Author: Glossary

A movement which contends that the goal of the health care system should be the health of the community, and that every community is responsible for its own health, that is, for having its own “health system” of which traditional health care is only a part. To that end, there must be wide involvement of…

A system designed to take responsibility for the health of its defined community; it involves “outreach” rather than “response” or “reaction.” This is in contrast with a health care system.  

A measurement of some attribute of individual or community health which is considered to reflect health status. Each attribute is given a numerical value, and a score (a health status index) is calculated for the individual or community from the aggregate of these values. To the extent possible, the indicators are objective, that is, they…

A statistic which attempts to quantify the health status of an individual or a population. Such indices are developed using health status indicators. Statements of health status have not been developed to the point that they have standard definitions; each publication using such indices should give full details on the indicators used, their aggregation into…

A term apparently used to include everything in the health care field except medical care (physician services).  

A type of community health education activity in which exhibits are the main method used and in which free diagnostic services such as chest X-rays and multiphasic screening are sometimes offered.  

The branch of economics (a social science) which deals with the provision of health care services, their delivery, and their use, with special attention to quantifying the demands for such services, the costs of such services and of their delivery, and the benefits obtained. More emphasis is given to the costs and benefits of health…

A nonprofit corporation dedicated to applying modern information technology at the person-health care system clinical interface. The primary such interface is the patient-physician encounter and relationship. The name of the organization was derived from the concept of a “commons” as a meeting ground.  

A term without a clear definition, which is applied to the efforts on the federal, state, and local levels to make changes in the health care delivery “system” so that (1) costs are reduced or “contained,” (2) the uninsured population, estimated at 35-40 million people nationally, are covered; (3) all citizens have access to health…

An organized service to provide stipulated medical, hospital, and related services (benefits) to individuals under a prepayment contract. The plan may be offered by a Blue Cross/Blue Shield (BC/BS) plan, an insurance company, a health maintenance organization (HMO), a health care organization (HCO), or other organization.