Health Journalism Glossary

Welcome to the Health Journalism Glossary, your essential tool for deciphering the complex language of health reporting.

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A priori – This term describes knowledge or assumptions made based only on what one already knows before collecting data. It’s typically used…
Absolute risk – The chance that something will happen within a given amount of time, stated in raw numbers. In medical studies, it’s…
Access to care – The landmark Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, commonly called Obamacare, centered anew the reality that not everyone had access…
Accountable Care Organization (ACO) – There is no single definition for an ACO because models are continuing evolving. Medicare has many models, and Medicaid has…
Accountable Care Organization (ACO) – The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) defines an ACO as a group of doctors, hospitals, and other…
Accountable care organizations (ACOs) – ACOs are payment models similar to health maintenance organizations but with more financial incentive to improve quality and outcomes while…
ACO investment model – A Medicare initiative for provider organizations in accountable care organizations (ACOs) that is designed to test the use of pre-paid…
ACO participants – Organizations that participate in Medicare’s accountable care organization (ACO) investment model program (called AIM ACOs) can be physician practices, federally…
ACO Transformation Track – This track is one of two under Medicare’s Community Health Access and Rural Transformation (CHART) Model for rural hospitals. Under…
Action – The central mechanism of a firearm, generally applied to rifles. It consists of the receiver, a short hollow tube of…
Active aging – A global movement to support continued participation by older adults and population groups in social, economic, spiritual and cultural opportunities,…
Active vs. passive surveillance – Surveillance is the process or system for tracking cases of risk factors, medical conditions, disease cases, adverse events, etc. It’s…
Activities of daily living – Activities performed by a person in the course of a normal day include bathing, dressing, grooming, eating, walking, taking medications,…
Actual acquisition cost (AAC) – When a drug manufacturer sells a medication to a pharmacy, the AAC is the net cost the pharmacy pays. The…
Actuarial equivalent – When a health plan has similar coverage to that of a standard benefit plan, the two plans are described as…
Actuarial value – The average share of medical costs that a health plan will cover for a beneficiary population. The covered individual pays…
Acute Febrile Illness (AFI) – AFI is the medical term for a rapid onset of fever and symptoms such as headache, diarrhea, chills or muscle…
Acute vs. chronic conditions – In the simplest terms, acute conditions are short-term while chronic conditions are long-term. However, these two ways of categorizing an…
Adenovirus – An adenovirus is a common virus that causes a range of diseases, including a cold, sore throat, bronchitis, pneumonia, diarrhea,…
Administrative costs – In health care, the term “administrative costs” refers to the back-office functions that are separate from delivering care, including medical…
Administrative services only (ASO) – Administrative services only (ASO) is an arrangement an employer makes with a third party to administer the employer’s health insurance…
Admissions per 1,000 – To measure and compare the disease burden of certain populations, health insurers use the admissions per 1,000 metric to show…
Adult care home – Also known as board and care homes, group homes, or adult foster care, adult care homes are private residences that…
Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage (ABN) – An ABN is a notice that a hospital, physician or other provider gives to a Medicare beneficiary before delivering the…
Advance directive – Advance directives are legal documents that allow a person to spell out their decisions about end-of-life care ahead of time.…
Advance Premium Tax Credit (APTC) – The ACA provides subsidies to some consumers who buy health insurance on the federal or state-based Marketplace exchanges through tax…
Advance premium tax credits (APTCs) – APTCs help consumers lower their monthly health insurance premium payments when buying health insurance on the Affordable Care Act (ACA)…
Advanced alternative payment models (Advanced APMs) – Under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), Congress allowed physicians to earn incentive payments by participating…
Adverse Event – Any medical intervention such as a test, treatment, hospitalization or surgery can result in an undesirable outcome that is not…
Adverse event vs. side effect – Any incident that occurs following a drug, vaccine, surgery, procedure or other medical intervention. If the adverse effect was actually…
Adverse selection – When more sick people—or those who have a high risk of becoming ill—purchase health insurance than healthier people, this trend…
Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) – ACIP is the CDC committee which reviews all the evidence about vaccines and makes recommendations to the CDC on which…
Affordable Care Act – Also known as Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or “Obamacare,” the ACA became law on March 23, 2010. The…
Affordable Care Act (ACA) – Also known as Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or “Obamacare,” the ACA became law on March 23, 2010. The…
Age band – The Affordable Care Act bans insurers from charging older people more than three times as much as younger people in…
Age-friendly Health System (AFHS) – An initiative by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), the John A. Hartford Foundation, the American Hospital Association and the…
Ageism – Ageism refers to prejudice and discrimination against people who share a common characteristic – in this case, old age. The…
Agents and brokers – Agents and brokers are trained, state-licensed professionals who can help consumers enroll in health plans. As a general rule, agents…
Aging and Disability Resource Centers – The Aging and Disability Resource Center Program (ADRC), a collaborative effort of Administration on Aging and the Centers for Medicare…
Aging network – The Aging Network is the partnership between federal, state, tribal and local agencies which supports the work of those who…
Airborne/aersolized transmission spread – The term for spread of a contagious disease from a respiratory droplet that is small enough to float in the…
Alert fatigue (also called alarm fatigue) – Because of poor design of electronic health records and medical systems, doctors, nurses and other clinicians routinely have to override…
Algal bloom – Algae are microscopic organisms that live in bodies of water and use photosynthesis to produce energy from sunlight. Some algae…
Algorithm – A process or set of rules to follow in calculations or other problem solving, typically in computing.
Algorithmovigilance – Algorithmovigilance refers to scientific methods and activities relating to the evaluation, monitoring, understanding and prevention of adverse effects of algorithms…
All-Payer Claims Databases – APCDs collect data from all payers in a given region, including state and federal health players, health insurers, employers and…
All-payer system – A health care payment system in all payers, including state and federal health programs, private insurers, employers and individuals, all…
Allostatic load – The theory that the accumulated burden of chronic stress creates a common pathway to the onset and progression of many…
Allowed amount – The allowed amount is the maximum that a health insurer will pay for covered health care service, leaving the insured…
Alpha-gal syndrome – Alpha-gal syndrome is a red meat allergy caused by the bite of certain ticks. The allergy is known as Alpha-gal…
Alternative payment models – Under the ACA and The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) of 2015, APMs for physicians and other providers…
Alternative payment models (APMs) – The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says physicians participating in alternative payment models would be eligible for financial…
Alzheimer’s biomarker – A biomarker is a characteristic that can be measured and evaluated as an indicator of normal biological processes, pathogenetic processes,…
Amalgam Separator – A device designed to capture particles of dental amalgam from dental office wastewater therefore reducing the amount of mercury and…
Ambient clinical voice – Ambient clinical voice is an advanced, artificial intelligence tool built into some electronic health record systems. It uses microphones in…
Ambulatory care sensitive condition – ACSCs are those for which good outpatient or primary care could prevent the need for hospitalization, or for which early…
Amelogenesis Imperfecta – A group of hereditary disorders that result in the abnormal development of the tooth enamel.
Analgesics – A broad range of drugs used to relieve pain, including mild analgesics such as aspirin and ibupropen and more potent…
Animal Feeding Operations (AFOs) – Animal Feeding Operations are lots where animals are confined for at least 45 days in a 12-month period and there…
Annual limit – Before the ACA, many health plans had a yearly limit on what they would pay, either in total costs or…
Anosognosia – A condition that prevents some people’s brains from recognizing and accepting that they are ill. It is especially common in…
Antibiotic resistance/anti-microbial resistance – When an antibiotic or antimicrobial has lost its ability to effectively control or kill a bacteria, fungi, or parasite, it…
Antibiotic stewardship – Antibiotic stewardship is a public health effort to work with health providers to ensure the judicious use of antibiotics prescribing.…
Antibiotic stewardship – The responsible use of antibiotics.
Antigen – An antigen is the specific part of a pathogen (or potential or suspected pathogen, in the case of autoimmune disease)…
Antigenic drift and shift – Before COVID-19, this term was often used when discussing the influenza virus because flu is among the fastest mutating viruses…
Any willing provider – Some states require managed care organizations to accept any provider, such as a doctor or hospital, into their networks. This…
Aphasia – Aphasia is a communication disorder that results from damage to the parts of the brain that contain language in the…
Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) – APIs are systems of tools and resources in an operating system that enable developers to create software applications. So-called “open…
AR-15 – Commonly called “America’s rifle” by gun enthusiasts. This is the civilian version of the standard rifle of the American military…
Arbitration or independent dispute resolution – Under the federal No Surprises Act of 2020, the first step in resolving disputes over surprise bills is negotiations between…
Area Agency on Aging (AAA) – A public or private nonprofit agency designated by a state to address the needs and concerns of all older persons…
Arthritis – Arthritis is a catchall term for a complex family of musculoskeletal disorders, consisting of more than 100 different diseases or…
Artificial Intelligence (AI) – AI is the ability of a computer or robot controlled by a computer to perform tasks usually done by intelligent…
Aseptic retrieval – The process of picking up an instrument or other item without contaminating its container or any other surface. The goal…
Assault weapon – These firearms, usually semiautomatic rifles, are designed and equipped with features enabled for high-volume rapid fire and mass violence.
