interactions between hospital staff or administrators and patients. Includes guest relations programs designed to improve the image of the hospital and attract patients.

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

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.

Interactions between health personnel and patients.

Physical surroundings or conditions of a hospital or other health facility and influence of these factors on patients and staff.

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).

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.

Scales, questionnaires, tests, and other methods used to assess pain severity and duration in patients or experimental animals to aid in diagnosis, therapy, and physiological studies.

Pain during the period after surgery.

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)

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

Surgery performed on an outpatient basis. It may be hospital-based or performed in an office or surgicenter.

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

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

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

Research concerned with establishing costs of nursing care, examining the relationships between nursing services and quality patient care, and viewing problems of nursing service delivery within the broader context of policy analysis and delivery of health services (from a national study, presented at the 1985 Council on Graduate Education for Administration in Nursing (CGEAN) meeting).

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

Nursing care of the surgical patient before, during, and after surgery.

The hospital department which is responsible for the organization and administration of nursing activities.

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.

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 branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of the beautiful. It includes beauty, esthetic experience, esthetic judgment, esthetic aspects of medicine, etc.

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.

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

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.

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

Interaction between the patient and nurse.

Individuals responsible for various duties pertaining to the medical office routine.

Health care provided on a continuing basis from the initial contact, following the patient through all phases of medical care.

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

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

Medical care provided after the regular practice schedule of the physicians. Usually it is designed to deliver 24-hour-a-day and 365-day-a-year patient care coverage for emergencies, triage, pediatric care, or hospice care.

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

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

A set of statistical methods for analyzing the correlations among several variables in order to estimate the number of fundamental dimensions that underlie the observed data and to describe and measure those dimensions. It is used frequently in the development of scoring systems for rating scales and questionnaires.

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

Any group of three or more full-time physicians organized in a legally recognized entity for the provision of health care services, sharing space, equipment, personnel and records for both patient care and business management, and who have a predetermined arrangement for the distribution of income.

Institutional night care of patients.

Relief of PAIN, without loss of CONSCIOUSNESS, through ANALGESIC AGENTS administered by the patients. It has been used successfully to control POSTOPERATIVE PAIN, during OBSTETRIC LABOR, after BURNS, and in TERMINAL CARE. The choice of agent, dose, and lockout interval greatly influence effectiveness. The potential for overdose can be minimized by combining small bolus doses with a mandatory interval between successive doses (lockout interval).

Excessive sweating. In the localized type, the most frequent sites are the palms, soles, axillae, inguinal folds, and the perineal area. Its chief cause is thought to be emotional. Generalized hyperhidrosis may be induced by a hot, humid environment, by fever, or by vigorous exercise.

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

Surgical insertion of cylindric hydraulic devices for the treatment of organic ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION.

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.

Assessment of psychological variables by the application of mathematical procedures.

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)

Personnel who provide nursing service to patients in a hospital.

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

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.

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)

Institutional health care of patients during the day. The patients return home at night.

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.

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.

Individuals licensed to practice medicine.

Surgical reconstruction of the breast including both augmentation and reduction.

Design of patient care wherein institutional resources and personnel are organized around patients rather than around specialized departments. (From Hospitals 1993 Feb 5;67(3):14)

Medical complexes consisting of medical school, hospitals, clinics, libraries, administrative facilities, etc.

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

Procedures for the improvement or enhancement of the appearance of the visible parts of the body.

A drug-induced depression of consciousness during which patients respond purposefully to verbal commands, either alone or accompanied by light tactile stimulation. No interventions are required to maintain a patent airway. (From: American Society of Anesthesiologists Practice Guidelines)

Interruption of NEURAL CONDUCTION in peripheral nerves or nerve trunks by the injection of a local anesthetic agent (e.g., LIDOCAINE; PHENOL; BOTULINUM TOXINS) to manage or treat pain.

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

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

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.

The period of confinement of a patient to a hospital or other health facility.

An individual's objective and insightful awareness of the feelings and behavior of another person. It should be distinguished from sympathy, which is usually nonobjective and noncritical. It includes caring, which is the demonstration of an awareness of and a concern for the good of others. (From Bioethics Thesaurus, 1992)

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.

Nurses who are specially trained to assume an expanded role in providing medical care under the supervision of a physician.

Research carried out by nurses that uses interviews, data collection, observation, surveys, etc., to evaluate nursing, health, clinical, and nursing education programs and curricula, and which also demonstrates the value of such evaluation.

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.

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

Care of patients by a multidisciplinary team usually organized under the leadership of a physician; each member of the team has specific responsibilities and the whole team contributes to the care of the patient.

The distance and direction to which a bone joint can be extended. Range of motion is a function of the condition of the joints, muscles, and connective tissues involved. Joint flexibility can be improved through appropriate MUSCLE STRETCHING EXERCISES.

Professional medical personnel approved to provide care to patients in a hospital.

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

A change or shift in personnel due to reorganization, resignation, or discharge.

Voluntary cooperation of the patient in following a prescribed regimen.

Replacement of the knee joint.

