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.
Contracts between an insurer and a subscriber or a group of subscribers whereby a specified set of health benefits is provided in return for a periodic premium.
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)
Lack of perfusion in the EXTREMITIES resulting from atherosclerosis. It is characterized by INTERMITTENT CLAUDICATION, and an ANKLE BRACHIAL INDEX of 0.9 or less.
Absorbent pads used for URINARY INCONTINENCE and usually worn as underpants or pants liners by the ELDERLY.
Pathological processes involving any one of the BLOOD VESSELS in the vasculature outside the HEART.
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.
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.
Pads made of various materials used for personal hygiene usually for absorbing URINE or FECES. They can be worn as underpants or pants liners by various age groups, from NEWBORNS to the ELDERLY. Absorbent pads can be made of fluff wood pulp and HYDROGEL absorbent covered with viscose rayon, polyester, polypropylene, or POLYETHYLENE coverstock.
Computer-assisted mathematical calculations of beam angles, intensities of radiation, and duration of irradiation in radiotherapy.
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)
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.
Any member of the class of enzymes that catalyze the cleavage of the substrate and the addition of water to the resulting molecules, e.g., ESTERASES, glycosidases (GLYCOSIDE HYDROLASES), lipases, NUCLEOTIDASES, peptidases (PEPTIDE HYDROLASES), and phosphatases (PHOSPHORIC MONOESTER HYDROLASES). EC 3.
Comparison of the BLOOD PRESSURE between the BRACHIAL ARTERY and the POSTERIOR TIBIAL ARTERY. It is a predictor of PERIPHERAL ARTERIAL DISEASE.
CONFORMAL RADIOTHERAPY that combines several intensity-modulated beams to provide improved dose homogeneity and highly conformal dose distributions.
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.
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)
Adverse or favorable selection bias exhibited by insurers or enrollees resulting in disproportionate enrollment of certain groups of people.
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)
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 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.
Elements of limited time intervals, contributing to particular results or situations.
The statistical reproducibility of measurements (often in a clinical context), including the testing of instrumentation or techniques to obtain reproducible results. The concept includes reproducibility of physiological measurements, which may be used to develop rules to assess probability or prognosis, or response to a stimulus; reproducibility of occurrence of a condition; and reproducibility of experimental results.
The measurement of radiation by photography, as in x-ray film and film badge, by Geiger-Mueller tube, and by SCINTILLATION COUNTING.
Insurance providing coverage of medical, surgical, or hospital care in general or for which there is no specific heading.
Prepaid health and hospital insurance plan.
A symptom complex characterized by pain and weakness in SKELETAL MUSCLE group associated with exercise, such as leg pain and weakness brought on by walking. Such muscle limpness disappears after a brief rest and is often relates to arterial STENOSIS; muscle ISCHEMIA; and accumulation of LACTATE.
The total amount of radiation absorbed by tissues as a result of radiotherapy.
A procedure consisting of a sequence of algebraic formulas and/or logical steps to calculate or determine a given task.
Tax-exempt trusts or custodial accounts established by individuals with financial institutions for saving money for future medical expenses.
Planning for needed health and/or welfare services and facilities.
Theoretical representations that simulate the behavior or activity of biological processes or diseases. For disease models in living animals, DISEASE MODELS, ANIMAL is available. Biological models include the use of mathematical equations, computers, and other electronic equipment.
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)
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 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.
Binary classification measures to assess test results. Sensitivity or recall rate is the proportion of true positives. Specificity is the probability of correctly determining the absence of a condition. (From Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed)
The back (or posterior) of the FOOT in PRIMATES, found behind the ANKLE and distal to the TOES.
Procedures outlined for the care of casualties and the maintenance of services in disasters.
Those actions designed to carry out recommendations pertaining to health plans or programs.
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.
Compensatory plans designed to motivate physicians in relation to patient referral, physician recruitment, and efficient use of the health facility.
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)
Computer-based representation of physical systems and phenomena such as chemical processes.
Surface resistance to the relative motion of one body against the rubbing, sliding, rolling, or flowing of another with which it is in contact.