Assisted living facilities – A senior living option for those with minimal needs for help with daily living and care. Its purpose is to…
Assistive technology – Any device that helps older people negotiate their lives at home, work or in the community can be classified as…
Asthma – Asthma is a condition in which your airways narrow and swell and may produce extra mucus.
Asymptomatic carrier – A healthy person who is infected by a pathogen and showing no symptoms of disease. People can become infected with…
Asymptomatic carrier – A healthy person who is infected by a pathogen and shows no symptoms of disease. People can become infected with…
Attributable risk – Attributable risk is a way of measuring prevalence of a disease or condition and refers to how many cases in…
Attrition – Attrition is the loss of participants in a study over time. All studies have individuals who may drop out for…
Attrition bias – Attrition bias is the potential skewing of data/results that arises due to the attrition, or dropout rate, in a study.…
Augmented reality – Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience of an immersive, simulated real-world environment in which objects that reside in the…
Augmented video analysis – The application of artificial intelligence to video recordings made in hospital patient rooms to help health care staff better understand…
Auto-renewal – Health care plan enrollees are automatically signed up again for the next year, unless they opt out or choose a…
Automated dispensing cabinet (APC) – This is a machine used to securely house medical supplies and medications on a hospital ward. They are generally filled…
Automatic – A firearm which fires continuously while the trigger is depressed like a machine gun or submachine gun.
Automatic retention – A policy a health insurance exchange uses to prevent coverage interruptions among low-income enrollees. Rather than disenroll people who fail…
Automatic speech recognition (ASR) – Also known as voice recognition technology, ASR allows a person to converse with computers using normal speech and be reasonably…
Average manufacturer price (AMP) – When a drug retailer or wholesaler buys a medication directly from a manufacturer, the AMP is the average price paid.…
Average sales price (ASP) – The average sales price is what all purchasers pay to drug manufacturers. ASP includes practically all discounts but is available…
Average wholesale price (AWP) – The AWP is what pharmacies pay to buy drugs from wholesalers.
Avulsed tooth – A tooth that has been knocked out – completely displaced from its socket.

Background checks – Anyone looking to purchase a gun from a federally licensed firearms dealer is subject to a background check.
Background rate – The background rate of a particular condition refers to how often it typically occurs in a particular population or in…
Bacteria – Single-celled microorganisms that don’t require living hosts. They come in many different shapes and thrive in diverse environments including extreme…
Bacteriophages – Phages are viruses that are the natural enemies of bacteria. The word ‘bacteriophage’ means “bacteria eater.” Phages exist anywhere bacteria…
Balance and vertigo – Balance disorders affect about 40% of older adults and can often lead to falls. Balance problems may manifest as feeling…
Balance billing – When a health care provider bills the patient for the difference between what the provider charges and what the insurer…
Balance billing – This occurs when a hospital, physician or other health care provider sends a bill to a patient after the patient’s…
Barrel – A steel tube through which a bullet travels after discharge in the action. The tube compresses gases from the ignition…
Baseline – The measurements/assessments taken at the beginning of a study before any interventions have begun represent the baseline. Outcomes assessed during…
Basic Health Plan (BHP) – Under ACA, consumers whose annual income is less than 133% of the federal poverty level would be absorbed into Medicaid,…
Basic science – Also called basic, fundamental, or bench research, basic science involves pre-clinical research (research not performed in humans) that focuses on…
Behavioral hazard – When used in reference to health insurance, the concept of behavioral hazard defines the behavior that some insured individuals may…
Behavioral health disorders – Chronic habits that erode everyday quality-of-life and normal functioning on the job, in school, within families, within an individual. Behavioral…
Behavioral modification therapy – A therapeutic counseling practice that employs positive and negative reinforcements to encourage patients to voluntarily change or eliminate problematic behaviors…
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) – The BRFSS uses telephone surveys to track risk behaviors related to chronic diseases, injuries and death in the United States.
Benchmark plan – The Affordable Care Act has two definitions for the benchmark plan. In one definition, a benchmark plan is the second-lowest-cost…
Benchmarks – When hospitals, doctors or other provider groups measure quality, they do so against a benchmark, which can be a starting…
Bending the curve – This phrase refers to efforts to change the trajectory of health care cost growth by slowing or stopping the growth.
Best practice alert (BPA) – A programmed notification in an electronic health record (EHR) that occurs at a specific point in patient charting or documentation.…
Bias – Biases are systematic errors in the design or reporting of medical studies that produce a false pattern of differences between…
Bidirectional – When two things are associated, such as a condition and an outcome, researchers often seek to find out whether one…
Big data – Big data is a massive volume of data – both structured and unstructured – that is too large to be…
Bioavailability – Bioavailability refers to quantifying the ability of the human body to extract from a substance the nutrients or other chemicals…
Biodemography of aging – Biodemography of aging looks at the biological, statistical and social factors of human populations, such as age, income, social integration…
Bioequivalence – Two different pharmaceutical products are bioequivalent if they contain the same chemical compounds in the same proportions (ideally) and are…
Biometrics – Unique physical characteristics such as fingerprints, voice recognition or iris scans that can be used for automated recognition of people.…
Biosafety labs and standards – Scientists have developed standards for biosafety labs to enable researchers to study contagious pathogens like SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes…
Bioterrorism – A form of terrorism involving the deliberate release of biological agents, such as a virus or bacteria, or toxins to…
Bisphenol-A – A chemical most commonly found in plastic that can leach through containers, receipts and other plastic items. It impacts human…
Blind vs limited/low vision – The American Foundation for the Blind defines legally blind as a person with 20/200 visual acuity or less. Blind or…
Blinding (or masking) – Blinding, also called masking, refers to concealing from participants and/or study teams who are and are not receiving an intervention…
Block grant – A type of funding in the form of a lump sum payment that confers responsibility for Federal programs to individual…
Block grant – A lump sum usually given to a state or local government for a specific health care purpose. There can be…
Blockchain – Most commonly associated with digital currency such as Bitcoin, blockchain is a data structure that can be timed-stamped and signed…
Blood borne pathogens – Blood borne pathogens are bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms that live in the bloodstream and can cause disease. They are…
Blue zones – What began as a National Geographic expedition led by Dan Buettner to uncover the secrets of longevity evolved into the…
Bone mineral density (BMD) – The amount of bone tissue in a segment of bone. The general premise is that the heavier the bones, the…
Bonferroni correction – A Bonferroni correction is a calculation intended to reduce the likelihood of a false positive in study results by accounting…
Bore – The inside face of the barrel which contacts the bullet during its travel. Source: UC Davis Campus Community Book Project
Botulism – A rare but very dangerous disease caused by a toxin made primarily by the Clostridium botulinum bacteria, though it can be caused by others.
Brain plasticity – Brain plasticity refers to the ability of the brain to modify its own structure and function following changes within the…
Brain-computer interface (BCI) – BCI is a technology system that collects and interprets brain signals, and transmits them to a connected machine—such as a…
Breakthrough infection – In vaccinology, a breakthrough infection means a person develops an infection from a pathogen after vaccination and may indicate the…
Breakthrough infections – In vaccinology, a breakthrough infection means a person develops an infection from a pathogen after vaccination and may indicate the…
Broken Windows effect – The so-called Broken Windows theory has led to initiatives that try to reduce violence by restoring deteriorating neighborhoods, removing or…
Bruxism – The grinding or clenching of the teeth, unrelated to normal functions such as eating, that can result in facial pain…
Bucchal region – The area of the head comprised of the soft tissues of the cheeks.
