Author: Glossary

An operating officer. The title “director” is used by many institutions for their officers and executives. The chief executive officer (CEO) may be called the director, and various subordinates may carry titles such as “director of development,” “director of nursing,” and the like.  

A member of the governing body when the official term for that body is “board of directors.” When the governing body is called the “board of trustees,” its members are individually “trustees.”  

An agreement between an employer (or health plan or insurer) and a health care provider for the provision of health care services to the employees (beneficiaries). This is often referred to as a “direct provider agreement (DPA).”  

An individual who is responsible for the care of an individual, as contrasted with a “consultant” who is responsible only for giving an opinion. However, the consultant may take over the care of the patient and become the direct care provider.  

Eating patterns which increase the likelihood for developing disease or other adverse health effects. Examples are: percentage of fat calories above 30 percent of total food calories increase one’s risk for death from heart disease; being overweight is linked to heart disease, cancer, and diabetes; lack of adequate fluid intake puts many elderly persons at…

A system for paying for hospital care being tried by the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) for patients of Medicare HMOs. In this system, a patient’s prior hospitalization history during the preceding 15 months is used to predict future costs. Prior utilization is expected to reflect the patient’s health status and the physician’s practice patterns.…

The department in the executive branch of the federal government which is concerned with transportation. One concern of DOT is emergency medical services.  

The federal government department which enforces certain federal laws; for example, antitrust laws. The Department of Justice is headed by the United States Attorney General.  

Descriptions of patient populations or service area populations in such terms as age, sex, race, educational level, income, family size, and ethnic background. Information about a specific population including data on race, age, income, and educational attainment.  

The class of information about a person which includes such items as age, sex, race, income, marital status, and education. Demographic data is important for proper patient care, and is also used as the data with which to compile certain statistics (demographics) on a population, for example, in the study of the distribution of certain…