| HCQIP | Health Care Quality Improvement Program [of HCFA] |
|---|---|
| HPA | Health Care Practice Act; Health Policy Agenda for the American People; health promotion advocates; ... |
| CQI/TQM | continuous quality improvement/total quality management |
| QA | quality assessment; quality assurance |
| QC | quality characteristics; quality control; quinine colchicine |
| 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) |
| Addison's clinical planes | A series of plane's used as landmarks in thoracoabdominal topography; the trunk is divided vertically by a median plane from the upper border of the manubrium of the sternum to the pubic symphysis, by a lateral plane drawn vertically on either side through a point half way between the anterior superior iliac spine and the median plane at the interspinal plane, and by an interspinal plane passing vertically through the anterior superior iliac spine on either side; transversely the trunk is divided by a transthoracic plane passing across the thorax 3.2 cm above the lower border of the body of the sternum, by a transpyloric plane midway between the jugular notch of the sternum and the pubic symphysis, corresponding to the disc between the first and second lumbar vertebrae, and by an intertubercular plane passing through the iliac tubercles and cutting usually the fifth lumbar vertebra; the plane's formed on these lines, and also on transverse plane's cutting the upper edge of the manubrium and the upper edge of the pubic symphysis, constitute the clinical plane's of Addison. (05 Mar 2000) |
| pathology, clinical | A subspecialty of pathology which deals with the laboratory analysis of specimens of human blood and other fluids. (12 Dec 1998) |
| chemistry, clinical | The specialty of analytical chemistry applied to assays of physiologically important substances found in blood, urine, tissues, and other biological fluids for the purpose of aiding the physician in making a diagnosis or following therapy. (12 Dec 1998) |
| pharmacology, clinical | The branch of pharmacology that deals directly with the effectiveness and safety of drugs in humans. (12 Dec 1998) |
| phase I clinical trial | <pharmacology> The earliest stage clinical trial for studying an experimental drug in humans. Phase I trials are generally comparatively small and are used to determine toxicity and maximum dose. They provide an initial evaluation of a drug's safety and pharmacokinetics-how the drug is absorbed, what tissues it reaches and how long it takes to leave the body. Such studies also usually test various doses of the drug (dose-ranging) to obtain an indication of the appropriate dose to use in later studies. The patients in these trials usually have advanced disease and have already received best available chemotherapy, therefore, seeing a repose is significant partially because this means there is a lack of cross-resistance between two anti-cancer drugs. (31 Dec 1997) |
| phase II clinical trial | <pharmacology> Usually focus on the activity of the new product as a single agent in a noncomparative, open study. (31 Dec 1997) |
| phase III clinical trial | <pharmacology> An advanced stage clinical trial that should conclusively show how well a drug works as compared to other treatments. Phase III trials are large, frequently multi-institution tests. They generally compare the relative value of the new drug compared with the current standard treatment and measure whether a new drug extends survival or otherwise improves the health of patients on treatment (clinical improvement) rather than just provide surrogate marker data. These studies generally last longer and are larger than phase II trials. (31 Dec 1997) |
| Millon clinical multiaxial inventory | A paper and pencil test, consisting of 20 clinical scales derived from 175 self-descriptive statements, and developed in 1977 for use in the assessment of psychopathology and the more enduring patterns of personality; specifically designed to correspond with some of the disorders of personality included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders used in diagnosis by mental health professionals. Synonym: Millon clinical multiaxial inventory. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory test | A paper and pencil test, consisting of 20 clinical scales derived from 175 self-descriptive statements, and developed in 1977 for use in the assessment of psychopathology and the more enduring patterns of personality; specifically designed to correspond with some of the disorders of personality included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders used in diagnosis by mental health professionals. Synonym: Millon clinical multiaxial inventory. (05 Mar 2000) |
| clinical | 1. Pertaining to a clinic or to the bedside. 2. Pertaining to or founded on actual observation and treatment of patients, as distinguished from theoretical or basis sciences. (18 Nov 1997) |
| clinical anatomy | The practical application of anatomical knowledge to diagnosis and treatment. Synonym: applied anatomy. (05 Mar 2000) |