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

Planning, organizing, and administering activities in an office.

Consultation via remote telecommunications, generally for the purpose of diagnosis or treatment of a patient at a site remote from the patient or primary physician.

Pathologic processes that affect patients after a surgical procedure. They may or may not be related to the disease for which the surgery was done, and they may or may not be direct results of the surgery.

Created 7 April 1992 as a result of the division of Yugoslavia.

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

The selection, appointing, and scheduling of personnel.

Physicians who are employed to work exclusively in hospital settings, primarily for managed care organizations. They are the attending or primary responsible physician for the patient during hospitalization.

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

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

The psychological relations between the dentist and patient.

Removable prosthesis constructed over natural teeth or implanted studs.

Persons admitted to health facilities which provide board and room, for the purpose of observation, care, diagnosis or treatment.

An excessive stress reaction to one's occupational or professional environment. It is manifested by feelings of emotional and physical exhaustion coupled with a sense of frustration and failure.

A partial or complete return to the normal or proper physiologic activity of an organ or part following disease or trauma.

Conversion from one language to another language.

Delivery of health services via remote telecommunications. This includes interactive consultative and diagnostic services.

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.

The professional practice of primary eye and vision care that includes the measurement of visual refractive power and the correction of visual defects with lenses or glasses.

An unpleasant sensation induced by noxious stimuli which are detected by NERVE ENDINGS of NOCICEPTIVE NEURONS.

Individual's expression of desirability or value of one course of action, outcome, or selection in contrast to others.

The articulation between a metatarsal bone (METATARSAL BONES) and a phalanx.

The expected function of a member of the nursing profession.

Surgical insertion of an inert sac filled with silicone or other material to augment the female form cosmetically.

Hospitals engaged in educational and research programs, as well as providing medical care to the patients.

Programs designed by management to motivate employees to work more efficiently with increased productivity, and greater employee satisfaction.

An instrument for reproducing sounds especially articulate speech at a distance. (Webster, 3rd ed)

Therapeutic modalities frequently used in PHYSICAL THERAPY SPECIALTY by PHYSICAL THERAPISTS or physiotherapists to promote, maintain, or restore the physical and physiological well-being of an individual.

A blocking of nerve conduction to a specific area by an injection of an anesthetic agent.

Planning and control of time to improve efficiency and effectiveness.

Back flow of gastric contents to the LARYNGOPHARYNX where it comes in contact with tissues of the upper aerodigestive tract. Laryngopharyngeal reflux is an extraesophageal manifestation of GASTROESOPHAGEAL REFLUX.

Prospective patient listings for appointments or treatments.

Those factors, such as language or sociocultural relationships, which interfere in the meaningful interpretation and transmission of ideas between individuals or groups.

Drugs that block nerve conduction when applied locally to nerve tissue in appropriate concentrations. They act on any part of the nervous system and on every type of nerve fiber. In contact with a nerve trunk, these anesthetics can cause both sensory and motor paralysis in the innervated area. Their action is completely reversible. (From Gilman AG, et. al., Goodman and Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 8th ed) Nearly all local anesthetics act by reducing the tendency of voltage-dependent sodium channels to activate.

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

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.

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

The specialty or practice of nursing in the care of patients admitted to the emergency department.

Those areas of the hospital organization not considered departments which provide specialized patient care. They include various hospital special care wards.

Method of measuring performance against established standards of best practice.

The reciprocal interaction of two or more persons.

The seeking and acceptance by patients of health service.

Partial or total replacement of a joint.

To entrust to the care or management of another, to transfer or to assign tasks within an organizational or administrative unit or structure

A prosthesis that gains its support, stability, and retention from a substructure that is implanted under the soft tissues of the basal seat of the device and is in contact with bone. (From Boucher's Clinical Dental Terminology, 4th ed)

A plastic surgical operation on the nose, either reconstructive, restorative, or cosmetic. (Dorland, 28th ed)

A province of Canada lying between the provinces of Manitoba and Quebec. Its capital is Toronto. It takes its name from Lake Ontario which is said to represent the Iroquois oniatariio, beautiful lake. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p892 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p391)

Country located in EUROPE. It is bordered by the NORTH SEA, BELGIUM, and GERMANY. Constituent areas are Aruba, Curacao, Sint Maarten, formerly included in the NETHERLANDS ANTILLES.

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.

Confidence in or reliance on a person or thing.

Skills, techniques, standards, and principles used to improve the art and symmetry of the teeth and face to improve the appearance as well as the function of the teeth, mouth, and face. (From Boucher's Clinical Dental Terminology, 4th ed, p108)

A diphenylpropylamine with intense narcotic analgesic activity of long duration. It is a derivative of MEPERIDINE with similar activity and usage.

Hospital department responsible for the receiving, storing, and distribution of pharmaceutical supplies.

Methods of PAIN relief that may be used with or in place of ANALGESICS.

Management of the internal organization of the hospital.

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

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

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

The quality or state of being independent and self-directing, especially in making decisions, enabling professionals to exercise judgment as they see fit during the performance of their jobs.