Budget reconciliation – A fast-track budget procedure in Congress that requires a simple majority and cannot be filibustered, but the president can veto…
Budget-neutral – This term means that a waiver, demonstration or other program cannot cost more than whatever would have been spent without…
Bullet – The projectile fired by a gun. Modern bullets are conical masses of lead, jacketed in copper and designed for aerodynamic…
Bullet button – A device to disqualify a gun as an assault rifle by removing one of the six “evil features” of the…
Bump fire – A means of manipulating semiautomatic weapons to achieve continual fire while keeping the trigger depressed. Source: UC Davis Campus Community…
Bump stock – A device to facilitate the process of bump firing wherein a semiautomatic gun is manipulated so as to simulate automatic…
Bundled payment – Bundled payment is different from fee-for-service payment. Under bundled payment, physicians, hospitals, and other providers assume the financial risk for…
Bur – A tiny bit that is used on a dental drill.
Burning Mouth Syndrome (BMS) – A painful condition marked by a range of symptoms that may include burning, tingling, numbness, or dryness in the mouth.…

Cadillac health plan – An employee health benefit plan in which coverage exceeds a certain dollar amount. Starting in 2018, the portion above a…
Calculus – Hardened or calcified plaque, which starts as a soft sticky bacterial buildup on the teeth.
Caliber – A measure of the size of a bullet. It corresponds to the largest diameter of its cross-section and is commonly…
Campylobacter – This bacteria is the most most common cause of diarrheal illness in the U.S., with an estimated 1.5 million cases annually.
Capitation or capitated payment – When a health care provider receives a fixed payment for each patient under care, such a payment is called capitation…
Capitation/capitated payment – When a health care provider is paid a fixed or per capita amount for each enrolled patient, regardless of how…
Carbine – Shortened rifle, firing a pistol cartridge. Source: UC Davis Campus Community Project
Carbon dioxide – A naturally occurring gas that is also a byproduct of burning fossil fuels and biomass.
Carbon neutral – The idea of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by balancing them so they’re equal or less than those removed naturally.
Carbon offsets – Carbon offsets are tradable “rights” or certificates linked to activities that lower the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere.
CARE Act – The Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable Act is legislation passed in more than 40 states that supports family caregivers when loved…
Care coordination – The ACA encourages care coordination, so that providers work together to avoid complications, recurrences, and rehospitalizations, particularly for patients with…
Caregiver – A person, either paid or voluntary, who helps an older person with the activities of daily living, health care, financial…
Cartridge – Package of gunpowder and a bullet that can be conveniently inserted into a firearm for firing. The cartridge consists of…
Case – Cylindrical brass container for holding the gunpowder and bullet. It is closed at one end (the case head) which holds…
Case control study – This type of retrospective study design identifies a group of individuals who have already experienced a particular outcome or who…
Case fatality rate (CFR) – This is an estimate of the risk of mortality from a contagious disease. The CFR is calculated by dividing the…
Case fatality rate vs. infection fatality rate – These are two ways of measuring the fatality rate (or risk or ratio) of a particular disease. The case fatality…
Case Mix Index (CMI) – Calculation that the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services uses to reflect the clinical complexity, diversity and resource needs…
Case study – A qualitative, descriptive study that focuses on an individual patient (a case series includes multiple individuals) and a particular condition,…
Catastrophic plan – A catastrophic health plan is one with a high deductible that kicks in when medical expenses mount. The catastrophic plans…
Cementum – Dull and yellow, it is the external layer of the tooth root.
Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight – The Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) is an office within CMS that oversees the implementation of various…
Centerfire – Refers to the placement of the primer on the case head. A primer in the form of a small disk…
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) – Part of the Department of Health and Human Services, this federal agency runs Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance…
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) – Part of the federal Department of Health and Human Services, CMS runs Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance program.…
Certificate of need laws – State certificate of need (CON) laws and regulations seek to limit the building of excess capacity or overbuilding of health…
Certified Health IT – Certified health IT includes products, programs or systems that meet standards set by the federal government on their security, privacy,…
Cesarean section (C-section) – Obstetricians and other physicians will perform a Cesarean section to deliver one or more babies when the providers fear that…
Chamber – The end of the barrel that meets the receiver and which holds the bullet when it is ready to be…
Chatbot – A computer program that conducts a conversation via text or auditory program. Chatbots are often used in customer service, and…
Chemical pollution – This refers to any chemicals that negatively interact with human health and are found in everyday products such as lotions,…
Cherry picking – Before the ACA, health insurers would seek to enroll healthy consumers over less-healthy individuals by “cherry picking: among certain populations.…
Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) – The federal CHIP program provides health coverage to children in families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid, but…
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) – CFCs were once a common chemical compound used in refrigerants and aerosols until it was discovered how damaging they were…
Chronic wasting disease – This is a potentially emerging disease for humans, though it has not yet jumped from animals to people. The disease…
Clean Water Act (CWA) – The Clean Water Act (CWA) started with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act which was enacted in 1948. In 1972,…
Clinical decision support (CDS) – Computer programs and tools to assist physicians and other health professionals with care decisions. CDS uses databases of signs and…
Clinical decision support (CDS) systems – Health insurers use CDS systems to give clinicians and other providers patient- and condition-specific information about the treatment protocols insurers…
Clinical documentation improvement (CDI) – A specialty that involves creating and administering accurate, timely health care records to ensure improved patient outcomes, data quality and…
Clinical significance – Statistical significance measures how likely it is that a research finding occurred due to a real effect versus chance, but…
Clinical social workers – Provide therapeutic counseling, whether in private practice, in schools, health systems, child welfare agencies and other spheres. Social workers usually…
Clip – A metal rack that holds cartridges together to permit them to be loaded together instead of one at a time. …
Close contact – Close contact means proximity and duration to someone infected with a contagious disease. In the context of COVID-19, the CDC…
Cloud platform – Many hospitals have health IT systems, including electronic health records (EHRs), that are on the premises or client server, meaning…
Co-insurance – Co-insurance is a percentage that a consumer with health insurance would pay for a visit to a physician, hospital, or…
Co-Ops – Under the Affordable Care Act, Congress called for the Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan Program (co-ops), that would serve as…
COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985) – This law allows a consumer who loses a job to keep his or her group coverage under an employer-sponsored health…
Cognitive assessment testing – One or more exams commonly performed on Individuals with memory concerns or other cognitive complaints, such as personality change, depression,…
Cognitive computing – Cognitive computing is the simulation of human thought process in a computerized model. Cognitive computing is used in artificial intelligence…
Cognitive health – We often refer to the “cognitive health” of an older adult, but what does it encompass? According to Medscape, cognitive…
Cognitive skills – Include memory, problem-solving, reason, learning and paying attention. Cognitive skills can be impaired as a result of mental and/or behavioral…
Commercial determinants of health (CDoH) – The World Health Organization defines commercial determinants of health as “factors that influence health which stem from the profit motive.”…
Common cold – Although everyone has heard of — and probably experienced — the common cold, they frequently do not realize that colds…
Community Dental Health Coordinator – A community health worker model piloted by the American Dental Association to help address oral health disparities. CDHCs are trained…
Community mental health centers – CMS verifies that these clinics must provide outpatient services, including specialized care for children, the elderly, those with chronic mental…
Community rating – Under community rating, a health insurer would charge all people in a community who are covered under the same type…
Community transmission index/rate and hot spots – This rate is used to determine how quickly an infectious disease may be spreading within a geographic area. An index…
Community violence – Community violence is exposure to intentional acts of interpersonal violence committed in public areas. In the case of firearm violence,…
Comorbidity – A comorbidity refers to having two or more conditions or diseases at the same time in a person, such as…
Comparative effectiveness research – Research that looks at different approaches or treatments for a condition to determine which are most likely to have the…
Complementary and Alternative medicine (CAM) – This is the term for a diverse group of medical practices or products that fall outside the standard realm of…
Complexity of care charges – Emergency rooms often charge fees based on the complexity of care needed for each patient. These fees usually are ranked…
Composite endpoint – When researchers measure a combination of possible clinical events in a clinical trial, they have created a composite endpoint. Composite…
Comprehensive health record (CHR) – As the thinking and research around the social determinants of health evolves, some powerful people in health care think the…
Comprehensive risk-based plans – Comprehensive risk-based plans or managed care organizations (MCOs) are the most common type of Medicaid managed care arrangement. States using…
Concealed carry laws – “Concealed carry” has a lot of meanings under different types of state law. It generally means that a person can…
Concierge medicine – Concierge medicine is a method of care in which an individual physician or group practice of physicians give patients longer…
Confidence interval – Confidence intervals are one way that researchers report statistical significance in a study. The other is the p-value. Deeper dive…
Conflict of interest – A set of circumstances that creates a real or perceived risk that professional judgment or actions concerning a primary interest…
Confounding – In observational studies, confounding variables are factors that confuse or obscure the association between a primary exposure of interest and…
Confounding by indication – One of the ways results can be skewed in an observational/epidemiological study is through confounding, when a factor affects both…
Congenital – A congenital disease, defect, abnormality, difference or other condition is one that has been present since birth. What’s important to…
Connected devices/smart devices – Any physical device that is embedded with sensors or network connectivity, enabling that device to “talk“ to other devices.
