| AHCA | Agency for Health Care Administration; American Health Care Association |
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| ANA | acetylneuraminic acid; American Narcolepsy Association; American Neurological Association; American ... |
| AES | acetone-extracted serum; American Electroencephalographic Society; American Encephalographic Society... |
| JAMA | Journal of the American Medical Association |
| JAMIA | Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association |
| delivery of health care, integrated | A health care system which combines physicians, hospitals, and other medical services with a health plan to provide the complete spectrum of medical care for its customers. In a fully integrated system, the three key elements - physicians, hospital, and health plan membership - are in balance in terms of matching medical resources with the needs of purchasers and patients. (coddington et al., integrated health care: reorganizing the physician, hospital and health plan relationship, 1994, p7) (12 Dec 1998) |
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| quality assurance, health care | Activities and programs intended to assure or improve the quality of care in either a defined medical setting or a program. The concept includes the assessment or evaluation of the quality of care; identification of problems or shortcomings in the delivery of care; designing activities to overcome these deficiencies; and follow-up monitoring to ensure effectiveness of corrective steps. (12 Dec 1998) |
| quality indicators, health care | Norms, criteria, standards, and other direct qualitative and quantitative measures used in determinng the quality of health care. (12 Dec 1998) |
| quality of health care | The levels of excellence which characterise the health service or health care provided based on accepted standards of quality. (12 Dec 1998) |
| International Classification of Health Problems in Primary Care | A classification of diseases, conditions and problems arranged for use in primary care where diagnostic precision is seldom possible. (05 Mar 2000) |
| united states agency for health care policy and research | An agency of the public health service established in 1990 to "provide indexing, abstracting, translating, publishing, and other services leading to a more effective and timely dissemination of information on research, demonstration projects, and evaluations with respect to health care to public and private entities and individuals engaged in the improvement of health care delivery.." it supersedes the national centre for health services research. (12 Dec 1998) |
| united states health care financing administration | A component of the department of health and human services to oversee and direct the medicare and medicaid programs and related federal medical care quality control staffs. (12 Dec 1998) |
| American Cancer Society | <address, organisation> American Cancer Society, National Headquarters, 1599 Clifton Road, NE, Atlanta, GA 30329 USA. Tel: 00 1 404 320-3333 (05 Feb 1998) |
| American Law Institute formulation | Used in certain jurisdictions to determine criminal responsibility in legal proceedings. See: criminal insanity. (05 Mar 2000) |
| American Law Institute rule | A test of criminal responsibility (1962): "a person is not responsible for criminal conduct if at the time of such conduct as a result of mental disease or defect he lacks substantial capacity either to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law." (05 Mar 2000) |
| American Red Cross | The national Red Cross society of the United States, established by Congress to assist in caring for the sick and wounded, serving as a communications link between members of the U.S. Armed forces and their families, conducting disaster relief and prevention programs, and furnishing other humanitarian services, the largest of which is a network of regional blood centres providing blood and blood products. (05 Mar 2000) |
| american samoa | A group of islands of samoa, in the southwest central pacific. Its capital is pago pago. The islands were ruled by native chiefs until about 1869. An object of american interest beginning in 1839, pago pago and trading and extraterritorial rights were granted to the united states in 1878. The united states, germany, and england administered the islands jointly 1889-99, but in 1899 they were granted to the united states by treaty. The department of the interior has administered american samoa since 1951. (12 Dec 1998) |
| American tarantula | Eurypelma hentzii, the Arkansas tarantula; although greatly feared, its bite is relatively uncommon and harmless to humans. (05 Mar 2000) |
| American trypanosomiasis | Trypanosomiasis caused by Trypanosoma (or Schizotrypanum) cruzi and transmitted by certain species of reduviid (triatomine) bugs. In its acute form, it is seen most frequently in young children, with swelling of the skin at the site of entry, most often the face, and regional lymph node enlargement; in its chronic form it can assume several aspects, commonly cardiomyopathy, but megacolon and megaesophagus also occur; natural reservoirs include dogs, armadillos, rodents, and other domestic, domiciliated, and wild mammals. Synonym: Chagas' disease, Chagas-Cruz disease, Cruz trypanosomiasis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| American Type Culture Collection | <cell culture> A key resource for cultured cells, located in Rockville, USA. (12 Dec 1998) |