1. Accounts Receivable: Patient bills for services that have already been provided
that legally are due to a facility.
2. Autopsy Rates: The percent of autopsies performed on patients who die in the
hospital; reasons for not performing an autopsy in the hospital may include legal
inquiry or family preference.
3. Average Length of Stay (ALOS): The total number of patient days in a period
divided by the number of patients; for example, the ALOS for cardiology services in
February was 6.1 days.
4. Benchmarks: Goals or metrics a facility wants to meet; for example, if the industry
standard is 90% of patients should have advance directives entered into their patient
record within 24 hour of admission, and a hospital was only meeting this for 45%
of the patients, they would use the external benchmark of 90% as a goal and track
performance toward that goal by month or quarter.
5. Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC): A division of the
Department of Health and Human Services.
6. Chief Executive Officer (CEO): Leader of a facility who reports to the Board of
Directors.
7. Chief Financial Officer (CFO): Leader who oversees all financial and fiscal
decisions and issues for a facility; generally reports to the CEO.
8. Commercial Insurers: Private, non-government insurers; these are often the
insurance options available through employers.
9. Comorbidity: Disease that exists at the same time as a primary disease that a
patient is being treated for at the time; for example, a patient who has cancer is
receiving cancer specific treatment and is also a diabetic - diabetes mellitus would
be considered the comorbid condition.
10. Complications: Unexpected events or circumstances that happen to a patient
during the course of his care; hospital-acquired infections, such as those involving
MRSA, are considered to be complications, as are reactions to medications or an
adverse response to any treatment.
11. Copayment: Money the patient must pay toward the bill as contracted between
, the insurer and provider; amounts range from $5 to $50, and $75 for emergency
room and specialist visits; provider's office visits are often in the $10 to $35 range.
12. Daily Census: The count of how many patients are in beds by patient care unit
for an inpatient facility.
13. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): Principle agency for pro-
tecting Americans' Health
14. Institute of Medicine (IOM): Non-governmental, independent, and nonprofit
organization that provides unbiased, expert advice to governmental and private
decision-makers, as well as the public.
that legally are due to a facility.
2. Autopsy Rates: The percent of autopsies performed on patients who die in the
hospital; reasons for not performing an autopsy in the hospital may include legal
inquiry or family preference.
3. Average Length of Stay (ALOS): The total number of patient days in a period
divided by the number of patients; for example, the ALOS for cardiology services in
February was 6.1 days.
4. Benchmarks: Goals or metrics a facility wants to meet; for example, if the industry
standard is 90% of patients should have advance directives entered into their patient
record within 24 hour of admission, and a hospital was only meeting this for 45%
of the patients, they would use the external benchmark of 90% as a goal and track
performance toward that goal by month or quarter.
5. Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC): A division of the
Department of Health and Human Services.
6. Chief Executive Officer (CEO): Leader of a facility who reports to the Board of
Directors.
7. Chief Financial Officer (CFO): Leader who oversees all financial and fiscal
decisions and issues for a facility; generally reports to the CEO.
8. Commercial Insurers: Private, non-government insurers; these are often the
insurance options available through employers.
9. Comorbidity: Disease that exists at the same time as a primary disease that a
patient is being treated for at the time; for example, a patient who has cancer is
receiving cancer specific treatment and is also a diabetic - diabetes mellitus would
be considered the comorbid condition.
10. Complications: Unexpected events or circumstances that happen to a patient
during the course of his care; hospital-acquired infections, such as those involving
MRSA, are considered to be complications, as are reactions to medications or an
adverse response to any treatment.
11. Copayment: Money the patient must pay toward the bill as contracted between
, the insurer and provider; amounts range from $5 to $50, and $75 for emergency
room and specialist visits; provider's office visits are often in the $10 to $35 range.
12. Daily Census: The count of how many patients are in beds by patient care unit
for an inpatient facility.
13. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): Principle agency for pro-
tecting Americans' Health
14. Institute of Medicine (IOM): Non-governmental, independent, and nonprofit
organization that provides unbiased, expert advice to governmental and private
decision-makers, as well as the public.