Conscious aging/Conscious eldering – The Conscious Aging movement, also known as Conscious Eldering, works to help older adults shift their attitudes and thinking away…
Consumer-directed health plan (CDHP) – The National Health Insurance Survey defines a CDHP as a high-deductible health plan linked to a special tax-advantaged account that…
Contact tracing – Contact tracing is a monitoring process used to stop the spread of an infectious disease outbreak. The process is a…
Contact tracing – Contact tracing is a monitoring process used to stop the spread of an infectious disease outbreak. The process is a…
Contagious – The term referring to a disease that is spread by contact between people or animals. Direct contact includes disease spread…
Containment versus mitigation in infections diseases – Containment and mitigation tools differ depending upon the kind of infection that is spreading, and the availability of medical treatments…
Containment versus mitigation in infectious diseases – Containment and mitigation tools differ depending upon the kind of infection that is spreading, and the availability of medical treatments…
Context – Context refers to the background information about a condition, treatment, and/or scientific question, and what the research to date has…
Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) – In a CCRC (also known as a life plan community), residents move between different levels of care on one health…
Convenience sample – A method of including participants (or data) that are convenient to reach but not randomly selected. It’s a type of…
Coordination of benefits – In the event of coverage from two sources — such as Medicare plus supplemental coverage, or when two people in…
Copay (or copayment) – A copay is a fixed fee for each health care service, such as $35 or more for a primary care…
Copay, co-insurance – A copay is a fixed fee that an individual pays for each health care service, such as $15 for primary…
Cordyceps fungus – A spore-producing organism (scientifically its full name is Ophiocordyceps unilateralis) that can invade the brains of ants and other insects,…
Coronavirus – Coronaviruses are a family of viruses, which cause respiratory illness in humans. It gets its name from the crown-like halo…
Coronavirus – Coronaviruses are a family of viruses, which cause respiratory illness in humans. It gets its name from the crown-like halo…
Correlation vs. causation – Correlation is a relationship between two variables, and causation occurs when one of those variables has an effect on the…
Cost sharing – Most Americans who have health insurance have a cost-sharing arrangement with their health insurers because the insured individual pays a…
Cost sharing subsidies – In addition to the advance premium tax credits (APTC) to help consumers pay premiums, many people can also get cost-sharing…
Cost shifting – This occurs when a hospital or other provider charges an insured patient more than it charges an uninsured or underinsured…
Covariate – A covariate is a variable particular to each participant in a study (or each subject being studied, if it’s not…
COVID-19 – On February 11, 2020, the World Health Organization officially named the disease caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2, as COVID-19, a…
COVID-19 infection – This term means that someone has the symptomatic disease that is named COVID-19. There are numerous symptoms of COVID-19. To…
COVID-19 vaccine surveillance and misinformation – As more and more Americans are getting COVID-19 vaccines, the CDC is tracking side effects through a smart-phone based application…
Craniofacial complex – The bones and soft tissues of the face and cranium that house the organs of taste, vision, hearing and smell.
Crisis intervention teams & intervention training – Were created by the Memphis Police Department in 1988 after one of its officers fatally shot a man with a…
Critical access hospital – Certain small hospitals mostly in rural areas are designated as critical access hospitals. The staffing standards are less rigorous than…
Critical access hospital – A critical access hospital has 25 or fewer acute inpatient beds, and is located in a rural area and is…
Critical Access Hospital (CAH) – A rural hospital designation established by the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program (MRHFP) enacted as part of the 1997 Balanced…
Cross-sectional study – A kind of observational study that lacks temporality, or a relationship with time. Cross-sectional studies gather data about their participants…
Crossover trial – In a crossover trial, both groups are exposed to the intervention and to the placebo at different times, or both…
Cultural competency – Cultural competence is a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency or among…
Cultural competency – The ability of health care providers to deliver care and services that take into account the cultural needs of a…
Cyberattack – A cyberattack is an attempt by hackers to gain illegal access to a computer or computer network for the purpose…

Dangling approval – An accelerated drug approval that continues even though a confirmatory trial has not validated that the drug has clinical benefit…
Data and Safety Monitoring Board – Clinical trials are expected to be overseen by a Data and Safety Monitoring Board (also called Data and Safety Monitoring…
Data lake – A term for storage of data information by hospitals, health systems and other organizations. Deeper dive Data lakes are distributed…
Data stewardship – The responsibilities of collecting, managing, viewing, storing, sharing and otherwise using patient health information. Hospitals, health systems, payers, government entities…
De novo – The term “de novo” means “of new” in Latin, but it’s used most often in research to refer to the…
Death doula – A death doula is a non-medical person trained to care for someone holistically (physically, emotionally and spiritually) at the end…
Death spiral – When more sick or high-cost people buy health insurance than healthier members in the risk pool, premiums can rise. This…
Deciduous teeth – Also known as baby teeth. There are 20 of them, typically erupting between 6 months and two and three years…
Deductibles – An insurance deductible is an amount an insured individual or family owes for health care services before a health insurance…
Deep learning – A subset of Artificial Intelligence (AI) where computer networks are able to learn from data that is unstructured. Deep learning…
Deepfake – A computer-generated image, video or audio that is made up but looks or sounds as if it came from a…
Defensive medicine – Too often, doctors and other health providers order tests, screening exams or treatments that may not be necessary because they…
Defined benefit vs. defined contribution – When a health plan, whether through a private employer or a government program such as Medicare or Medicaid, promises specified…
Defined benefit vs. defined contribution – When a health plan promises specified guaranteed benefits, it’s called a defined benefit. A defined contribution plan pays only a…
Dementia – Dementia is a general term for loss of memory, language, problem-solving and other thinking abilities that are severe enough to…
Dementia-friendly communities – Dementia Friendly Communities (DFCs) offer an approach to community engagement to improve the lives of people living with dementia and…
Dental amalgam – A substance used for fillings which contains mercury predominantly bound to metals including silver, zinc, copper and tin. It has…
Dental caries – A chronic, progressive, largely preventable disease also known as dental decay. Caries is caused by a species of mutans streptococci…
Dental fluorisis – A change in the appearance of the tooth’s enamel, ranging, in mild forms as nearly invisible white spots, and in…
Dental fluorosis – Changes in the mineralization and appearance of the teeth due to long-term ingestion of fluoride at higher than optimal levels.…
Dental Health Aide Therapist (DHAT) – A dental auxiliary working in Alaskan tribal lands as part of the Community Health Aide Program, established in the 1950s…
Dental hygienist – A licensed health care professional. This model has existed for nearly a century since a dentist trained his assistant in…
Dental implant – A post, which is usually made of titanium, is surgically implanted into the jaw, replaces the root of a lost…
Dental sealant – A thin plastic coating applied to the chewing surface of a molar (a back tooth) to help prevent tooth decay.
Dental therapist – An oral health provider model in long use in many countries, only recently being piloted in the United States. Less…
Dental veneers – Thin shells made of porcelain or resin composite materials that are bonded to the fronts of the teeth for cosmetic…
Dentifrice – A paste, powder, liquid or gel used for cleaning the teeth.
Dentin – Hard yellowish tissue that makes up most of the inner portion of the tooth’s crown and root.
Denture stomatitis – This common form of oral candidiasis, a fungal infection, is caused when tissues inside the mouth are traumatized by ill-fitting…
Developmental origins of health and disease – From conception through infancy and early childhood, exposures to certain stresses can alter the trajectory of development in ways that…
Diabetic retinopathy – Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes and a leading cause of blindness. It occurs when diabetes damages the tiny…
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders (DSM) – First published in 1952 by the American Psychiatric Association, this manual is a compilation of mental disorders, their symptoms and prescribed treatment.…
Diagnostic error – Estimates indicate most people in the United States might experience a meaningful diagnostic error at some point in their lives,…
Diagnostic test – A diagnostic test is a medical test or intervention used to establish whether a particular condition is or is not…
Diagnostic trial – A diagnostic clinical trial aims to identify better ways of diagnosing a condition, such as testing a new procedure, screening…
Dickey Amendment – Part of a 1996 omnibus bill that effectively stifled CDC-funded research on gun violence.
