Conferences, conventions or formal meetings usually attended by delegates representing a special field of interest.

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

Activities concerned with governmental policies, functions, etc.

Societies whose membership is limited to physicians.

Agencies of the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT of the United States.

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.

A medical specialty concerned with the hypersensitivity of the individual to foreign substances and protection from the resultant infection or disorder.

A medical specialty concerned with the use of physical agents, mechanical apparatus, and manipulation in rehabilitating physically diseased or injured patients.

Societies whose membership is limited to scientists.

The medical specialty which deals with WOUNDS and INJURIES as well as resulting disability and disorders from physical traumas.

Time period from 1801 through 1900 of the common era.

Combination of procedures, methods, and tools by which a policy, program, or project may be judged as to its potential effects on the health of a population, and the distribution of those effects within the population.

Graphic representations, especially of the face, of real persons, usually posed, living or dead. (From Thesaurus for Graphic Materials II, p540, 1995)

The enactment of laws and ordinances and their regulation by official organs of a nation, state, or other legislative organization. It refers also to health-related laws and regulations in general or for which there is no specific heading.

"The business or profession of the commercial production and issuance of literature" (Webster's 3d). It includes the publisher, publication processes, editing and editors. Production may be by conventional printing methods or by electronic publishing.

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

An agency in the Executive Branch of the Federal Government. It was created as an independent regulatory agency responsible for the implementation of federal laws designed to protect the environment. Its mission is to protect human health and the ENVIRONMENT.

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.

Research that involves the application of the natural sciences, especially biology and physiology, to medicine.

A process whereby representatives of a particular interest group attempt to influence governmental decision makers to accept the policy desires of the lobbying organization.

The study of the heart, its physiology, and its functions.

A medical specialty concerned with the study of the structures, functions, and diseases of the nervous system.

Activities performed in the preparation of bibliographic records for CATALOGS. It is carried out according to a set of rules and contains information enabling the user to know what is available and where items can be found.

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

A subspecialty of internal medicine concerned with the study of the RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. It is especially concerned with diagnosis and treatment of diseases and defects of the lungs and bronchial tree.

Treatments which are undergoing clinical trials or for which there is insufficient evidence to determine their effects on health outcomes; coverage for such treatments is often denied by health insurers.

Critical and exhaustive investigation or experimentation, having for its aim the discovery of new facts and their correct interpretation, the revision of accepted conclusions, theories, or laws in the light of newly discovered facts, or the practical application of such new or revised conclusions, theories, or laws. (Webster, 3d ed)

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

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

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

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

For-profit enterprise with relatively few to moderate number of employees and low to moderate volume of sales.

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

A publication issued at stated, more or less regular, intervals.

Time period from 2001 through 2100 of the common era.

The Commission was created by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 under Title XVIII. It is specifically charged to review the effect of Medicare+Choice under Medicare Part C and to review payment policies under Parts A and B. It is also generally charged to evaluate the effect of prospective payment policies and their impact on health care delivery in the US. The former Prospective Payment Assessment Commission (ProPAC) and the Physician Payment Review Commission (PPRC) were merged to form MEDPAC.

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)

Exercise of governmental authority to control conduct.

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.

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.

Processes or methods of reimbursement for services rendered or equipment.

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

The study of natural phenomena by observation, measurement, and experimentation.

International organizations which provide health-related or other cooperative services.

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

Financial support of research activities.

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

An agency of the NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH concerned with overall planning, promoting, and administering programs pertaining to advancement of medical and related sciences. Major activities of this institute include the collection, dissemination, and exchange of information important to the progress of medicine and health, research in medical informatics and support for medical library development.

All organized methods of funding.

An agency of the PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE concerned with the overall planning, promoting, and administering of programs pertaining to maintaining standards of quality of foods, drugs, therapeutic devices, etc.

Public Law 104-91 enacted in 1996, was designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the healthcare system, protect health insurance coverage for workers and their families, and to protect individual personal health information.

Individuals licensed to practice medicine.

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.

Transference of a tissue or organ from either an alive or deceased donor, within an individual, between individuals of the same species, or between individuals of different species.

An operating division of the US Department of Health and Human Services. It is concerned with the overall planning, promoting, and administering of programs pertaining to health and medical research. Until 1995, it was an agency of the United States PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE.

A quantitative measure of the frequency on average with which articles in a journal have been cited in a given period of time.

Administrative units of government responsible for policy making and management of governmental activities.

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.

General agreement or collective opinion; the judgment arrived at by most of those concerned.

Payments or services provided under stated circumstances under the terms of an insurance policy. In prepayment programs, benefits are the services the programs will provide at defined locations and to the extent needed.

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 subspecialty of internal medicine concerned with the study of inflammatory or degenerative processes and metabolic derangement of connective tissue structures which pertain to a variety of musculoskeletal disorders, such as arthritis.

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.

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)

Suspensions of killed or attenuated microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa), antigenic proteins, synthetic constructs, or other bio-molecular derivatives, administered for the prevention, amelioration, or treatment of infectious and other diseases.

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

Payment by a third-party payer in a sum equal to the amount expended by a health care provider or facility for health services rendered to an insured or program beneficiary. (From Facts on File Dictionary of Health Care Management, 1988)

The process of finding chemicals for potential therapeutic use.

The prediction or projection of the nature of future problems or existing conditions based upon the extrapolation or interpretation of existing scientific data or by the application of scientific methodology.

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

Body of knowledge related to the use of organisms, cells or cell-derived constituents for the purpose of developing products which are technically, scientifically and clinically useful. Alteration of biologic function at the molecular level (i.e., GENETIC ENGINEERING) is a central focus; laboratory methods used include TRANSFECTION and CLONING technologies, sequence and structure analysis algorithms, computer databases, and gene and protein structure function analysis and prediction.

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

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 systematic statement of policy rules or principles. Guidelines may be developed by government agencies at any level, institutions, professional societies, governing boards, or by convening expert panels. The text may be cursive or in outline form but is generally a comprehensive guide to problems and approaches in any field of activity. For guidelines in the field of health care and clinical medicine, PRACTICE GUIDELINES AS TOPIC is available.

Large multiprotein complexes that bind the centromeres of the chromosomes to the microtubules of the mitotic spindle during metaphase in the cell cycle.

Works about pre-planned studies of the safety, efficacy, or optimum dosage schedule (if appropriate) of one or more diagnostic, therapeutic, or prophylactic drugs, devices, or techniques selected according to predetermined criteria of eligibility and observed for predefined evidence of favorable and unfavorable effects. This concept includes clinical trials conducted both in the U.S. and in other countries.

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

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.

A microtubule structure that forms during CELL DIVISION. It consists of two SPINDLE POLES, and sets of MICROTUBULES that may include the astral microtubules, the polar microtubules, and the kinetochore microtubules.

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.

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

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.

Predetermined sets of questions used to collect data - clinical data, social status, occupational group, etc. The term is often applied to a self-completed survey instrument.

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

Works about clinical trials that involve at least one test treatment and one control treatment, concurrent enrollment and follow-up of the test- and control-treated groups, and in which the treatments to be administered are selected by a random process, such as the use of a random-numbers table.