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)

Governmental levies on property, inheritance, gifts, etc.

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).

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

Drugs considered essential to meet the health needs of a population as well as to control drug costs.

Use for articles on the investing of funds for income or profit.

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

Drinkable liquids containing ETHANOL.

A method of examining and setting levels of payments.

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.

Statistical models of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services, as well as of financial considerations. For the application of statistics to the testing and quantifying of economic theories MODELS, ECONOMETRIC is available.

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)

A "Price List" in a medical context is a document or display that lists the specific costs for various medical services, procedures, or products provided by a healthcare facility or professional, which serves as a reference for patients and insurance companies to understand the charges they may incur.

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

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

The production and movement of food items from point of origin to use or consumption.

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

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.

I'm sorry for any confusion, but "Book Prices" is not a medical term that has a specific definition in the field of medicine. It is a general term used to describe the cost or price of books. If you have a different term or concept in mind, please provide it so I can give you a more accurate response.

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.

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.

Any substances taken in by the body that provide nourishment.

The science of utilization, distribution, and consumption of services and materials.

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.

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

Substances and products derived from NICOTIANA TABACUM.

The aggregate business enterprise of agriculture, manufacture, and distribution related to tobacco and tobacco-derived products.

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

The prices a hospital sets for its services. HOSPITAL COSTS (the direct and indirect expenses incurred by the hospital in providing the services) are one factor in the determination of hospital charges. Other factors may include, for example, profits, competition, and the necessity of recouping the costs of uncompensated care.

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

The combined discipline of psychology and economics that investigates what happens in markets in which some of the agents display human limitations and complications.

Customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a benefit or service received.

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))

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

A course or method of action selected, usually by a government, from among alternatives to guide and determine present and future decisions.

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.

Economic aspects related to the management and operation of a hospital.

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

A shared service which combines the purchasing power of individual organizations or facilities in order to obtain lower prices for equipment and supplies. (From Health Care Terms, 2nd ed)

Materials or phenomena which can provide energy directly or via conversion.

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

Advanced technology that is costly, requires highly skilled personnel, and is unique in its particular application. Includes innovative, specialized medical/surgical procedures as well as advanced diagnostic and therapeutic equipment.

Exercise of governmental authority to control conduct.

It is a form of protection provided by law. In the United States this protection is granted to authors of original works of authorship, including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works. (from Circular of the United States Copyright Office, 6/30/2008)

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)

I'm sorry for any confusion, but the term "Arkansas" is a place name and does not have a medical definition. It is a state located in the southern region of the United States.

Processes or methods of reimbursement for services rendered or equipment.

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

Facilities for the preparation and dispensing of drugs.

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.

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

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)

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.

Inhaling and exhaling the smoke of burning TOBACCO.

An independent administrative agency concerned with maintaining competitive free enterprise by prohibiting unfair methods of competition and unfair deceptive acts or practices.

The selection of one food over another.

The quality or state of relating to or affecting two or more nations. (After Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed)

The legal relation between an entity (individual, group, corporation, or-profit, secular, government) and an object. The object may be corporeal, such as equipment, or completely a creature of law, such as a patent; it may be movable, such as an animal, or immovable, such as a building.

Expendable and nonexpendable equipment, supplies, apparatus, and instruments that are used in diagnostic, surgical, therapeutic, scientific, and experimental procedures.

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

The act of making a selection among two or more alternatives, usually after a period of deliberation.

The science of breeding, feeding and care of domestic animals; includes housing and nutrition.

The industry concerned with processing, preparing, preserving, distributing, and serving of foods and beverages.

Agencies of the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT of the United States.

An act which constitutes the termination of a given instinctive behavior pattern or sequence.

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.

Hospital department responsible for the purchasing of supplies and equipment.

The assignment, to each of several particular cost-centers, of an equitable proportion of the costs of activities that serve all of them. Cost-center usually refers to institutional departments or 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.

A strategy for purchasing health care in a manner which will obtain maximum value for the price for the purchasers of the health care and the recipients. The concept was developed primarily by Alain Enthoven of Stanford University and promulgated by the Jackson Hole Group. The strategy depends on sponsors for groups of the population to be insured. The sponsor, in some cases a health alliance, acts as an intermediary between the group and competing provider groups (accountable health plans). The competition is price-based among annual premiums for a defined, standardized benefit package. (From Slee and Slee, Health Care Reform Terms, 1993)

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.

Area of Europe that includes ARMENIA,; AZERBAIJAN; and the Republic of GEORGIA.

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

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

Drugs that cannot be sold legally without a prescription.

Functions, equipment, and facilities concerned with the preparation and distribution of ready-to-eat food.

Activities concerned with governmental policies, functions, etc.

The obtaining and management of funds for institutional needs and responsibility for fiscal affairs.

Amounts charged to the patient as payer for medical services.

I'm sorry for any confusion, but "Kyrgyzstan" is not a medical term and does not have a medical definition; it is the name of a country located in Central Asia, known officially as the Kyrgyz Republic.