Dietary supplement – A vitamin, mineral, herb, or amino acid that is intended to supplement the diet but are not necessarily backed by…
Differential diagnosis – A list of possible conditions that could be causing a patient’s symptoms. A differential diagnosis is a systemic process that…
Digital health equity – Using digital health tools to help make health care more accessible and affordable for everyone. Deeper dive With digital health…
Digital redlining – The practice of creating and perpetuating inequities between already marginalized groups, specifically through the use of digital technologies and content,…
Digital therapeutics – An emerging, rapidly evolving sector of the digital health market that uses data analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence to…
Digital twin – A digital twin is a virtual representation of an object or system that spans its lifecycle. It is updated from…
Dimensions of aging – Everyone ages differently. Numerical, or chronological, age is only one of the dimensions of aging. Getting older is also associated…
Direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) – Direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fees allow health insurers or pharmacy benefit managers to claw back fees paid to pharmacies…
Direct contracting – Direct contracting is an arrangement between a purchaser and a provider to deliver health care services for a select group…
Direct primary care – Direct primary care (DPC) is a form of a bundled capitation payment model in which a primary care doctor or…
Disease elimination vs. eradication – Eradication refers to a disease being completely, literally eradicated from the earth: no cases occur at all, from any source.…
Disease elimination vs. eradication – Eradication refers to a disease being completely, literally eradicated from the earth: no cases occur at all, from any source.…
Disease elimination vs. eradication – Elimination of a disease occurs when the disease is no longer endemic to a particular geographical region. That is, the…
Disease X – Disease X is a placeholder name for an “unexpected” disease. The World Health Organization declared in 2018 that Disease “X”…
Disease X – Disease X is a placeholder name for an “unexpected” disease. The World Health Organization declared in 2018 that Disease “X”…
Disproportionate share hospital – A disproportionate share hospital (DSH) is one that has a higher share of low-income patients than other hospitals as defined…
District of Columbia v. Heller – In 2008, The Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to own a firearm unrelated to service in a militia.
DMFT index – In dental epidemiology, the “Decayed, Missing, Filled Teeth (DMFT) Index” measures the number of teeth or tooth surfaces that are…
Domestic violence – Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behaviors in any relationship, familiar, romantic or otherwise, that is used by one…
Domiciliary care – The type of care provided to the elderly by a qualified home care worker at the senior’s own home. It…
Dose response – “Dose response” refers to the relationship between the amount of a substance or exposure and the extent or magnitude of…
Double burden of disease – The double burden of disease is a term researchers and public health officials use to describe the coexistence of undernutrition…
Doughnut hole (or Donut hole) – A coverage gap in the Medicare drug benefit, during which beneficiaries pay all the costs until another level of coverage…
Downside risk – Hospitals, physicians, or other health care professionals have downside risk if they incur costs that are greater than the payments…
Droplet transmission/spread – A form of contagious disease spread that involves the spray of saliva or respiratory droplets, expelled when an infected person…
Dual eligibles – These older adults and some people under 65 with disabilities are covered by both Medicare and Medicaid. They are sicker…
Dual eligibles – Under the Affordable Care Act, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services seeks to improve the quality and efficiency…
Durable medical equipment (DME) – Items such as ventilators, wheelchairs, hospital beds or home oxygen systems are examples of durable medical equipment that a health…

E. coli – While this common bacteria is mostly harmless, some strains can cause diarrhea, stomach cramps, vomiting and more.
Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) Services – States must cover these services for all Medicaid-eligible children under age 21. These services include screening for vision, hearing, dental…
Eco-anxiety – The chronic fear of environmental cataclysm that comes from observing the seemingly irrevocable impact of climate change.
Ecologist – A scientist who studies how animals and plants interact with the environment. Disease ecologists study the interactions between pathogens (i.e.,…
Edentulism – The loss of all teeth. An estimated 22.9 percent of older Americans have lost all their teeth, according to the…
Effect size – Journalists covering medical research write about effect size all the time but may not recognize that’s the name for it.…
Effect vs. association – An association is a statistical link or pattern between two variables, but an effect can only result if one is…
Effectiveness vs. efficacy – At first glance, it would seem the only difference between “effectiveness” and “efficacy” is a handful of letters. But these…
Effectuate – Insurers use this word to describe the completion of an enrollment. Coverage has been effectuated once a consumer signs up,…
Elder abuse – Any intentional or negligent act that causes harm or a serious risk of harm to a vulnerable adult. Abuse may…
Elder Economic Security Standard Index (Elder Index) – The Elder Economic Security Standard Index (also known as the Elder Index) measures income adequacy for older adults, similar to…
Elder guardianship – Elder guardianship, or elder conservatorship, is a legal relationship created when a court appoints an individual to care for an…
Electroceuticals – Medical devices that use electrical impulses to provide therapy such as pain control. Deeper dive Tiny electrode devices implanted into…
Electronic health record (EHR) – Also known as an electronic medical records (EMR), this is a digital record of a patient’s medical information and health…
Elevator – A dental instrument used to loosen a tooth before extraction.
Embargo – A press embargo means that a journal article, research study content, announcement or other news item cannot be publicized in…
Embedded deductible – Health insurers embed deductibles when providing family coverage so that each family member has an individual deductible that is lower…
Employee choice – Small businesses using the SHOP exchange are supposed to decide how much they will contribute to workers’ health coverage, and…
Employee welfare benefit plan – The federal Department of Labor defines an employee welfare benefit plan as one that an employer or employee organization would…
Employer mandate – Under the Affordable Care Act, businesses employing more than 50 workers are required to offer affordable health care coverage that…
Employer-group waiver plans (EGWPs) – EGWPs (pronounced egg-whips) are customized health plans under the Medicare Advantage program that are developed exclusively for employers and union…
Employment-based insurance – Many Americans who are employed full time get health insurance for themselves and their family members through their employers. The…
Enamel – The protective white surface layer of the tooth crown; highly mineralized, it is the hardest substance in the body.
Enamel fluorosis – The mottling of tooth enamel caused by excessive fluoride consumption during tooth development. The condition can range from a mild…
Encryption – The process of converting information or data into a code, particularly to prevent unauthorized access. Deeper dive Encryption is an…
Endemic – In biology, an endemic species is one that is native to specific regions. In epidemiology, endemic refers to the circulation…
Endemic – In epidemiology, endemic refers to the circulation of a disease within a certain population or geographic area that continues without…
Endemic – Endemic refers to an organism (or phenomenon) naturally occurring in a particular geographic region without having been artificially introduced. Deeper…
Endocrine-disrupting chemical – Human-made substances that interfere with human hormones and are associated with a variety of health problems. Deeper dive Biomonitoring shows…
Endpoint – The endpoint of a study is an objective outcome the researchers measure when the study concludes to determine the level…
Enteric – The term for a disease of the intestine. It is commonly used in reference to pathogens that have been ingested…
Enteroviruses – A group of viruses that typically occur in the gastrointestinal tract, but on rare occasions, can spread to the central…
Environmental health – This is a part of Public Health that considers the relationship between the environment and human health. It includes both…
Environmental injustice – The disproportionate burden of pollution and other harmful environmental exposures falling mainly on disadvantaged neighborhoods and people with less wealth,…
Environmental justice – Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
Environmental Justice Index – The Environmental Justice Index uses data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to rank the cumulative impacts of environmental injustice on health for every census tract.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – The Environmental Protection Agency is an independent government program that manages environmental health risks, sponsors and conducts research, and develops…
Environmental racism – The term was defined by Robert Bullard in his book “Dumping in Dixie.” Bullard described it as “any policy, practice…
Epidemic – A group of cases of a specific disease or illness clearly more than what one would normally expect in a…
Epidemiological triangle – The components that contribute to the spread of a disease. Deeper diveTo understand how an infectious disease spreads, public health…
Epidemiologist – Scientists who study the causes, patterns, frequency, and locations of diseases, and use the information to prevent future outbreaks. Epidemiologists…
Epidemiology – Epidemiology is the study of disease behavior, particularly at the population level. Epidemiology includes study of both chronic and acute…
Epigenetics – Epigenetics refers to the study of how changes to genes during a person’s lifetime can then be passed on in…
Episode payment for a procedure – Under this form of bundled payment, an insurer makes a single payment for all services associated with delivering a procedure…
EPSDT – The acronym for Medicaid’s child health component. Established in 1967, the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment program entitles…
Equipoise – Although the idea of equipoise is a philosophical concept, it’s important for reporters to understand because it underlies the bioethical…
EQUIPPED (Enhancing Quality of Provider Practices for Older Adults in the Emergency Department) – EQUIPPED is a multi-part quality improvement initiative that combines education, electronic clinical decision support and individual provider feedback to influence…
Eradication – While elimination of a disease occurs when the disease is no longer endemic to a particular geographical region, eradication refers…
ERISA – The federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974 sets requirements for employer-sponsored health plans, both self-insured and fully…
ERISA pre-emption – The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) preempts state law, thwarting state efforts to regulate health insurance that…
Essential health benefits – The essential health benefits under the Affordable Care Act are designed so that every health plan covers a comprehensive list…
Essential health benefits – Essential health benefits are a set of benefits established under the Affordable Care Act to ensure that all plans cover…
Ethnogeriatrics – Ethnogeriatrics is an evolving specialty in geriatric care focusing on health and aging issues in the context of culture for…
Etiology – The cause of a disease or condition; most often etiology refers specifically to the biological mechanisms underpinning a particular condition.
