Drugs that cannot be sold legally without a prescription.

Directions written for the obtaining and use of DRUGS.

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

Improper use of drugs or medications outside the intended purpose, scope, or guidelines for use. This is in contrast to MEDICATION ADHERENCE, and distinguished from DRUG ABUSE, which is a deliberate or willful action.

The charge levied on the consumer for drugs or therapy prescribed under written order of a physician or other health professional.

Directions written for the obtaining and use of PHARMACEUTICAL PREPARATIONS; MEDICAL DEVICES; corrective LENSES; and a variety of other medical remedies.

A stand-alone drug plan offered by insurers and other private companies to beneficiaries that receive their Medicare Part A and/or B benefits through the Original Medicare Plan. It includes Medicare Private Fee-for-Service Plans that do not offer prescription drug coverage and Medicare Cost Plans offering Medicare prescription drug coverage. The plan was enacted as the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 with coverage beginning January 1, 2006.

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).

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)

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

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.

Works about lists of drugs or collections of recipes, formulas, and prescriptions for the compounding of medicinal preparations. Formularies differ from PHARMACOPOEIAS in that they are less complete, lacking full descriptions of the drugs, their formulations, analytic composition, chemical properties, etc. In hospitals, formularies list all drugs commonly stocked in the hospital pharmacy.

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

Drugs whose drug name is not protected by a trademark. They may be manufactured by several companies.

Amounts charged to the patient or third-party payer for medication. It includes the pharmacist's professional fee and cost of ingredients, containers, etc.

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)

The Balanced Budget Act (BBA) of 1997 establishes a Medicare+Choice program under part C of Title XVIII, Section 4001, of the Social Security Act. Under this program, an eligible individual may elect to receive Medicare benefits through enrollment in a Medicare+Choice plan. Beneficiaries may choose to use private pay options, establish medical savings accounts, use managed care plans, or join provider-sponsored plans.

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.

Formal programs for assessing drug prescription against some standard. Drug utilization review may consider clinical appropriateness, cost effectiveness, and, in some cases, outcomes. Review is usually retrospective, but some analysis may be done before drugs are dispensed (as in computer systems which advise physicians when prescriptions are entered). Drug utilization review is mandated for Medicaid programs beginning in 1993.

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.

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

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.

Use of written, printed, or graphic materials upon or accompanying a drug container or wrapper. It includes contents, indications, effects, dosages, routes, methods, frequency and duration of administration, warnings, hazards, contraindications, side effects, precautions, and other relevant information.

The containment, regulation, or restraint of costs. Costs are said to be contained when the value of resources committed to an activity is not considered excessive. This determination is frequently subjective and dependent upon the specific geographic area of the activity being measured. (From Dictionary of Health Services Management, 2d ed)

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.

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)

Payment by individuals or their family for health care services which are not covered by a third-party payer, either insurance or medical assistance.

Facilities for the preparation and dispensing of drugs.

The transfer of prescription drugs from legal to illegal distribution and marketing networks.

Cost-sharing mechanisms that provide for payment by the insured of some portion of covered expenses. Deductibles are the amounts paid by the insured under a health insurance contract before benefits become payable; coinsurance is the provision under which the insured pays part of the medical bill, usually according to a fixed percentage, when benefits become payable.

Disorders related to substance abuse.

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.

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

Disorders related or resulting from abuse or mis-use of opioids.

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

Medicines that can be sold legally without a DRUG PRESCRIPTION.

Reductions in all or any portion of the costs of providing goods or services. Savings may be incurred by the provider or the consumer.

Services providing pharmaceutic and therapeutic drug information and consultation.

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

A traditional grouping of drugs said to have a soothing or calming effect on mood, thought, or behavior. Included here are the ANTI-ANXIETY AGENTS (minor tranquilizers), ANTIMANIC AGENTS, and the ANTIPSYCHOTIC AGENTS (major tranquilizers). These drugs act by different mechanisms and are used for different therapeutic purposes.

A supplemental health insurance policy sold by private insurance companies and designed to pay for health care costs and services that are not paid for either by Medicare alone or by a combination of Medicare and existing private health insurance benefits. (From Facts on File Dictionary of Health Care Management, 1988)

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.

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

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.

The use of DRUGS to treat a DISEASE or its symptoms. One example is the use of ANTINEOPLASTIC AGENTS to treat CANCER.

Drugs or chemical agents whose manufacture, possession, or use are regulated by government. This may include narcotics and prescription medications.

The use of COMPUTER COMMUNICATION NETWORKS to store and transmit medical PRESCRIPTIONS.

The self administration of medication not prescribed by a physician or in a manner not directed by a physician.