Specialized connective tissue composed of fat cells (ADIPOCYTES). It is the site of stored FATS, usually in the form of TRIGLYCERIDES. In mammals, there are two types of adipose tissue, the WHITE FAT and the BROWN FAT. Their relative distributions vary in different species with most adipose tissue being white.
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)
The region of the lower limb between the FOOT and the LEG.
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.
Radiotherapy where there is improved dose homogeneity within the tumor and reduced dosage to uninvolved structures. The precise shaping of dose distribution is achieved via the use of computer-controlled multileaf collimators.
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.
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.
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 region of the lower limb in animals, extending from the gluteal region to the FOOT, and including the BUTTOCKS; HIP; and LEG.
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.
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.
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.
Descriptions of specific amino acid, carbohydrate, or nucleotide sequences which have appeared in the published literature and/or are deposited in and maintained by databanks such as GENBANK, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), National Biomedical Research Foundation (NBRF), or other sequence repositories.
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.
Citrulline is an α-amino acid, primarily produced in the urea cycle in the liver and found in some dietary proteins, which functions as a vital intermediator in the nitrogen metabolism and vasodilation, and can be supplemented for potential health benefits in improving blood flow, reducing fatigue, and enhancing exercise performance.
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.
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 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)
An organized group of three or more full-time physicians rendering services for a fixed prepayment.
Economic sector concerned with the provision, distribution, and consumption of health care services and related products.
The controlling of access to health services, usually by primary care providers; often used in managed care settings to reduce utilization of expensive services and reduce referrals. (From BIOETHICS Thesaurus, 1999)
A series of steps taken in order to conduct research.
Procedures, strategies, and theories of planning.
The distal extremity of the leg in vertebrates, consisting of the tarsus (ANKLE); METATARSUS; phalanges; and the soft tissues surrounding these bones.
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.
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.
Statistical measures of utilization and other aspects of the provision of health care services including hospitalization and ambulatory care.
Community or individual involvement in the decision-making process.
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).
Statements of goals for the delivery of health services pertaining to the Health Systems Agency service area, established under PL 93-641, and consistent with national guidelines for health planning.
Methods of creating machines and devices.
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.
The act of making a selection among two or more alternatives, usually after a period of deliberation.
Studies in which the presence or absence of disease or other health-related variables are determined in each member of the study population or in a representative sample at one particular time. This contrasts with LONGITUDINAL STUDIES which are followed over a period of time.
The qualitative or quantitative estimation of the likelihood of adverse effects that may result from exposure to specified health hazards or from the absence of beneficial influences. (Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 1988)
Statistical formulations or analyses which, when applied to data and found to fit the data, are then used to verify the assumptions and parameters used in the analysis. Examples of statistical models are the linear model, binomial model, polynomial model, two-parameter model, etc.
The sequence of PURINES and PYRIMIDINES in nucleic acids and polynucleotides. It is also called nucleotide sequence.
Drugs whose drug name is not protected by a trademark. They may be manufactured by several companies.
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.
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.
The levels of excellence which characterize the health service or health care provided based on accepted standards of quality.
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.
The act, process, or result of passing from one place or position to another. It differs from LOCOMOTION in that locomotion is restricted to the passing of the whole body from one place to another, while movement encompasses both locomotion but also a change of the position of the whole body or any of its parts. Movement may be used with reference to humans, vertebrate and invertebrate animals, and microorganisms. Differentiate also from MOTOR ACTIVITY, movement associated with behavior.
The level of governmental organization and function below that of the national or country-wide government.
Sequential operating programs and data which instruct the functioning of a digital computer.
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.
Application of marketing principles and techniques to maximize the use of health care resources.
Studies determining the effectiveness or value of processes, personnel, and equipment, or the material on conducting such studies. For drugs and devices, CLINICAL TRIALS AS TOPIC; DRUG EVALUATION; and DRUG EVALUATION, PRECLINICAL are available.
In screening and diagnostic tests, the probability that a person with a positive test is a true positive (i.e., has the disease), is referred to as the predictive value of a positive test; whereas, the predictive value of a negative test is the probability that the person with a negative test does not have the disease. Predictive value is related to the sensitivity and specificity of the test.
Processes or methods of reimbursement for services rendered or equipment.
