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

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

Payment for a service or for a commodity such as a body part.

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

The organization and operation of the business aspects of a dental practice.

A class of hospitals that includes profit or not-for-profit hospitals that are controlled by a legal entity other than a government agency. (Hospital Administration Terminology, AHA, 2d ed)

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

Economic aspects of the dental profession and dental care.

A dental specialty concerned with the prevention of disease and the maintenance of oral health through promoting organized dental health programs at a community, state, or federal level.

The use of one's knowledge in a particular profession. It includes, in the case of the field of biomedicine, professional activities related to health care and the actual performance of the duties related to the provision of health care.

The remuneration paid or benefits granted to an employee.

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

Facilities where dental care is provided to patients.

Amounts charged to the patient as payer for dental services.

Personnel whose work is prescribed and supervised by the dentist.

Nonspecialized dental practice which is concerned with providing primary and continuing dental care.

Individuals licensed to practice DENTISTRY.

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

Various branches of dental practice limited to specialized areas.

Educational programs for dental graduates entering a specialty. They include formal specialty training as well as academic work in the clinical and basic dental sciences, and may lead to board certification or an advanced dental degree.

Individuals licensed to practice medicine.

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

Directions or principles presenting current or future rules of policy for assisting health care practitioners in patient care decisions regarding diagnosis, therapy, or related clinical circumstances. The guidelines may be developed by government agencies at any level, institutions, professional societies, governing boards, or by the convening of expert panels. The guidelines form a basis for the evaluation of all aspects of health care and delivery.

Patterns of practice in dentistry related to diagnosis and treatment.

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.

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

Use for articles concerning dental education in general.

Selective grinding of occlusal surfaces of the teeth in an effort to eliminate premature contacts and occlusal interferences; to establish optimal masticatory effectiveness, stable occlusal relationships, direction of main occlusal forces, and efficient multidirectional patterns, to improve functional relations and to induce physiologic stimulation of the masticatory system; to eliminate occlusal trauma; to eliminate abnormal muscle tension; to aid in the stabilization of orthodontic results; to treat periodontal and temporomandibular joint problems; and in restorative procedures. (From Jablonski, Dictionary of Dentistry, 1992)

The bestowing of tangible or intangible benefits, voluntarily and usually without expectation of anything in return. However, gift giving may be motivated by feelings of ALTRUISM or gratitude, by a sense of obligation, or by the hope of receiving something in return.

Educational institutions for individuals specializing in the field of dentistry.

Refusal of the health professional to initiate or continue treatment of a patient or group of patients. The refusal can be based on any reason. The concept is differentiated from PATIENT REFUSAL OF TREATMENT see TREATMENT REFUSAL which originates with the patient and not the health professional.

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

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

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

Professional society representing the field of dentistry.

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

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

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

A territory of northwest Canada, bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the south by British Columbia, and on the west by Alaska. Its capital is Whitehorse. It takes its name from the Yukon River, the Indian yu-kun-ah, meaning big river. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p1367 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p608)

The study of laws, theories, and hypotheses through a systematic examination of pertinent facts and their interpretation in the field of dentistry. (From Jablonski, Illustrated Dictionary of Dentistry, 1982, p674)

The practice of dentistry concerned with the dental problems of children, proper maintenance, and treatment. The dental care may include the services provided by dental specialists.

A surgical specialty concerned with the study, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases of the urinary tract in both sexes, and the genital tract in the male. Common urological problems include urinary obstruction, URINARY INCONTINENCE, infections, and UROGENITAL NEOPLASMS.

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

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)

A method of payment for health services in which an individual or institutional provider is paid a fixed, per capita amount without regard to the actual number or nature of services provided to each patient.

Processes or methods of reimbursement for services rendered or equipment.

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

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

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)

Persons trained in an accredited school or dental college and licensed by the state in which they reside to provide dental prophylaxis under the direction of a licensed dentist.

Amounts charged to the patient as payer for medical services.

The process of choosing employees for specific types of employment. The concept includes recruitment.

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

Insurance providing coverage for dental care.

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).

Physicians whose practice is not restricted to a specific field of MEDICINE.

The total of dental diagnostic, preventive, and restorative services provided to meet the needs of a patient (from Illustrated Dictionary of Dentistry, 1982).

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

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

A medical-surgical specialty concerned with the physiology and disorders primarily of the female genital tract, as well as female endocrinology and reproductive physiology.

The degree to which individuals are inhibited or facilitated in their ability to gain entry to and to receive care and services from the health care system. Factors influencing this ability include geographic, architectural, transportational, and financial considerations, among others.

Studies 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.

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.

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

Selection of a type of occupation or profession.

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.

The injection of drugs, most often analgesics, into the spinal canal without puncturing the dura mater.

The interactions between physician and patient.

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

Systems where the input data enter the computer directly from the point of origin (usually a terminal or workstation) and/or in which output data are transmitted directly to that terminal point of origin. (Sippl, Computer Dictionary, 4th ed)

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

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.

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

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.

Performance of an act one or more times, with a view to its fixation or improvement; any performance of an act or behavior that leads to learning.

The process of making a selective intellectual judgment when presented with several complex alternatives consisting of several variables, and usually defining a course of action or an idea.

The educational process of instructing.

Personal satisfaction relative to the work situation.

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

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 teaching or training of patients concerning their own health needs.

A way of providing health care that is guided by a thoughtful integration of the best available scientific knowledge with clinical expertise. This approach allows the practitioner to critically assess research data, clinical guidelines, and other information resources in order to correctly identify the clinical problem, apply the most high-quality intervention, and re-evaluate the outcome for future improvement.

Geographic area in which a professional person practices; includes primarily physicians and dentists.

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

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.

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.

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

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

Business management of medical, dental and veterinary practices that may include capital financing, utilization management, and arrangement of capitation agreements with other parties.

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.

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

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.

A voluntary contract between two or more doctors who may or may not share responsibility for the care of patients, with proportional sharing of profits and losses.

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)

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.

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.

An approach of practicing medicine with the goal to improve and evaluate patient care. It requires the judicious integration of best research evidence with the patient's values to make decisions about medical care. This method is to help physicians make proper diagnosis, devise best testing plan, choose best treatment and methods of disease prevention, as well as develop guidelines for large groups of patients with the same disease. (from JAMA 296 (9), 2006)

The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.

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

An organizational enterprise between a public sector agency, federal, state or local, and a private sector entity. Skills and assets of each sector are shared to deliver a service or facility for the benefit or use of the general public.

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.