Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

A method or device for performing staging (diseases).  

A point or period in the course of an illness. For example, many illnesses have first an acute stage which is followed by a chronic stage. For some diseases, such as cancers, the stages are specifically identified and named by processes called “staging”, with the stages important in both treatment and prognosis.  

A term which, in the context of “line and staff,” refers to positions (persons) in an organization who assist those with line authority. Those with line authority have responsibility, in an organizational hierarchy, to require those beneath them to perform tasks, and to set the standards for that performance. Staff persons have such authority only…

In the concept of “managed competition,” the sponsor is the intermediary between the purchasers of health care and the provider(s). Large employers usually serve as sponsors themselves, while the health alliance (HA) is the sponsor for small employers (and people not covered by their employment).  

A method of determining eligibility for medical assistance which originated with Medicaid. A person may not have income above a certain level to qualify for the assistance (for example, $500 per month). However, a person with an income of $600 may “spend-down” $100 per month for health care, and qualify for assistance for monthly expenses…

A special training program for internists at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Medicine.  

A society whose membership is made up of specialist physicians, such as surgeons or internists. Conversely, a “medical society” is a term generally used with reference to an association of physicians of various specialties, geographically defined (for example, a city, county, state, or national medical society). The medical staff of a hospital is not a…

An allied health professional for whom the American Medical Association’s Committee on Allied Health Education and Accreditation (CAHEA) has accredited education programs.  

An area of the hospital for critically ill or injured patients. Special care units include intensive care, burn, neonatal (newborn) intensive care, and cardiac care units.  

A significant factor in the upward spiral of health care costs in the U.S. The apparently normal human inclination to be more willing to spend somebody else’s money, rather than your own. A reduced incentive to shop more carefully for services and products, or forego them altogether.