Health insurance plans that are intended to be for profit.
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)
A property of the surface of an object that makes it stick to another surface.
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.
National Health Insurance in the United States refers to a proposed system of healthcare financing that would provide comprehensive coverage for all residents, funded through a combination of government funding and mandatory contributions, and administered by a public agency.
Reductions in all or any portion of the costs of providing goods or services. Savings may be incurred by the provider or the consumer.
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 inferior part of the lower extremity between the KNEE and the ANKLE.
The properties, processes, and behavior of biological systems under the action of mechanical forces.
The process of formulating, improving, and expanding educational, managerial, or service-oriented work plans (excluding computer program development).
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 rate dynamics in chemical or physical systems.
That distinct portion of the institutional, industrial, or economic structure of a country that is controlled or owned by non-governmental, private interests.
Norms, criteria, standards, and other direct qualitative and quantitative measures used in determining the quality of health care.
The use of an external beam of PROTONS as radiotherapy.
Studies designed to assess the efficacy of programs. They may include the evaluation of cost-effectiveness, the extent to which objectives are met, or impact.
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 farthest or outermost projections of the body, such as the HAND and FOOT.
The process of cumulative change over successive generations through which organisms acquire their distinguishing morphological and physiological characteristics.
Levels within a diagnostic group which are established by various measurement criteria applied to the seriousness of a patient's disorder.
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.
Method of measuring performance against established standards of best practice.
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.
Devices which accelerate electrically charged atomic or subatomic particles, such as electrons, protons or ions, to high velocities so they have high kinetic energy.
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)
Decisions, usually developed by government policymakers, for determining present and future objectives pertaining to the health care system.
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.
Small-scale tests of methods and procedures to be used on a larger scale if the pilot study demonstrates that these methods and procedures can work.
Absolute, comparative, or differential costs pertaining to services, institutions, resources, etc., or the analysis and study of these costs.
Computer systems or programs used in accurate computations for providing radiation dosage treatment to patients.
In vitro method for producing large amounts of specific DNA or RNA fragments of defined length and sequence from small amounts of short oligonucleotide flanking sequences (primers). The essential steps include thermal denaturation of the double-stranded target molecules, annealing of the primers to their complementary sequences, and extension of the annealed primers by enzymatic synthesis with DNA polymerase. The reaction is efficient, specific, and extremely sensitive. Uses for the reaction include disease diagnosis, detection of difficult-to-isolate pathogens, mutation analysis, genetic testing, DNA sequencing, and analyzing evolutionary relationships.
Tomography using x-ray transmission and a computer algorithm to reconstruct the image.
A species of gram-positive, coccoid bacteria commonly isolated from clinical specimens and the human intestinal tract. Most strains are nonhemolytic.
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.
Statistical models in which the value of a parameter for a given value of a factor is assumed to be equal to a + bx, where a and b are constants. The models predict a linear regression.
MAMMARY GLANDS in the non-human MAMMALS.
The process by which decisions are made in an institution or other organization.
The continuation of the axillary artery; it branches into the radial and ulnar arteries.
The order of amino acids as they occur in a polypeptide chain. This is referred to as the primary structure of proteins. It is of fundamental importance in determining PROTEIN CONFORMATION.
The level of governmental organization and function at the national or country-wide level.
Theoretical representations and constructs that describe or explain the structure and hierarchy of relationships and interactions within or between formal organizational entities or informal social groups.
The purposes, missions, and goals of an individual organization or its units, established through administrative processes. It includes an organization's long-range plans and administrative philosophy.
Involuntary loss of URINE, such as leaking of urine. It is a symptom of various underlying pathological processes. Major types of incontinence include URINARY URGE INCONTINENCE and URINARY STRESS INCONTINENCE.
An activity in which the body advances at a slow to moderate pace by moving the feet in a coordinated fashion. This includes recreational walking, walking for fitness, and competitive race-walking.
Outside services provided to an institution under a formal financial agreement.
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.
Any detectable and heritable change in the genetic material that causes a change in the GENOTYPE and which is transmitted to daughter cells and to succeeding generations.