Professionals qualified by graduation from an accredited school of nursing and by passage of a national licensing examination to practice nursing. They provide services to patients requiring assistance in recovering or maintaining their physical or mental health.

Studies to determine the advantages or disadvantages, practicability, or capability of accomplishing a projected plan, study, or project.

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

The attitude and behavior associated with an individual using the computer.

A state characterized by loss of feeling or sensation. This depression of nerve function is usually the result of pharmacologic action and is induced to allow performance of surgery or other painful procedures.

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.

A class of statistical methods applicable to a large set of probability distributions used to test for correlation, location, independence, etc. In most nonparametric statistical tests, the original scores or observations are replaced by another variable containing less information. An important class of nonparametric tests employs the ordinal properties of the data. Another class of tests uses information about whether an observation is above or below some fixed value such as the median, and a third class is based on the frequency of the occurrence of runs in the data. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed, p1284; Corsini, Concise Encyclopedia of Psychology, 1987, p764-5)

Usually a written medical and nursing care program designed for a particular patient.

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.

Compounds with activity like OPIATE ALKALOIDS, acting at OPIOID RECEPTORS. Properties include induction of ANALGESIA or NARCOSIS.

Those support services other than room, board, and medical and nursing services that are provided to hospital patients in the course of care. They include such services as laboratory, radiology, pharmacy, and physical therapy services.

A local anesthetic of the ester type that has a rapid onset of action and a longer duration of action than procaine hydrochloride. (From Martindale, The Extra Pharmacopoeia, 30th ed, p1017)

Books containing photographs, prints, drawings, portraits, plates, diagrams, facsimiles, maps, tables, or other representations or systematic arrangement of data designed to elucidate or decorate its contents. (From The ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science, 1983, p114)

The period of care beginning when the patient is removed from surgery and aimed at meeting the patient's psychological and physical needs directly after surgery. (From Dictionary of Health Services Management, 2d ed)

Surgery performed on the urinary tract or its parts in the male or female. For surgery of the male genitalia, UROLOGIC SURGICAL PROCEDURES, MALE is available.

Hospitals providing medical care to veterans of wars.

Managerial personnel responsible for implementing policy and directing the activities of hospitals.

Statistical models in which the value of a parameter for a given value of a factor is assumed to be equal to a + bx, where a and b are constants. The models predict a linear regression.

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.

Ratio of output to effort, or the ratio of effort produced to energy expended.

Facilities where dental care is provided to patients.

The sorting out and classification of patients or casualties to determine priority of need and proper place of treatment.

The observation and analysis of movements in a task with an emphasis on the amount of time required to perform the task.

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.

Swollen veins in the lower part of the RECTUM or ANUS. Hemorrhoids can be inside the anus (internal), under the skin around the anus (external), or protruding from inside to outside of the anus. People with hemorrhoids may or may not exhibit symptoms which include bleeding, itching, and pain.

The teaching staff and members of the administrative staff having academic rank in a nursing school.

Hospitals which provide care for the military personnel and usually for their dependents.

Lateral displacement of the great toe (HALLUX), producing deformity of the first METATARSOPHALANGEAL JOINT with callous, bursa, or bunion formation over the bony prominence.

Major administrative divisions of the hospital.

An evaluation procedure that focuses on how care is delivered, based on the premise that there are standards of performance for activities undertaken in delivering patient care, in which the specific actions taken, events occurring, and human interactions are compared with accepted standards.

Feeling or emotion of dread, apprehension, and impending disaster but not disabling as with ANXIETY DISORDERS.

Skills in the use of language which lead to proficiency in written or spoken communication.

Individuals participating in the health care system for the purpose of receiving therapeutic, diagnostic, or preventive procedures.

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

The large network of nerve fibers which distributes the innervation of the upper extremity. The brachial plexus extends from the neck into the axilla. In humans, the nerves of the plexus usually originate from the lower cervical and the first thoracic spinal cord segments (C5-C8 and T1), but variations are not uncommon.

Recording of information on magnetic or punched paper tape.

General or unspecified injuries involving the fingers.

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.

Nurses professionally qualified in administration.

The performance of the basic activities of self care, such as dressing, ambulation, or eating.

A subspecialty of internal medicine concerned with the study of neoplasms.

Surgical reconstruction of a joint to relieve pain or restore motion.

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.

Emesis and queasiness occurring after anesthesia.

A state of harmony between internal needs and external demands and the processes used in achieving this condition. (From APA Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed)

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

Accounting procedures for determining credit status and methods of obtaining payment.

Support structures, made from natural or synthetic materials, that are implanted below the URETHRA to treat URINARY STRESS INCONTINENCE.

The part of the face above the eyes.

The removal or interruption of some part of the sympathetic nervous system for therapeutic or research purposes.

Hospitals which provide care for a single category of illness with facilities and staff directed toward a specific service.

The administrative process of discharging the patient, alive or dead, from hospitals or other health facilities.

Those persons legally qualified by education and training to engage in the practice of pharmacy.