Author: Glossary

A service provided by an organization to examine persons prior to employment and to give certain health care (and, often, counseling) to employees.  

“Electronic mail”. This is used to describe a variety of messages that are not only transmitted electronically, but are intended to be read and replied to electronically as well. Consequently, e-mail does not include faxes, telegrams, or other such messages which are transmitted electronically but routinely presented to the receiver as ‘hard copy’ (paper).  

The period of time a new employee has to sign up for life or health insurance without having to take a physical examination or otherwise show insurability. After the eligibility period has expired, the employee may be denied insurance because of a preexisting condition, or have to pay higher premiums.  

A term usually used in health care with reference to whether an individual may be enrolled in a given insurance plan, governmental program, or other health care plan. Also may refer to the qualification of a health care plan to contract with HCFA to provide services to Medicare beneficiaries.  

The exchange of routine business transactions via computer. EDI enforces a level of standardization in the way the electronically transmitted data is formatted, making it possible for a variety of different computer system to exchange data. The term is used in health care primarily in connection with claims and other financial transactions. Approximately 200 vendors…

Home care of the elderly by relatives. Tax relief for families who provide home health care for an elderly relative has been proposed. Relief has also been proposed for families who care for a dependent suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.  

The way in which goods and services are produced, distributed, and consumed. In health care, the traditional provider-driven system is moving toward a market-driven system.