WELL DETAILED ANSWERS|LATEST
Academic Medical Centers - ANSWER Hospitals and other types of providers that are
affiliated with a medical school and play active roles in training new health care providers,
especially physicians, and in clinical research in collaboration with a medical school.
Access - ANSWER An individual's ability to obtain medical services on a timely and
financially acceptable basis. Factors determining ease of access also include availability of
health care facilities, transportation to them, and reasonable hours of operation.
Accountable Care Organization (ACOs) - ANSWER An entity--usually a hospital or a
physician group--that accepts responsibility for the medical care of a population of people.
An insurer or government payer develops some form of financial incentives to motivate the
ACO to ensure that health care cost patterns for the covered group are better than the
patterns for comparable people not in the group. First initiated by the Medicare program,
various versions of the ACO idea are being tried by a range of payers.
Accreditation - ANSWER A decision made by a recognized organization that an
institution substantially meets appropriate standards.
Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) - ANSWER Tasks required for a person's normal
functioning.
Acute Care - ANSWER Medical care of a limited duration, provided in a hospital or
outpatient setting, to treat an injury or short-term illness.
1
,Advanced practice nurse - ANSWER Registered nurse, such as a clinical nurse
specialist, nurse practitioner, nurse anesthetist, or nurse midwife, with a master's or doctoral
degree concentrating on a specific area of practice
Adverse Selection - ANSWER Occurs when a population characteristic, such as age,
increases health services utilization and costs above the capitation rate.
Advocacy - ANSWER Actions taken by an individual or group aiming to influence public
policy, resource allocation, and other decisions. Activities may include media campaigns,
public speaking, funding, and publishing research, conducting polls, and lobbying.
Alliance - ANSWER Organizational relationship for specific purposes.
Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions - ANSWER Conditions for which patients are
hospitalized that could have been handled on an outpatient basis.
Appropriate Care - ANSWER Care for which expected health exceed negative
consequences.
Assisted Living - ANSWER Services provided to individuals who need assistance with
activities of daily living.
Attending physicians - ANSWER Doctors who have "privileges" to use a particular
hospital for inpatient care of their patients.
Average Daily Census - ANSWER The number of people ho stay overnight in a hospital
bed on a typical day at a specific hospital.
2
, Avoidable Mortality - ANSWER A count of unnecessary deaths from diseases for which
effective public health and medical interventions are available.
Bayes theorem - ANSWER A formula fro determining conditional probability (the
likelihood of an event occurring given that another event has occurred) that allows for
revising existing predictions or theories given new evidence.
Behavioral Health Services - ANSWER Clinical and supportive activities intended to
treat or manage mental illnesses and/or alcohol or substance abuse (chemical dependency).
Behavioral Risk Factors - ANSWER An element of personal behavior--such as
unbalanced nutrition, use of tobacco products, leading a sedentary lifestyle, or the abuse of
alcohol--that leads to an increased risk of developing one or more diseases or negative
health conditions.
Benchmark - ANSWER The best known value for a specific measure,from any source.
Beneficiary - ANSWER Any person, either a subscriber or a dependent, eligible for
service under a health plan contract.
Benefits - ANSWER Specific areas of plan coverage , such as outpatient visits,
hospitalizations, or prescription drugs, that make up the range of medical services marketed
under a health plan.
Biotechnology - ANSWER The use of living organisms and biological systems to
develop medical products and medical treatments. Biotechnology also is used in fields such
as agriculture, new fuel products, and plastics.
Bundled Payment - ANSWER A payment arrangement whereby a provider is paid a
fixed amount of money to address a specific medical problem, often for a specific period of
time. For example, a surgeon could receive a bundled payment that covers his or her
3
Academic Medical Centers - ANSWER Hospitals and other types of providers that are
affiliated with a medical school and play active roles in training new health care providers,
especially physicians, and in clinical research in collaboration with a medical school.
Access - ANSWER An individual's ability to obtain medical services on a timely and
financially acceptable basis. Factors determining ease of access also include availability of
health care facilities, transportation to them, and reasonable hours of operation.
Accountable Care Organization (ACOs) - ANSWER An entity--usually a hospital or a
physician group--that accepts responsibility for the medical care of a population of people.
An insurer or government payer develops some form of financial incentives to motivate the
ACO to ensure that health care cost patterns for the covered group are better than the
patterns for comparable people not in the group. First initiated by the Medicare program,
various versions of the ACO idea are being tried by a range of payers.
Accreditation - ANSWER A decision made by a recognized organization that an
institution substantially meets appropriate standards.
Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) - ANSWER Tasks required for a person's normal
functioning.
Acute Care - ANSWER Medical care of a limited duration, provided in a hospital or
outpatient setting, to treat an injury or short-term illness.
1
,Advanced practice nurse - ANSWER Registered nurse, such as a clinical nurse
specialist, nurse practitioner, nurse anesthetist, or nurse midwife, with a master's or doctoral
degree concentrating on a specific area of practice
Adverse Selection - ANSWER Occurs when a population characteristic, such as age,
increases health services utilization and costs above the capitation rate.
Advocacy - ANSWER Actions taken by an individual or group aiming to influence public
policy, resource allocation, and other decisions. Activities may include media campaigns,
public speaking, funding, and publishing research, conducting polls, and lobbying.
Alliance - ANSWER Organizational relationship for specific purposes.
Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions - ANSWER Conditions for which patients are
hospitalized that could have been handled on an outpatient basis.
Appropriate Care - ANSWER Care for which expected health exceed negative
consequences.
Assisted Living - ANSWER Services provided to individuals who need assistance with
activities of daily living.
Attending physicians - ANSWER Doctors who have "privileges" to use a particular
hospital for inpatient care of their patients.
Average Daily Census - ANSWER The number of people ho stay overnight in a hospital
bed on a typical day at a specific hospital.
2
, Avoidable Mortality - ANSWER A count of unnecessary deaths from diseases for which
effective public health and medical interventions are available.
Bayes theorem - ANSWER A formula fro determining conditional probability (the
likelihood of an event occurring given that another event has occurred) that allows for
revising existing predictions or theories given new evidence.
Behavioral Health Services - ANSWER Clinical and supportive activities intended to
treat or manage mental illnesses and/or alcohol or substance abuse (chemical dependency).
Behavioral Risk Factors - ANSWER An element of personal behavior--such as
unbalanced nutrition, use of tobacco products, leading a sedentary lifestyle, or the abuse of
alcohol--that leads to an increased risk of developing one or more diseases or negative
health conditions.
Benchmark - ANSWER The best known value for a specific measure,from any source.
Beneficiary - ANSWER Any person, either a subscriber or a dependent, eligible for
service under a health plan contract.
Benefits - ANSWER Specific areas of plan coverage , such as outpatient visits,
hospitalizations, or prescription drugs, that make up the range of medical services marketed
under a health plan.
Biotechnology - ANSWER The use of living organisms and biological systems to
develop medical products and medical treatments. Biotechnology also is used in fields such
as agriculture, new fuel products, and plastics.
Bundled Payment - ANSWER A payment arrangement whereby a provider is paid a
fixed amount of money to address a specific medical problem, often for a specific period of
time. For example, a surgeon could receive a bundled payment that covers his or her
3