Criteria to determine eligibility of patients for medical care programs and services.

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.

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 act or practice of calling public attention to a product, service, need, etc., especially by paid announcements in newspapers, magazines, on radio, or on television. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

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

Drugs obtained and often manufactured illegally for the subjective effects they are said to produce. They are often distributed in urban areas, but are also available in suburban and rural areas, and tend to be grossly impure and may cause unexpected toxicity.

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.

The voluntary portion of Medicare, known as the Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI) Program, that includes physician's services, home health care, medical services, outpatient hospital services, and laboratory, pathology, and radiology services. All persons entitled to Medicare Part A may enroll in Medicare Part B on a monthly premium basis.

Programs and activities sponsored or administered by local, state, or national governments.

Errors in prescribing, dispensing, or administering medication with the result that the patient fails to receive the correct drug or the indicated proper drug dosage.

Economic aspects of the fields of pharmacy and pharmacology as they apply to the development and study of medical economics in rational drug therapy and the impact of pharmaceuticals on the cost of medical care. Pharmaceutical economics also includes the economic considerations of the pharmaceutical care delivery system and in drug prescribing, particularly of cost-benefit values. (From J Res Pharm Econ 1989;1(1); PharmacoEcon 1992;1(1))

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.

The practice of compounding and dispensing medicinal preparations.

Processes or methods of reimbursement for services rendered or equipment.

Drugs used to induce drowsiness or sleep or to reduce psychological excitement or anxiety.

Assistance in managing and monitoring drug therapy for patients receiving treatment for cancer or chronic conditions such as asthma and diabetes, consulting with patients and their families on the proper use of medication; conducting wellness and disease prevention programs to improve public health; overseeing medication use in a variety of settings.

Tax-exempt trusts or custodial accounts established by individuals with financial institutions for saving money for future medical expenses.

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)

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

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

Financing of medical care provided to public assistance recipients.

Total pharmaceutical services provided by qualified PHARMACISTS. In addition to the preparation and distribution of medical products, they may include consultative services provided to agencies and institutions which do not have a qualified pharmacist.

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.

The effort of two or more parties to secure the business of a third party by offering, usually under fair or equitable rules of business practice, the most favorable terms.

The use of multiple drugs administered to the same patient, most commonly seen in elderly patients. It includes also the administration of excessive medication. Since in the United States most drugs are dispensed as single-agent formulations, polypharmacy, though using many drugs administered to the same patient, must be differentiated from DRUG COMBINATIONS, single preparations containing two or more drugs as a fixed dose, and from DRUG THERAPY, COMBINATION, two or more drugs administered separately for a combined effect. (From Segen, Dictionary of Modern Medicine, 1992)

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.

Voluntary cooperation of the patient in taking drugs or medicine as prescribed. This includes timing, dosage, and frequency.

A loosely defined group of drugs that tend to increase behavioral alertness, agitation, or excitation. They work by a variety of mechanisms, but usually not by direct excitation of neurons. The many drugs that have such actions as side effects to their main therapeutic use are not included here.

An increase in the volume of money and credit relative to available goods resulting in a substantial and continuing rise in the general price level.

Voluntary cooperation of the patient in following a prescribed regimen.

Total pharmaceutical services provided to the public through community pharmacies.

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.

A telecommunication system combining the transmission of a document scanned at a transmitter, its reconstruction at a receiving station, and its duplication there by a copier.

A method of examining and setting levels of payments.

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 effect of herbs, other PLANTS, or PLANT EXTRACTS on the activity, metabolism, or toxicity of drugs.

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.

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.

Narcotic analgesic related to CODEINE, but more potent and more addicting by weight. It is used also as cough suppressant.

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)

The practice of administering medications in a manner that poses more risk than benefit, particularly where safer alternatives exist.

A province of Canada, lying between the provinces of Alberta and Manitoba. Its capital is Regina. It is entirely a plains region with prairie in the south and wooded country with many lakes and swamps in the north. The name was taken from the Saskatchewan River from the Cree name Kisiskatchewani Sipi, meaning rapid-flowing river. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p1083 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p486)

A loosely defined grouping of drugs that have effects on psychological function. Here the psychotropic agents include the antidepressive agents, hallucinogens, and tranquilizing agents (including the antipsychotics and anti-anxiety agents).

Accidental or deliberate use of a medication or street drug in excess of normal dosage.

Facilities which provide information concerning poisons and treatment of poisoning in emergencies.

A branch of law that defines criminal offenses, regulates the apprehension, charging and trial of suspected persons, and fixes the penalties and modes of treatment applicable to convicted offenders.