I'm sorry for any confusion, but the term "Oregon" is a geographical location and not a medical concept or condition. It is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. If you have any questions related to medical topics, I would be happy to help answer those!
A broad approach to appropriate coordination of the entire disease treatment process that often involves shifting away from more expensive inpatient and acute care to areas such as preventive medicine, patient counseling and education, and outpatient care. This concept includes implications of appropriate versus inappropriate therapy on the overall cost and clinical outcome of a particular disease. (From Hosp Pharm 1995 Jul;30(7):596)
A scheme which provides reimbursement for the health services rendered, generally by an institution, and which provides added financial rewards if certain conditions are met. Such a scheme is intended to promote and reward increased efficiency and cost containment, with better care, or at least without adverse effect on the quality of the care rendered.
The concept concerned with all aspects of providing and distributing health services to a patient population.
Procedures for finding the mathematical function which best describes the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables. In linear regression (see LINEAR MODELS) the relationship is constrained to be a straight line and LEAST-SQUARES ANALYSIS is used to determine the best fit. In logistic regression (see LOGISTIC MODELS) the dependent variable is qualitative rather than continuously variable and LIKELIHOOD FUNCTIONS are used to find the best relationship. In multiple regression, the dependent variable is considered to depend on more than a single independent variable.
A plan for collecting and utilizing data so that desired information can be obtained with sufficient precision or so that an hypothesis can be tested properly.
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.
An organized procedure carried out through committees to review admissions, duration of stay, professional services furnished, and to evaluate the medical necessity of those services and promote their most efficient use.
The end-result or objective, which may be specified or required in advance.
Studies to determine the advantages or disadvantages, practicability, or capability of accomplishing a projected plan, study, or project.
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.
Individuals licensed to practice medicine.
Theoretical representations that simulate the behavior or activity of the neurological system, processes or phenomena; includes the use of mathematical equations, computers, and other electronic equipment.
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.
Health insurance providing benefits to cover or partly cover hospital expenses.
Theoretical representations that simulate the behavior or activity of genetic processes or phenomena. They include the use of mathematical equations, computers, and other electronic equipment.
The teaching or training of patients concerning their own health needs.
Any one of five terminal digits of the vertebrate FOOT.
The outward appearance of the individual. It is the product of interactions between genes, and between the GENOTYPE and the environment.
Health services required by a population or community as well as the health services that the population or community is able and willing to pay for.
A compound obtained from the bark of the white willow and wintergreen leaves. It has bacteriostatic, fungicidal, and keratolytic actions.
Absorbent pads designed to be worn as underpants or pants liners by adults.
The restriction of a characteristic behavior, anatomical structure or physical system, such as immune response; metabolic response, or gene or gene variant to the members of one species. It refers to that property which differentiates one species from another but it is also used for phylogenetic levels higher or lower than the species.
Determination, by measurement or comparison with a standard, of the correct value of each scale reading on a meter or other measuring instrument; or determination of the settings of a control device that correspond to particular values of voltage, current, frequency or other output.
Devices or objects in various imaging techniques used to visualize or enhance visualization by simulating conditions encountered in the procedure. Phantoms are used very often in procedures employing or measuring x-irradiation or radioactive material to evaluate performance. Phantoms often have properties similar to human tissue. Water demonstrates absorbing properties similar to normal tissue, hence water-filled phantoms are used to map radiation levels. Phantoms are used also as teaching aids to simulate real conditions with x-ray or ultrasonic machines. (From Iturralde, Dictionary and Handbook of Nuclear Medicine and Clinical Imaging, 1990)
Enzymes which catalyze the hydrolysis of carboxylic acid esters with the formation of an alcohol and a carboxylic acid anion.
Linear POLYPEPTIDES that are synthesized on RIBOSOMES and may be further modified, crosslinked, cleaved, or assembled into complex proteins with several subunits. The specific sequence of AMINO ACIDS determines the shape the polypeptide will take, during PROTEIN FOLDING, and the function of the protein.
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.
Organizations which are not operated for a profit and may be supported by endowments or private contributions.
A statistical technique that isolates and assesses the contributions of categorical independent variables to variation in the mean of a continuous dependent variable.
Application of statistical procedures to analyze specific observed or assumed facts from a particular study.
