Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

A ratio or proportion, often expressed as a percentage (per 100), but which may also be expressed per 1,000, per 10,000, per 100,000, or even per million. These “per” numbers are called the “base.” Thus a rate expressed per 100,000 is said to have 100,000 as the base. The base chosen is usually large enough…

A financial term referring to a hospital or other institution’s charges. Typically rates are “fixed” in that they are for specified services, and the same rate is charged to all individuals or to purchasers of a given class (such as Medicare patients). For example, a hotel could have different rates for senior citizens, commercial travellers,…

A test developed by Davis et al in 1991 to test the ability of an adult to understand medical words when they are spoken.  

Only the abbreviation is new. It came into use with efforts in the 1987 federal budget to include payment for these three specialists into the Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) (prospective payment system (PPS)) payments to hospitals rather than paying the physicians directly, as was previously done.  

A person who operates radiologic equipment, ordinarily under the supervision of a radiologist, and who assists in radiologic procedures.  

An allied health professional for whom the American Medical Association’s Committee on Allied Health Education and Accreditation (CAHEA) has accredited education programs. A term applied to chemical elements which give off (or are capable of giving off) particles of radiant energy, such as alpha, beta, and gamma rays. Some chemical elements, such as plutonium, radium,…

The federal racketeering statute, codified at 18 U.S.C.A. sec 1961. This and other state and federal laws were passed to control organized crime. Racketeering is a conspiracy to commit extortion or coercion. A person may be tried under RICO if they committed racketeering activity or merely had an interest in such activity. The Supreme Court…