Etiology – Etiology refers to the cause of a disease or condition; most often etiology refers specifically to the biological mechanisms underpinning…
EVALI – E-cigarette or vaping associated lung injury.
Evidence-based medicine – Using evidence-based medicine, physicians and other providers make medical decisions according to the best available scientific research and practices.
Evil Features – A colloquial term used for the six defining features of an assault rifle in the AWB that are intended to…
Exchanges – See Health Insurance Exchanges
Exchanges or health insurance exchanges – The exchanges are marketplaces under the Affordable Care Act in which individuals and small businesses can purchase health insurance. Some…
Excluded services – Excluded services are those that a health insurer deems not to cover under the terms of its contract with an…
Exclusion criteria – These are demographic, health-related or other personal/individual factors that exclude a person from participating in a clinical study. They could…
Exposure – Though a common word in everyday language, exposure must be very precise in medical research, such that even entire papers…

Facilities fee – A charge for seeing a doctor at a hospital-owned facility (even if it looks like a regular outpatient doctor’s office…
Failure to rescue – Failure or delay in recognizing and responding to a hospitalized patient who is experiencing a complication after surgery. Failure to…
Fall risk assessment – Falls are among the most common and most serious problems for older adults. They’re associated with increased mortality, morbidity, reduced…
False balance – A lapse in responsible reporting referring to using outliers’ voices to state opinions that contradict the facts simply to provide…
False balance (false equivalence) – This lapse in responsible reporting refers to using outliers’ voices to state opinions that contradict the facts—or the currently accepted…
Family income level – Under the Affordable Care Act, the federal government uses family income levels to set subsidies for health insurance bought on…
Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) – In the federal and state Medicaid program, the federal government pays each state for the medical services those states deliver…
Federal poverty level – The federal Department of Health and Human Services says the term federal poverty level (or FPL) is ambiguous and should…
Femtech – Software, diagnostics or products and services that use technology to support women’s health. This could include mobile applications for tracking…
Filovirus – Filoviruses are part of a virus family called Filoviridae and are the cause of severe hemorrhagic (internal bleeding) disease in…
Firearm violence – Firearm violence is any conflict, injury or fatality involving a firearm. That includes a wide variety of instances that aren’t…
First-episode psychosis/first psychotic break – The point in time when symptoms of severe mental illness, including a lack of reality, first appear. This initial psychotic…
Five wishes – This concept takes a holistic approach to discussing and documenting a person’s care and comfort choices. Documenting life choices has…
Flattening the Curve – It is a term used to refer to the curve in the projected number of people who will contract a…
Flattening the curve – It is a term used to refer to the curve in the projected number of people who will contract a…
Flavivirus – A kind of virus found primarily in ticks and mosquitos that can occasionally infect humans. Members of this virus family…
Flexible spending accounts (FSAs) – Some employers offer FSAs to allow employees to set aside pretax dollars of their own money for their use throughout…
Fluoride – The ionic form of fluorine, a common element. When consumed in water or in tablets, or applied to the teeth…
Forest plot – A forest plot is a graphic representation of data from a meta-analysis in which the researchers need to show the…
Formulary – A formulary (also called a drug list) is a list of prescription drugs that a health insurer or pharmacy benefit…
Formulary – A formulary can refer to an insurance formulary or a hospital formulary. A formulary in insurance terms is the list…
Frailty – Frailty is usually defined as an aging-related syndrome of physiological decline, characterized by increased vulnerability to adverse health outcomes. Frail…
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) – Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) or Pick’s disease, is the most common form of dementia diagnosed in people under age 60. A…
Full Metal Jacket – A bullet design popularized as the title of a Stanley Kubrick movie about the Vietnam War (1987). (See Bullet.) These bullets,…
Full-time worker – Under the Affordable Care Act, an employee who works an average of at least 30 hours per week is considered…
Fully vaccinated/Up-to-date – The term for receiving the full dosages of vaccines that scientists have determined is the amount needed to build the…
Fungal infection – Fungi are spore producing organisms like yeast, molds, and mushrooms. They are common in the environment and are seen as…

Gain-of-function – The term refers to laboratory techniques used to enhance aspects of a pathogen to make it more deadly and transmissible. This is…
Gas operation – A system which uses the gases from gunpowder to cycle the action. Gas from a discharge is bled off from…
Gene expression – While most people understand that genes contain the DNA “instructions” for how any organism is put together and operates, those…
Generalizability – Generalizability refers to the extent to which findings in a particular study can be applied or extended to populations beyond…
Genotype – An organism’s genotype is the specific genetic material that gives rise to that organism’s characteristics. It usually refers to the…
Geriatric syndromes – Geriatric syndrome is a catch-all term used to describe clinical conditions in older adults that don’t fall into discrete disease…
Gerontechnology – An interdisciplinary field of scientific research combining gerontology (the study of aging) with technology. Gerontechnologists create technology to transform the…
Geropsychology – Geropsychology is a field within psychology devoted to the study of aging and providing clinical services for older adults. Geropsychology…
Geroscience – Geroscience is a research paradigm that connects the biology of aging and biology of age-related diseases. The biological processes of…
Gingival sulcus – An inflammation of the gums caused by an accumulation of dental plaque containing destructive bacteria.
Gingivitis – Related: Water fluoridation: Resources for reporters
Glass ionomer – The gap between the tooth and the surrounding gum tissue. Flossing the teeth helps remove the food debris and plaque…
Global payment – Global payment is a form of capitated payment in which health insurers pay physicians, hospitals and other providers a set…
Glock – A brand of handgun of revolutionary design that has taken military and law enforcement by storm and appears often in…
Gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria – Bacteria are classified based on a chemical stain that can be seen through the microscope. Bacteria that turn purple under…
Grandfathered plans – When Congress passed the Affordable Care Act in 2010, the law allowed all group health plans that were started before…
Grandmothered or transitional health plans – Individual and small-group health insurance plans that became effective after the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law on…
Gray literature – In medical research, gray literature refers to studies that have been conducted but have not been published in a peer-reviewed…
Green Houses/Green House movement – Green Houses are more “homelike” alternatives to nursing homes or large, multi-unit assisted-living facilities. Green Houses, which have been around…
Greenhouse effect – The trapping and build-up of heat in the atmosphere near the Earth’s surface that has led to climate change over the last century.
Group model HMO – A group model health maintenance organization (HMO) is one that contracts with a single multispecialty medical group to provide care…
Guillain–Barré Syndrome – Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rare neurological autoimmune disease in which a person’s immune system attacks parts of the peripheral…
Gun control – Gun control is any legal measure that intends to prevent or restrict the use or possession of firearms.

