Category: G

A regulated multi-payer system of health care. In Germany, approximately 1200 nonprofit insurance plans, called Krankenkasse or “sickness funds,” are organized by employers, labor unions, and professional groups. The plans are funded by equal payroll taxes on both employers and employees. Self-employed and wealthier employees may purchase private insurance. Funds are turned over to regional…

A measure of the national economy which takes into account such factors as depletion of natural resources, the costs of crime, the household and volunteer economy, defensive expenditures (other than against crime), the distribution of income, and the loss of leisure. The GPI is a start toward an economic indicator to replace the gross domestic…

In computer networking terms, any method by which a user can access the resources of one online network while being connected to another. A subscriber of CompuServe, for instance, may also access resources on the Internet, or Medline, while maintaining an account and connection only with CompuServe. Gateways can simplify life for the user because…

Attempting to manipulate “the system” in an illegal or unethical manner. The terms “gaming” and “to game the system” are used, for example, in connection with efforts to bill under the prospective payment system (PPS) in such a way as to maximize income by giving as the principal diagnosis that diagnosis which places the patient…

Sharing with employees any increase in revenue which is the result of gains in productivity. Gainsharing is a form of incentive program or profit-sharing (the term “profit” is not used in the nonprofit environment). A financial collaboration between hospitals and health care professionals in which the parties agree to divide any benefits they achieve from…

An adult who has been given long-term or temporary legal responsibility for a minor (called a ward), acting in place of the biological parents, though not necessarily having day-to-day custody and care of the child. Foster parents are often appointed guardians to the children in their care. In some circumstances, as in legal proceedings about…

A child’s most rapid period of growth after infancy, normally starting shortly before the onset of puberty, specifically before menarche in females and production of sperm in males.  

A residential facility providing long-term care in a homelike setting for minors or adults who require substantial help or supervision, such as those who have serious handicaps (see handicapped), mental disorders, or mental retardation, or those classed as juvenile delinquents or incorrigible children, the aim being to place them in the least restrictive environment. Normally…

A summary of the relationship between a child’s growth and the statistical average for a child of the same size and sex; if a child of six has gripping power normally seen in a seven-year-old, that child’s grip age is seven.  

The automatic response of a baby to clutch any object placed in his or her palm; a type of primitive reflex found only in babies and normally disappearing in the first few months of life.