| insurance claim review | Review of claims by insurance companies to determine liability and amount of payment for various services. The review may also include determination of eligibility of the claimant or beneficiary or of the provider of the benefit; determination that the benefit is covered or not payable under another policy; or determination that the service was necessary and of reasonable cost and quality. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| utilization review | An organised procedure carried out through committees to review admissions, duration of stay, professional services furnished, and to evaluate the medical necessity of those services and promote their most efficient use. (12 Dec 1998) |
| Venereal Disease Research Laboratory | <microbiology> A blood test used to diagnose syphilis. Read as nonreactive or negative if you do not have syphilis. The Venereal Disease Research Laboratory can also be positive is cases of leprosy, malaria, mononucleosis, lupus, hepatitis A and pregnancy. Positive Venereal Disease Research Laboratory tests are usually followed up by a more specific test (FTA antibodies). (12 Jan 1998) |
| Medical Research Council | <organisation> A UK Government funded body to promote the balanced development of medical and related biological research in the United Kingdom. It organises national clinical trials for the assessment of new treatment protocols for leukaemia and some of the related diseases. (05 Jan 1998) |
| research | Careful, a diligent search, a close searching, studious inquiry or examination. (18 Nov 1997) |
| research, controlled | The first controlled clinical research was probably done in 1875 by the british naval surgeon james lind who, on board the hms salisbury, gave sailors with scurvy either oranges or lemons or cider or vinegar or nutmeg (or another treatment) and after just six days discovered that the citrus-consuming sailors had recovered from scury, until then the scourge of extended sea voyages, while the sailors who had been given the other treatments remained uncured. (12 Dec 1998) |
| research design | A plan for collecting and utilizing data so that desired information can be obtained with sufficient precision or so that an hypothesis can be tested properly. (12 Dec 1998) |
| research personnel | Those individuals engaged in research. (12 Dec 1998) |
| research support | Financial support of research activities. (12 Dec 1998) |
| clinical nursing research | Research carried out by nurses in the clinical setting and designed to provide information that will help improve patient care. Other professional staff may also participate in the research. (12 Dec 1998) |
| clinical research trials | Evaluating the safety and effectiveness of medications or medical devices by monitoring their effects on large groups of people. Clinical medical trials sponsored by the U. S. Government are listed on a web site of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH Clinical Centre intends to make details of current clinical research studies for various diseases available over the Internet to increase opportunities for patients and physicians to participate in clinical investigations. (12 Dec 1998) |
| controlled thermonuclear research | General label for research on controlled thermonuclear fusion reactions. (09 Oct 1997) |
| health outcomes research | The measurement of the value of a particular course of therapy. Health outcomes research is based on the principle that every clinical intervention produces a change in the health status of a patient and that change can be measured. (12 Dec 1998) |
| health services research | The integration of epidemiologic, sociological, economic, and other analytic sciences in the study of health services. Health services research is usually concerned with relationships between need, demand, supply, use, and outcome of health services. The aim of the research is evaluation, particularly in terms of structure, process, output, and outcome. (12 Dec 1998) |
| nursing administration research | research concerned with establishing costs of nursing care, examining the relationships between nursing services and quality patient care, and viewing problems of nursing service delivery within the broader context of policy analysis and delivery of health services (12 Dec 1998) |