Habilitation services – The essential benefits requirements of the Affordable Care Act include both habilitation and rehabilitation services. Rehabilitation helps a patient regain…
Hallmarks of Aging – The “hallmarks of aging” are the biochemical, genetic and physiological processes thought to contribute to the aging. These include: Epigenetic…
Hand hygiene – Washing one’s hands is among the most effective ways of reducing the spread of infections. Deeper dive In health care…
Hand, foot and mouth disease – This is a mild contagious viral infection that usually affects children younger than five. Hand foot and mouth disease is…
Handgun – A gun that fits in a person’s hand. Handguns fall into two categories: revolvers and pistols. Revolvers have multiple chambers…
Handpiece – A tooth colored, fluoride-releasing cement used to seal cavity-prone pits and fissures in healthy teeth and to treat decayed surfaces…
Hazard ratio – Hazard ratios, which are often abbreviated HR, are one way researchers report the relative effect of a drug, treatment, or…
Head-to-head trial – In a head-to-head clinical trial, researchers are not comparing an intervention against a placebo or sham control but instead are…
Health care common procedure coding (HCPC) – Is a five-digit numbering system that physicians, hospitals and other health care providers use to standardize professional and outpatient billing…
Health care sharing ministry – Health care sharing ministries are health plans that do not fully comply with the requirements of the Affordable Care Act…
Health care tax deductions – The IRS allows taxpayers to deduct medical expenses, such as copayments, deductibles, coinsurance, hospital and physician bills and medical care-related…
Health disparities – Differences in health status experienced by groups of people disadvantaged because of their race, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status, gender, age,…
Health equity – An ideal envisioned by public health experts in which all people can achieve their best health without being disadvantaged by…
Health in all policies (HiAP) – This public health strategy emerged in Europe and is now gaining traction in the U.S. It calls upon political leaders…
Health Information Exchange (HIE) – Health information exchange is the action of sharing relevant health information electronically among trusted clinical partners regardless of physical location.…
Health insurance exchanges/marketplaces – Under the Affordable Care Act, new health insurance exchanges (called the federal and state marketplaces) were established for people and…
Health insurance tax – When Congress passed the Affordable Care Act (ACA), it included excise taxes on health insurance providers, pharmaceutical manufacturers and importers,…
Health literacy – The definition of health literacy was updated in August 2020 with the release of the U.S. government’s Healthy People 2030…
Health maintenance organizations (HMOs) – An entity that offers prepaid, comprehensive health coverage for both hospital and physician services. HMOs typically have a closed network…
Health reimbursement arrangements – A health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) or health reimbursement account is an employer-funded tax-free account that employees can use to pay…
Health Related Quality of Life – Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is an individual’s or a group’s perceived physical and mental health over time, according to…
Health savings accounts (HSAs) – An HSA has tax advantages because the funds contributed (usually by an employer) are not subject to federal income tax…
Healthspan – A person’s health span is the length of time that the person is healthy—not just alive. Deeper dive It’s thought…
Healthy People 2020 – Health People 2020 is a U.S. federal initiative to improve the nation’s health. Key for health care journalists, though, is…
Healthy user effect – This kind of bias may be at work in studies that find an unexpected benefit associated with treatment. It refers…
Hearing Loss – Hearing loss is a decline in a person’s ability to hear speech and other sounds. Hearing loss can happen when…
Heat island – An urbanized area characterized by temperatures higher than those of outlying areas.
Helminth-caused infections – Helminths are parasitic worms. Worms can be transmitted to humans in fecal material, from insects or from walking barefoot on…
Herd immunity – A means of protecting a whole community from the spread of an infectious disease. The more people (a herd) that…
High out-of-pocket costs – When evaluating employer-sponsored insurance coverage, a household’s spending on out-of-pocket costs includes expenditures for deductibles, copayments and coinsurance for prescription…
High power – An ill-defined term with at least two distinct usages. The older usage was for rifle calibers of .30 or greater…
High premium contributions – When evaluating employer-sponsored coverage, a household’s contributions to the employer’s health insurance premium costs are defined as low or high…
High-capacity magazine – There are different standards for what makes a magazine high-capacity. For guns used for hunting, laws limit magazine capacities to…
High-risk pools – Before the Affordable Care Act (ACA) became effective in January 2014, states offered health insurance coverage to individuals through high-risk…
Hill Criteria for Evaluating Observational Studies – If there’s one phrase that most reporters who cover medical studies can repeat in their sleep, it’s the caution that…
HIPAA – The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is a law intended to make it easier for people…
Hispanic Community Health Study (SOL Study) – The Hispanic Community Health Study (also known as the SOL Study) is an epidemiological project to study health of Hispanic…
Home and community-based waivers – Waivers are designed to meet certain specific needs or provide different benefits than traditional Medicaid. They’re called “waivers” because some…
Horizontal integration – Occurs in health care when companies acquire or merge with other similar companies such as when a health system acquires…
Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) – The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) is a patient-satisfaction survey that the U.S. Centers for Medicare…
Hospital referral regions (HRRs) – A hospital referral region is a regional health care market for specialized medical care. Each of the nation’s 305 HRRs…
Hospital service areas (HSAs) – A hospital service area is a local health care market where residents get most of their hospital care. In the…
Hospital-acquired conditions – People too often suffer medical complications in hospitals that might have been avoided with better care. These include infections, sepsis,…
Human Growth Hormone – Growth hormone fuels childhood growth and helps maintain tissues and organs throughout life. It’s produced by the pituitary gland —…
Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) – A virus that can cause upper and lower respiratory illness in people, especially in older adults, children and those with…
Hybrid health care – Hybrid health care describes the practices of physicians and other providers who offer both telehealth and in-person treatment. These practices…
Hypercementosis – A powered dental instrument that can be fitted with attachments for drilling, grinding and polishing teeth.
Hypodontia – An excessive formation of cementum, the dull yellow external layer of a tooth’s root. The formation, which appears around the…

Iatrogenesis – Iatrogenesis is a common and serious hazard of hospitalization associated with increased patient morbidity and mortality, prolonged hospital stays, and…
Iatrogenic diseases – Iatrogenic disease is a condition induced by a drug prescribed by a physician, after a medical or surgical procedure (excluding…
ICD-10 – ICD, the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision, is a set of codes used by providers in clinical settings to…
ICD-9, ICD-10 and ICD-11 – The International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Tenth Revision, and Eleventh Revision, are the systems used to assign diagnoses of…
Ideopathic – The developmental absence of one or more teeth.
Idiopathic – Idiopathic describes a condition or symptom that occurs without a known cause or explanation. It’s typically used to describe conditions…
Immunity – The ability of the body to respond to and resist bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites based on its ability to…
Immunology – The branch of biology that covers the study of the immune system in all organisms. Immunologists study the physiological function…
Impact factor – In the world of research publishing, a loose hierarchy of journals exists both overall and within individual fields. In science…
Impacted tooth – A term used to describe a disease or condition of unknown origin.
Implicit bias – Learned stereotypes and prejudices that operate automatically and unconsciously when interacting with others. Also referred to as unconscious bias. When…
Imputation – In biostatistics, the results of calculations are only as good as the data used to generate them. If too much…
In vitro vs. in vivo (and in silico) – Experimental research involving new drugs, environmental exposures, or other chemicals or interventions will occur in one of three environments: in…
Incidence – Incidence is the rate of newly diagnosed cases of a disease. It is different from prevalence, the total number of cases in a population.
Inclusion criteria – These are the factors that participants in a clinical trial or other medical study must have in order to enroll…
Income inequality – Also known as the wealth gap, the divide between the rich and the poor has come to broadly define income…
Index of disparity – Used in statistical analysis. The index is developed based on using the usual categories of social determinations such as education or…
Indication – This is the reason a drug, therapy, surgery or other intervention is recommended or prescribed by a doctor. A sign,…
Individual behavior – One of the key factors in the social determinant of health, decisions that a person makes and how they act…
Individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements (ICHRAs) – In 2019, the Trump administration established ICHRAs to allow employers of any size to reimburse employees for some or all…
Individual mandate – The individual mandate is a provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) (and some state laws) that requires individuals to…
Individualized Education Program – An instruction plan for student with disabilities, including mental and/or behavioral disorders. Mandated by the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act…
Infection fatality rate – This is one of two ways of measuring the fatality rate (or risk or ratio) of a particular disease. The…
Infection-to-fatality rate (IFR) – An epidemiology term that quantifies the chances that a person who contracts an infection from a pathogen, will die from…
Infection-to-fatality rate (IFR) – An epidemiology term that quantifies the chances that a person who contracts an infection from a pathogen, will die from…
Infections diseases as cancer cause – Cancer is a set of diseases characterized by abnormal cell growth triggered by a genetic defect. Sometimes an infectious agent…
Infectious – A disease that can be transmitted to other individuals. An infectious disease is a disease that is caused by the…
Infectious disease modeling – Despite great strides in medication, sanitation, hygiene and in animal and pest control, infectious diseases remain an enormous threat to…
Infectious dose – Infectious diseases spread when a healthy person encounters a pathogen expelled by someone sick, such as through a cough, sneeze,…
Infectious dose – Infectious diseases spread when a healthy person encounters a pathogen expelled by someone sick, such as through a cough, sneeze,…
Influenza (flu) – Influenza is a respiratory disease caused by the influenza virus, and is endemic to humanity. The virus is always around,…
Influenza-like illness (ILI) – This is a catch-all term that refers to influenza and other respiratory illnesses in the CDC’s surveillance systems for respiratory disease.