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)
Organized periodic procedures performed on large groups of people for the purpose of detecting disease.
An organization of insurers or reinsurers through which particular types of risk are shared or pooled. The risk of high loss by a particular insurance company is transferred to the group as a whole (the insurance pool) with premiums, losses, and expenses shared in agreed amounts.
Encouraging consumer behaviors most likely to optimize health potentials (physical and psychosocial) through health information, preventive programs, and access to medical care.
New abnormal growth of tissue. Malignant neoplasms show a greater degree of anaplasia and have the properties of invasion and metastasis, compared to benign neoplasms.
The processes occurring in early development that direct morphogenesis. They specify the body plan ensuring that cells will proceed to differentiate, grow, and diversify in size and shape at the correct relative positions. Included are axial patterning, segmentation, compartment specification, limb position, organ boundary patterning, blood vessel patterning, etc.
The interaction of two or more persons or organizations directed toward a common goal which is mutually beneficial. An act or instance of working or acting together for a common purpose or benefit, i.e., joint action. (From Random House Dictionary Unabridged, 2d ed)
The deductive study of shape, quantity, and dependence. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed)
Mistakes committed in the preparations for radiotherapy, including errors in positioning of patients, alignment radiation beams, or calculation of radiation doses.
The capacity of an organization, institution, or business to produce desired results with a minimum expenditure of energy, time, money, personnel, materiel, etc.
The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.
Non-invasive method of demonstrating internal anatomy based on the principle that atomic nuclei in a strong magnetic field absorb pulses of radiofrequency energy and emit them as radiowaves which can be reconstructed into computerized images. The concept includes proton spin tomographic techniques.
Research aimed at assessing the quality and effectiveness of health care as measured by the attainment of a specified end result or outcome. Measures include parameters such as improved health, lowered morbidity or mortality, and improvement of abnormal states (such as elevated blood pressure).
Performance of activities or tasks traditionally performed by professional health care providers. The concept includes care of oneself or one's family and friends.
Care of patients by a multidisciplinary team usually organized under the leadership of a physician; each member of the team has specific responsibilities and the whole team contributes to the care of the patient.
Services designed for HEALTH PROMOTION and prevention of disease.
The charge levied on the consumer for drugs or therapy prescribed under written order of a physician or other health professional.
Detailed financial plans for carrying out specific activities for a certain period of time. They include proposed income and expenditures.
The application of mathematical formulas and statistical techniques to the testing and quantifying of economic theories and the solution of economic problems.
The coordination of a sensory or ideational (cognitive) process and a motor activity.
The relationships of groups of organisms as reflected by their genetic makeup.
Patterns of practice related to diagnosis and treatment as especially influenced by cost of the service requested and provided.
A health care system which combines physicians, hospitals, and other medical services with a health plan to provide the complete spectrum of medical care for its customers. In a fully integrated system, the three key elements - physicians, hospital, and health plan membership - are in balance in terms of matching medical resources with the needs of purchasers and patients. (Coddington et al., Integrated Health Care: Reorganizing the Physician, Hospital and Health Plan Relationship, 1994, p7)
The domestic cat, Felis catus, of the carnivore family FELIDAE, comprising over 30 different breeds. The domestic cat is descended primarily from the wild cat of Africa and extreme southwestern Asia. Though probably present in towns in Palestine as long ago as 7000 years, actual domestication occurred in Egypt about 4000 years ago. (From Walker's Mammals of the World, 6th ed, p801)
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.
Pathological processes which result in the partial or complete obstruction of ARTERIES. They are characterized by greatly reduced or absence of blood flow through these vessels. They are also known as arterial insufficiency.
State-provided health insurance marketplaces established under the PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT.
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.
The property of objects that determines the direction of heat flow when they are placed in direct thermal contact. The temperature is the energy of microscopic motions (vibrational and translational) of the particles of atoms.
The convoluted cordlike structure attached to the posterior of the TESTIS. Epididymis consists of the head (caput), the body (corpus), and the tail (cauda). A network of ducts leaving the testis joins into a common epididymal tubule proper which provides the transport, storage, and maturation of SPERMATOZOA.