| delivery of health care | The concept concerned with all aspects of providing and distributing health services to a patient population. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| 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) |
| 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) |
| infant care | Care of infants in the home or institution. (12 Dec 1998) |
| insurance, long-term care | Health insurance to provide full or partial coverage for long-term home care services or for long-term nursing care provided in a residential facility such as a nursing home. (12 Dec 1998) |
| intensive care | Advanced and highly specialised care provided to medical or surgical patients whose conditions are life-threatening and require comprehensive care and constant monitoring. It is usually administered in specially equipped units of a health care facility. (12 Dec 1998) |
| intensive care, neonatal | Continuous care and monitoring of newborn infants with life-threatening conditions, in any setting. (12 Dec 1998) |
| intensive care unit | A hospital facility for provision of intensive nursing and medical care of critically ill patients, characterised by high quality and quantity of continuous nursing and medical supervision and by use of sophisticated monitoring and resuscitative equipment; may be organised for the care of specific patient groups, e.g., neonatal or newborn ICU, neurological ICU, pulmonary ICU. Synonym: critical care unit. (05 Mar 2000) |
| intensive care units | Hospital units providing continuous surveillance and care to acutely ill patients. (12 Dec 1998) |
| intensive care units, neonatal | Hospital units providing continuing surveillance and care to acutely ill newborn infants. (12 Dec 1998) |
| intensive care units, paediatric | Hospital units providing continuous surveillance and care to acutely ill infants and children. Neonates are excluded since intensive care units, neonatal is available. (12 Dec 1998) |
| intermediate care facilities | Institutions which provide health-related care and services to individuals who do not require the degree of care which hospitals or skilled nursing facilities provide, but because of their physical or mental condition require care and services above the level of room and board. (12 Dec 1998) |
| intraoperative care | Patient care procedures performed during the operation that are ancillary to the actual surgery. It includes monitoring, fluid therapy, medication, transfusion, anaesthesia, radiography, and laboratory tests. (12 Dec 1998) |