Author: Glossary

An organization which administers health care benefits (and other employee benefits), primarily for corporations which are self-insured. The third party administrator’s services include claims review and claims processing, primarily of medical claims but also dental, disability, workers’ compensation, life insurance, and pension claims.  

Care for a patient in the terminal stages of her illness; care for a dying patient. Care for a person with a limited time left to live. In terminal care, the emphasis shifts from finding a cure to maximizing the quality of the person’s remaining life. Medical treatment consists primarily of relieving symptoms and pain.…

A technique for sending the image seen through a microscope over a distance to a television monitor. A television camera records the image, which is then transmitted by wire or radio to a remote site where the pathologist can examine the image as though she were looking directly through the viewing microscope. The microscope must…

Pertaining to the technical aspects of telephones, computer wiring (intra- and inter-building), intercommunication, radio, paging, and other communications systems and networks (excluding computer networks). Traditionally thought of as dealing with voice communications, an increasing amount of computer data (including faxes and multimedia) now flows over telephone lines, blurring any possible distinctions between voice and data.…

One of a series of conferences held by the Office of Medical Applications of Research (OMAR) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), United States Public Health Service (USPHS) to which are invited experts in a particular medical technology in order to develop, and then publish, consensus papers on the use of that technology.  

The term applied to the growing science of evaluating the costs and benefits of technologies, such as diagnostic imaging for various medical conditions and different situations, electronic devices, diagnostic screening for specific conditions, surgical procedures, and new drugs.  

A method of encouraging behavior by providing favorable tax treatment (exemptions, deductions, or credits). The Health Security Act (HSA) (1993) proposed several tax incentives: special treatment for long-term care insurance and services; a tax credit for 50% of the cost ($15,000 maximum) of personal care and assistance services for employed individuals with disabilities; and several…

A nonprofit organization which is not required to pay certain federal (and/or state) taxes. A tax-exempt organization may also qualify to receive tax-deductible donations.  

An adjective applied to contributions to 501(c)(3) corporations. The contribution may be taken as a tax deduction by the donor; the term does not refer to the receiving corporation.