A province of Canada on the Pacific coast. Its capital is Victoria. The name given in 1858 derives from the Columbia River which was named by the American captain Robert Gray for his ship Columbia which in turn was named for Columbus. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p178 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p81-2)

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.

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.

Adverse or favorable selection bias exhibited by insurers or enrollees resulting in disproportionate enrollment of certain groups of people.

Pharmacy services accessed via electronic means.

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.

Exercise of governmental authority to control conduct.

Community or individual involvement in the decision-making process.

The physician's inability to practice medicine with reasonable skill and safety to the patient due to the physician's disability. Common causes include alcohol and drug abuse, mental illness, physical disability, and senility.

The condition in which individuals are financially unable to access adequate medical care without depriving themselves and their dependents of food, clothing, shelter, and other essentials of living.

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

Economic aspects of the field of medicine, the medical profession, and health care. It includes the economic and financial impact of disease in general on the patient, the physician, society, or government.

Activity involved in transfer of goods from producer to consumer or in the exchange of services.

A group of two-ring heterocyclic compounds consisting of a benzene ring fused to a diazepine ring.

Individuals enrolled in a school or formal educational program.

Any system which allows payors to share some of the financial risk associated with a particular patient population with providers. Providers agree to adhere to fixed fee schedules in exchange for an increase in their payor base and a chance to benefit from cost containment measures. Common risk-sharing methods are prospective payment schedules (PROSPECTIVE PAYMENT SYSTEM), capitation (CAPITATION FEES), diagnosis-related fees (DIAGNOSIS-RELATED GROUPS), and pre-negotiated fees.

The practice of replacing one prescribed drug with another that is expected to have the same clinical or psychological effect.

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 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.

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.

The level of governmental organization and function at the national or country-wide level.

The functions and activities carried out by the U.S. Postal Service, foreign postal services, and private postal services such as Federal Express.

The application of mathematical formulas and statistical techniques to the testing and quantifying of economic theories and the solution of economic problems.

Customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a benefit or service received.

Maleness or femaleness as a constituent element or influence contributing to the production of a result. It may be applicable to the cause or effect of a circumstance. It is used with human or animal concepts but should be differentiated from SEX CHARACTERISTICS, anatomical or physiological manifestations of sex, and from SEX DISTRIBUTION, the number of males and females in given circumstances.

The business and managerial aspects of pharmacy in its broadest sense.

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.

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.

Platforms that provide the ability and tools to create and publish information accessed via the INTERNET. Generally these platforms have three characteristics with content user generated, high degree of interaction between creator and viewer, and easily integrated with other sites.

The level of governmental organization and function below that of the national or country-wide government.

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

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 largest country in North America, comprising 10 provinces and three territories. Its capital is Ottawa.

The interchange of goods or commodities, especially on a large scale, between different countries or between populations within the same country. It includes trade (the buying, selling, or exchanging of commodities, whether wholesale or retail) and business (the purchase and sale of goods to make a profit). (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed, p411, p2005 & p283)

Agents that alleviate ANXIETY, tension, and ANXIETY DISORDERS, promote sedation, and have a calming effect without affecting clarity of consciousness or neurologic conditions. ADRENERGIC BETA-ANTAGONISTS are commonly used in the symptomatic treatment of anxiety but are not included here.

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.

Detailed financial plans for carrying out specific activities for a certain period of time. They include proposed income and expenditures.

The branch of medicine concerned with the physiological and pathological aspects of the aged, including the clinical problems of senescence and senility.

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

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

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

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.

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

Individuals licensed to practice medicine.

Activities concerned with governmental policies, functions, etc.

Patient or client refusal of or resistance to medical, psychological, or psychiatric treatment. (APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed.)

Unlawful act of taking property.

Method of charging whereby a physician or other practitioner bills for each encounter or service rendered. In addition to physicians, other health care professionals are reimbursed via this mechanism. Fee-for-service plans contrast with salary, per capita, and prepayment systems, where the payment does not change with the number of services actually used or if none are used. (From Discursive Dictionary of Health Care, 1976)

Revenues or receipts accruing from business enterprise, labor, or invested capital.

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)

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

Educational institutions providing facilities for teaching and research and authorized to grant academic degrees.

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

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.

A system for the collection and/or processing of data from various sources, and using the information for policy making and management of health services. It could be paper-based or electronic. (From http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTHEALTHNUTRITIONANDPOPULATION/EXTHSD/0,,contentMDK:22239824~menuPK:376799~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:376793,00.html. http://www.who.int/healthinfo/systems/en/)

A system wherein reimbursement rates are set, for a given period of time, prior to the circumstances giving rise to actual reimbursement claims.

