Category: C

An electronic device for the display of images in computers, computer terminals, imaging equipment, and television sets. CRTs may also be found in electronic instruments, such as cathode ray oscilloscopes. A vacuum tube with a thin window at the end opposite the cathode to allow the cathode rays to pass outside. More generally, any discharge…

A summary of the medical record of a patient, prepared by a physician, nurse, or other qualified individual, which condenses the essential elements of history, physical examination, other diagnostic findings, treatment, and recommendations. While similar to a case abstract (see discharge abstract under abstract), a case summary (1) reflects the individual case rather than carrying…

Usually, an information system in which clinical and financial data are merged, patient by patient, in such a manner that analyses can be made as to the profitability of a given type of patient (Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) category, for example), clinical department, physician, or other aspect of the hospital.  

A term referring, as yet without a single definition, to the degree of illness of a given group of patients. For example, one hospital’s (or one time-period’s) group of diabetes patients (or a specific Diagnosis Related Group (DRG)) may be much more severely ill than another’s. Various “severity of illness” index methods are under development…

A term used in the prospective payment system (PPS). It is a measure of the “expected costliness,” per patient, of treating a given hospital’s mix of cases. CMI is scaled so that a hospital whose mix is like that in base data would have a CMI of 1.0. The base data for a CMI usually…

A phrase used to convey the idea that hospitals (and physicians) differ in the variety of patients they serve. A specialized hospital would have a less complex mix of patients than a general hospital. The complexity is sometimes described quantitatively by the use of a case mix index.  

An apparently unaffected individual who possesses a single copy of a recessive gene which is obscured by an alternative form of that gene.  

The treatment, accommodations, and other services provided to a patient. Care is often described according to the needs of the patient: for example, neonatal care describes the care given newborns; respiratory care describes the care provided for patients with respiratory (breathing) difficulties. Care may also be described according to its intensity (see level of care),…

An allied health professional for whom the American Medical Association’s Committee on Allied Health Education and Accreditation (CAHEA) has accredited education programs. A technologist with specialized training in both invasive and noninvasive cardiac techniques. These include physical examination of the patient with heart disease, history taking, drug therapy, and some or all of the following…

An emergency medical technician (EMT) with special training in the care of cardiac (heart) emergencies, and authorization from the appropriate authority (such as a state agency), to use the title and carry out the measures required.