| PHC | personal health costs; posthospital care; premolar hypodontia, hyperhidrosis, [premature] canities [... |
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| COMAC/HRS/QA | Community Concerted Action Programme on Quality Assurance in Health Care [European] |
| HCQI | health care quality improvement (pronounced Hicky) |
| HCQIA | Health Care Quality Improvement Act |
| HCQIP | Health Care Quality Improvement Program [of HCFA] |
| air quality maintenance area | Specific populated area where air quality is a problem for one or more pollutants (Portland-Vancouver, Salem, Eugene-Springfield, Medford-Ashland). (05 Dec 1998) |
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| ambient air quality | The condition of the air in the surrounding environment. (05 Dec 1998) |
| management quality circles | Participation of employees with management as a labour-management team, in decisions pertaining to the operational activities of the organization or industry. (12 Dec 1998) |
| voice quality | Voice quality is that component of speech which gives the primary distinction to a given speaker's voice when pitch and loudness are excluded. It involves both phonatory and resonatory characteristics. Some of the descriptions of voice quality are harshness, breathiness and nasality. (12 Dec 1998) |
| high quality filter paper | Used in paper chromatography. Synonym: high quality filter paper. Congo red paper, paper impregnated with Congo red; used as a pH indicator, changing from blue-violet at 3.0 to red at 5.0. Filter paper, an unsized paper used in pharmacy and chemistry for filtering solutions; many varieties are used for paper chromatography. (05 Mar 2000) |
| quality adjusted life year | A year of life adjusted for its quality or its value. A year in perfect health is considered equal to 1.0 qaly. The value of a year in ill health would be discounted. For example, a year bedridden might have a value equal to 0.5 qaly. A measurement index derived from a modification of standard life-table procedures and designed to take account of the quality as well as the duration of survival. This index can be used in assessing the outcome of health care procedures or services. (12 Jul 2000) |
| quality assurance | Programs of regular assessment of medical and nursing activities to evaluate the quality of medical care. (05 Mar 2000) |
| quality control | In biotechnology, quality control is essential to ensure purified protein pharmaceuticals are indeed pure and that they are intact and maintain their biological activity. (14 Nov 1997) |
| quality control chart | A chart illustrating the allowable limits of error in laboratory test performance, the limits being a defined deviation from the mean of a control serum, most commonly ±2 SD. See: quality control. (05 Mar 2000) |
| quality factor | <radiobiology> (Q) A multiplying factor used with absorbed dose to convert to dose equivalent and therefore to express the radiation's effectiveness in causing biological effects. (16 Dec 1997) |
| quality of life | Refers to the level of comfort, enjoyment, ability to pursue daily activities. Often used in discussions of treatment options. (16 Dec 1997) |
| total quality management | The application of industrial management practice to systematically maintain and improve organization-wide performance. Effectiveness and success are determined and assessed by quantitative quality measures. (12 Dec 1998) |
| environmental quality objective | This is a regulatory value defining the quality to be aimed for in a particular aspect of the environment. Unlike an environmental quality standard, an EQO is not usually expressed in quantitative terms and cannot be enforced legally. (09 Oct 1997) |
| environmental quality standard | This regulatory value defines the maximum concentration of a potentially toxic substance which can be allowed in an environmental compartment, usually air (air quality standard - AQS) or water, over a defined period. (09 Oct 1997) |
| ambulatory care | Medical care (including diagnosis, observation, treatment and rehabilitation) provided on an outpatient basis. Ambulatory care is given to persons who are not confined to a hospital but rather are ambulatory and, literally, are able to ambulate or walk about. (A well-baby visit is considered ambulatory care even though the baby is not walking). (12 Dec 1998) |