Persistent pain that is refractory to some or all forms of treatment.

Mood-stimulating drugs used primarily in the treatment of affective disorders and related conditions. Several MONOAMINE OXIDASE INHIBITORS are useful as antidepressants apparently as a long-term consequence of their modulation of catecholamine levels. The tricyclic compounds useful as antidepressive agents (ANTIDEPRESSIVE AGENTS, TRICYCLIC) also appear to act through brain catecholamine systems. A third group (ANTIDEPRESSIVE AGENTS, SECOND-GENERATION) is a diverse group of drugs including some that act specifically on serotonergic systems.

The geographic area of the northwestern region of the United States. The states usually included in this region are Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming.

Exclusive legal rights or privileges applied to inventions, plants, etc.

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

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

Diseases which have one or more of the following characteristics: they are permanent, leave residual disability, are caused by nonreversible pathological alteration, require special training of the patient for rehabilitation, or may be expected to require a long period of supervision, observation, or care. (Dictionary of Health Services Management, 2d ed)

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 process of observing, recording, or detecting the effects of a chemical substance administered to an individual therapeutically or diagnostically.

Compounds capable of relieving pain without the loss of CONSCIOUSNESS.

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

Substances that reduce the growth or reproduction of BACTERIA.

The expected function of a member of a particular profession.

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

Detection of drugs that have been abused, overused, or misused, including legal and illegal drugs. Urine screening is the usual method of detection.

The relative equivalency in the efficacy of different modes of treatment of a disease, most often used to compare the efficacy of different pharmaceuticals to treat a given disease.

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

The act or fact of grasping the meaning, nature, or importance of; understanding. (American Heritage Dictionary, 4th ed) Includes understanding by a patient or research subject of information disclosed orally or in writing.

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.

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.

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).

Individuals enrolled in a school of pharmacy or a formal educational program leading to a degree in pharmacy.

Agents that affect the rate or intensity of cardiac contraction, blood vessel diameter, or blood volume.

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

Instruments or technological means of communication that reach large numbers of people with a common message: press, radio, television, etc.

The process of bargaining in order to arrive at an agreement or compromise on a matter of importance to the parties involved. It also applies to the hearing and determination of a case by a third party chosen by the parties in controversy, as well as the interposing of a third party to reconcile the parties in controversy.

Adjunctive computer programs in providing drug treatment to patients.

The practice of prescribing or using a drug outside the scope of the drug's official approved label as designated by a regulatory agency concerning the treatment of a particular disease or condition.

Agents that induce NARCOSIS. Narcotics include agents that cause somnolence or induced sleep (STUPOR); natural or synthetic derivatives of OPIUM or MORPHINE or any substance that has such effects. They are potent inducers of ANALGESIA and OPIOID-RELATED DISORDERS.

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.

Information systems, usually computer-assisted, designed to store, manipulate, and retrieve information for planning, organizing, directing, and controlling administrative activities associated with the provision and utilization of clinical pharmacy services.

Analogs or derivatives of AMPHETAMINE. Many are sympathomimetics and central nervous system stimulators causing excitation, vasopressin, bronchodilation, and to varying degrees, anorexia, analepsis, nasal decongestion, and some smooth muscle relaxation.

People who take drugs for a non-therapeutic or non-medical effect. The drugs may be legal or illegal, but their use often results in adverse medical, legal, or social consequences for the users.

The science concerned with the benefit and risk of drugs used in populations and the analysis of the outcomes of drug therapies. Pharmacoepidemiologic data come from both clinical trials and epidemiological studies with emphasis on methods for the detection and evaluation of drug-related adverse effects, assessment of risk vs benefit ratios in drug therapy, patterns of drug utilization, the cost-effectiveness of specific drugs, methodology of postmarketing surveillance, and the relation between pharmacoepidemiology and the formulation and interpretation of regulatory guidelines. (Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 1992;1(1); J Pharmacoepidemiol 1990;1(1))

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

The interactions between physician and patient.

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.

The action of a drug that may affect the activity, metabolism, or toxicity of another drug.

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

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

The state of being retired from one's position or occupation.

A semisynthetic derivative of CODEINE.

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

The presence of co-existing or additional diseases with reference to an initial diagnosis or with reference to the index condition that is the subject of study. Comorbidity may affect the ability of affected individuals to function and also their survival; it may be used as a prognostic indicator for length of hospital stay, cost factors, and outcome or survival.

Studies in which variables relating to an individual or group of individuals are assessed over a period of time.

Severe gender dysphoria, coupled with a persistent desire for the physical characteristics and social roles that connote the opposite biological sex. (APA, DSM-IV, 1994)