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

Countries that have reached a level of economic achievement through an increase of production, per capita income and consumption, and utilization of natural and human resources.

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

The expenses incurred by a hospital in providing care. The hospital costs attributed to a particular patient care episode include the direct costs plus an appropriate proportion of the overhead for administration, personnel, building maintenance, equipment, etc. Hospital costs are one of the factors which determine HOSPITAL CHARGES (the price the hospital sets for its services).

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

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

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.

Laws and regulations, pertaining to the field of pharmacy, proposed for enactment or enacted by a legislative body.

Form in which product is processed or wrapped and labeled. PRODUCT LABELING is also available.

The combining of administrative and organizational resources of two or more health care facilities.

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.

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.

Those federal and state laws, and their enforcement, that protect trade and commerce from unlawful restraints and monopolies or unfair business practices.

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)

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

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.

Alternative health care delivery mechanisms, such as PREFERRED PROVIDER ORGANIZATIONS or other health insurance services or prepaid plans (other than HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATIONS), that meet Medicare qualifications for a risk-sharing contract. (From Facts on File Dictionary of Health Care Management, 1988)

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)

An international organization whose members include most of the sovereign nations of the world with headquarters in New York City. The primary objectives of the organization are to maintain peace and security and to achieve international cooperation in solving international economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian problems.

A measurement index derived from a modification of standard life-table procedures and designed to take account of the quality as well as the duration of survival. This index can be used in assessing the outcome of health care procedures or services. (BIOETHICS Thesaurus, 1994)

The science, art or practice of cultivating soil, producing crops, and raising livestock.

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

The obtaining and management of funds for hospital needs and responsibility for fiscal affairs.

A food group comprised of EDIBLE PLANTS or their parts.

Medical services for which no payment is received. Uncompensated care includes charity care and bad debts.

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

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.

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.

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)

Legally authorized corporations owned and managed by one or more professionals (medical, dental, legal) in which the income is ascribed primarily to the professional activities of the owners or stockholders.

Directions written for the obtaining and use of DRUGS.

The edible portions of any animal used for food including domestic mammals (the major ones being cattle, swine, and sheep) along with poultry, fish, shellfish, and game.

Amounts charged to the patient as payer for dental services.

Significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real gross domestic product, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales. (National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, www.nber.org/cycles.html, accessed 4/23/2009)

Ecosystem and environmental activities, functions, or events.

A violation of the criminal law, i.e., a breach of the conduct code specifically sanctioned by the state, which through its administrative agencies prosecutes offenders and imposes and administers punishments. The concept includes unacceptable actions whether prosecuted or going unpunished.

An indication of the contribution of a food to the nutrient content of the diet. This value depends on the quantity of a food which is digested and absorbed and the amounts of the essential nutrients (protein, fat, carbohydrate, minerals, vitamins) which it contains. This value can be affected by soil and growing conditions, handling and storage, and processing.

Prepared food that is ready to eat or partially prepared food that has a final preparation time of a few minutes or less.

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

Pricing statements presented by more than one party for the purpose of securing a contract.

Components of the usual diet that may provide health benefits beyond basic nutrients. Examples of functional foods include soy, nuts, chocolate, and cranberries (From NCCAM Backgrounder, March 2004, p3).

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.

Status not subject to taxation; as the income of a philanthropic organization. Tax-exempt organizations may also qualify to receive tax-deductible donations if they are considered to be nonprofit corporations under Section 501(c)3 of the United States Internal Revenue Code.

'Hospital Bed Capacity, 500 and over' refers to the maximum number of hospital beds equaling or exceeding 500 that are medically staffed and equipped to provide patient care and accommodation within a healthcare facility.

Planned management, use, and preservation of energy resources.

The legal authority or formal permission from authorities to carry on certain activities which by law or regulation require such permission. It may be applied to licensure of institutions as well as individuals.

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

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.

Private, not-for-profit hospitals that are autonomous, self-established, and self-supported.

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

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

Collective behavior of an aggregate of individuals giving the appearance of unity of attitude, feeling, and motivation.

The fleshy or dry ripened ovary of a plant, enclosing the seed or seeds.

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.

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

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

Use of marketing principles also used to sell products to consumers to promote ideas, attitudes and behaviors. Design and use of programs seeking to increase the acceptance of a social idea or practice by target groups, not for the benefit of the marketer, but to benefit the target audience and the general society.

The remuneration paid or benefits granted to an employee.

Size and composition of the family.

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.

Development of a library collection, including the determination and coordination of selection policy, assessment of needs of users and potential users, collection use studies, collection evaluation, identification of collection needs, selection of materials, planning for resource sharing, collection maintenance and weeding, and budgeting.

That portion of total HEALTH CARE COSTS borne by an individual's or group's employing organization.

Great Britain is not a medical term, but a geographical name for the largest island in the British Isles, which comprises England, Scotland, and Wales, forming the major part of the United Kingdom.

Health insurance coverage for all persons in a state or country, rather than for some subset of the population. It may extend to the unemployed as well as to the employed; to aliens as well as to citizens; for pre-existing conditions as well as for current illnesses; for mental as well as for physical conditions.

A schedule prescribing when the subject is to be reinforced or rewarded in terms of temporal interval in psychological experiments. The schedule may be continuous or intermittent.

The complex of political institutions, laws, and customs through which the function of governing is carried out in a specific political unit.

The protection, preservation, restoration, and rational use of all resources in the total environment.

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

I'm sorry for any confusion, but "Guatemala" is not a medical term and does not have a medical definition. Guatemala is the name of a country located in Central America, known officially as the Republic of Guatemala. If you have any questions related to medical topics or definitions, I would be happy to help with those!

Discontinuation of the habit of smoking, the inhaling and exhaling of tobacco smoke.

Those factors which cause an organism to behave or act in either a goal-seeking or satisfying manner. They may be influenced by physiological drives or by external stimuli.

Agreements between two or more parties, especially those that are written and enforceable by law (American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed). It is sometimes used to characterize the nature of the professional-patient relationship.

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

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)

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.

I'm sorry for any confusion, but "California" is a place, specifically a state on the western coast of the United States, and not a medical term or concept. Therefore, it doesn't have a medical definition.

A group of SESQUITERPENES and their analogs that contain a peroxide group (PEROXIDES) within an oxepin ring (OXEPINS).

Value of all final goods and services produced in a country in one year.

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

Volative flammable fuel (liquid hydrocarbons) derived from crude petroleum by processes such as distillation reforming, polymerization, etc.

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.

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

Agents used to treat RETROVIRIDAE INFECTIONS.

Regular course of eating and drinking adopted by a person or animal.

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

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.

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

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

Behaviors associated with the ingesting of alcoholic beverages, including social drinking.

Agents used to treat cestode, trematode, or other flatworm infestations in man or animals.

The physical space or dimensions of a facility. Size may be indicated by bed capacity.

Research that involves the application of the behavioral and social sciences to the study of the actions or reactions of persons or animals in response to external or internal stimuli. (from American Heritage Dictionary, 4th ed)

Drinkable liquids combined with or impregnated with carbon dioxide.

The geographic area of Latin America in general and when the specific country or countries are not indicated. It usually includes Central America, South America, Mexico, and the islands of the Caribbean.

The attitude of a significant portion of a population toward any given proposition, based upon a measurable amount of factual evidence, and involving some degree of reflection, analysis, and reasoning.

Insurance providing benefits for the costs of care by a physician which can be comprehensive or limited to surgical expenses or for care provided only in the hospital. It is frequently called "regular medical expense" or "surgical expense".

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)

A practice whereby tokens representing money, toys, candy, etc., are given as secondary reinforcers contingent upon certain desired behaviors or performances.

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

Production of drugs or biologicals which are unlikely to be manufactured by private industry unless special incentives are provided by others.

A republic in eastern Africa bounded on the north by RWANDA and on the south by TANZANIA. Its capital is Bujumbura.

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)

A protozoan disease caused in humans by four species of the PLASMODIUM genus: PLASMODIUM FALCIPARUM; PLASMODIUM VIVAX; PLASMODIUM OVALE; and PLASMODIUM MALARIAE; and transmitted by the bite of an infected female mosquito of the genus ANOPHELES. Malaria is endemic in parts of Asia, Africa, Central and South America, Oceania, and certain Caribbean islands. It is characterized by extreme exhaustion associated with paroxysms of high FEVER; SWEATING; shaking CHILLS; and ANEMIA. Malaria in ANIMALS is caused by other species of plasmodia.

The personal cost of acute or chronic disease. The cost to the patient may be an economic, social, or psychological cost or personal loss to self, family, or immediate community. The cost of illness may be reflected in absenteeism, productivity, response to treatment, peace of mind, or QUALITY OF LIFE. It differs from HEALTH CARE COSTS, meaning the societal cost of providing services related to the delivery of health care, rather than personal impact on individuals.

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

A group of islands in the southwest central Pacific, divided into AMERICAN SAMOA and the INDEPENDENT STATE OF SAMOA (Western Samoa). First European contact was made in 1722 by Jacob Roggeveen, a Dutchman. In 1768 they were named Navigators Islands by Louis de Bougainville. The present name may derive from that of a local chieftain or from a local word meaning place of the moa, a now-extinct island bird. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p1061 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p481)

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

An examination, review and verification of all financial accounts.

Acquired or learned food preferences.

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.

Costs which are directly identifiable with a particular service.

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.

A country spanning from central Asia to the Pacific Ocean.

Naturally occurring complex liquid hydrocarbons which, after distillation, yield combustible fuels, petrochemicals, and lubricants.

Liquids that are suitable for drinking. (From Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed)

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