Informatics – Health informatics is the interdisciplinary study of the design, development, adoption and application of information technology-based innovations in health care…
Information blocking – Information blocking is a practice by a health provider or IT vendor, for example, willingly or knowingly interferes or “blocks”…
Informed consent – Informed consent is required for receiving any type of medical intervention, including drugs, surgeries or therapies, and for involvement in…
Ingelfinger rule – This refers to the New England Journal of Medicine submission policy outlined in 1969 by then-editor Franz J. Ingelfinger. He…
Inpatient Prospective Payment System – The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services uses the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) to pay for health care…
Institutional Review Boards – An institutional review board (IRB) is an administrative body that is charged with protecting the rights, privacy, and welfare of…
Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) – Activities of daily living are classified into basic ADLs [link to ADLs] and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) IADLs…
Intent-to-treat population – In a randomized, controlled trial, the intent-to-treat (ITT) population represents all the study subjects who were randomized to the different…
Interim therapeutic restoration – A tooth that remains embedded in bone or tissue because its eruption is blocked or prevented.
Internet of Things (IoT) – The internetworking of physical devices, including household appliances, cars and buildings that are embedded with sensors and network connectivity. These…
Interoperability – Interoperability describes the extent to which systems and devices can exchange data, and interpret that shared data. For systems to…
Invisible risk pool – A program that reimburses insurers for especially high-risk beneficiaries (based on an annual cost threshold or set of diagnoses determined…
IRS Form 8962 – Some consumers buying health insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplaces are offered advance premium tax credits (APTCs) to lower…
Isolation – This policy involves separating people known or suspected to be infected with a contagious disease from those who are not…
Isolation – This policy involves separating people known or suspected to be infected with a contagious disease from those who are not…

Jackson Heart Study – The Jackson Heart Study is a longitudinal project to study heart and stroke risk among Black adults; it has been…

Kaplan-Meier curves – These graphs plot the proportion of individuals surviving without an event over the study period. Time is typically depicted on…

Lab-developed tests (LDTs) – The FDA defines a laboratory developed test as an in vitro diagnostic test (meaning a test of human blood or…
Large group health plan – The federal government defines a group health plan as one that covers workers in an employer-sponsored health plan that has…
Lead time bias – Lead time bias is a common phenomenon to watch out for in screening studies, though it can be relevant in…
Lead toxicity – Sustained exposure to lead can cause long-term health problems, most notably neurological damage. While no level of lead in the…
Life course perspective – The life-course perspective recognizes that aging takes place within a socio-historical context that provides different resources to individuals based on…
Life expectancy – The average number of years that a person can expect to live. This figure is often adjusted for an individual’s…
Life span – The amount of time that someone survives between birth and death. Deeper dive A key question for aging researchers is…
Lifestyle drift – Initiatives that set out to tackle health inequalities often pay lip service to the social determinants of health (quality education,…
Lifetime limit – Under the Affordable Care Act, health insurers cannot set a dollar limit on what they spend on essential health benefits…
Limited benefit plans – These are a type of health insurance coverage that limits coverage to certain specified health care services or treatments or…
Listeria – A bacteria that causes the food-borne illness listeriosis, estimated to affect about 1600 people and kill 260 people each year in the U.S.
Locked and Loaded – Refers to locking the bolt closed on a round that is loaded into the chamber. It generally means “ready to…
LOINC (Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes) – LOINC (Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes) is a worldwide standard for identifying health measurements, observations and documents. This system,…
Loneliness – Feeling alone can have both psychological and physical impacts, from causing aggression or social anxiety to sleep loss, changes in…
Loneliness vs. social isolation – While the terms are often used interchangeably, they’re not the same. Loneliness is the distressing feeling of being alone or…
Long-hauler – A term for a person who is experiencing new, returning or ongoing health problems after COVID-19, the disease caused by…
Long-term services and supports (LTSS) – Long-term services and supports (LTSS) refers to both institutional care and home- and community-based services (HCBS). They are used by…
Longarm – A category of firearms with long barrels designed to be hoisted to the shoulder.
Longevity – The amount of time a person can expect to live under ideal circumstances – ideal nutrition, health care, physical activity,…
Longevity Gene – These so-called “longevity genes.”, are part of a class of proteins known as sirtuins, which help stem cells cope with…
Longitudinal study – A kind of observational study that follows study participants over time. These studies take repeated measurements of the variables of…
Low-income pool (LIP) – This is a revenue stream, currently (mid-2015) in nine states. It’s federal and state dollars that help hospitals that treat…
Luxation – A temporary restoration for a decayed tooth. The treatment, which does not require a drill or local anesthetic, typically employs…
Lyme disease – Lyme disease, in the U.S., is caused by the bacteria B. burgdoreri, and is transmitted through the bite of a…

Machine learning – The science of teaching computers to learn on their own without being programmed to perform specific tasks. Machine learning incorporates…
MACPAC – An advisory committee on Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, MACPAC was established in a 2009 law and expanded…
MACPAC – The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) is an advisory committee established in 2009 to review state and…
Magazine (firearms) – A metal container for holding cartridges for rapid reloading. It differs from a clip in that it also contains a…
Malocclusions – The dislocation of a tooth from its socket.
Mandated benefits – These are benefits state or federal laws require of all health insurance policies to provide to insured individuals. The Marketplace…
Mandible – The crowding or misalignment of the teeth. These include such conditions as overjet, where the front teeth project far forward;…
Market Basket (MB) – CMS uses “market baskets” – a defined set of health expenditures in a defined time period – to measure price…
Market exclusivity – Drug manufacturers use patent protections that the federal Food and Drug Administration grants to market brand-name drugs exclusively in the…
Mass shooting – While there is no official definition, the common understanding is an incident in a public place that kills four or more people and attracts widespread attention.
Mastication – The lower jaw bone; it holds the lower teeth.
Maternal mortality rate – The number of women who die each year per every 100,000 live births. To classify as maternal-related, the death must…
Maternal mortality ratio – Maternal mortality ratio is reported as the number of maternal mortality deaths per 100,000 live births when such a death…
Maxilla – The process of chewing. After food is placed in the mouth, it is moved into position by the cheeks and…
Mean – The average of numbers, calculated by adding all the numbers together and dividing the sum by the number of items.…
Meaningful use – Meaningful Use is the use of certified electronic health record or EHR software in practices, hospitals, clinics, and by other…
Median – The middle number (midpoint) in a series of numbers. If the median age of breast cancer diagnosis is 62, that…
Medicaid – Created in 1965, Medicaid is a health care program for those who have low income or are disabled. The states…
Medicaid best-price rule – Medicaid’s best-price rule requires that state Medicaid programs pay the lowest price at which a drug is sold, meaning the…
Medical device tax – A 2.3% sales tax on medical devices went into effect on Jan. 1, 2013, as part of the Affordable Care…
Medical error/preventable adverse event – Medical error is commonly defined as “the failure of a planned action to be completed as intended or the use…
Medical loss ratio (MLR) – The MLR is the amount a health plan spends on delivering actual health care services to members, administration and marketing…
Medicare – Medicare is a federal health program for all Americans starting at age 65 and for some people with disabilities. Medicare…
Medicare/Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospitals (DSH) – The Medicare and Medicaid programs make payments under the DSH program to boost payment for hospitals serving a significantly disproportionate…
Medication therapy management – Health insurers and health systems use medication therapy management (MTM) to ensure that patients, particularly the elderly, take appropriate medications.…
MEDPAC – The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission is an independent agency established in 1997 to advise Congress on Medicare payment issues, including…
Mental breakdown/nervous breakdown – This happens when anxiety, depression, worry and other often stress-related mental conditions prevent a person from doing their normal, everyday…
Mental health conditions (some of the most common) – These conditions can impair a person’s mood, behavior and emotions. Mental disorders (or mental illnesses) can be short-lived or long-lasting, affecting…
Mental Health First Aid – Mental Health First Aid is a nationwide effort to train the broad public to identify mental illness and substance use disorder. The myriad…
Merit-based incentive payment system (MIPS) – Under MIPS, Medicare will give participating physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, and other eligible clinicians a composite…
Meta-analysis – A meta-analysis is a statistical technique for combining the results from independent studies that have all looked at the same…
Metaverse – The metaverse is a shared virtual environment that people can access through the Internet. It combines aspects of social media,…
Methane – Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that has more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over the…
Microbiome – The microbiome refers to the community of microbes — bacteria, viruses, yeasts, and fungi — that live on and in…
Microplastics – Microplastics are small plastic pieces less than five millimeters long which can be harmful to humans, wildlife and plantlife.
Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) – MERS is a coronavirus that emerged in 2012 in Saudi Arabia and subsequently spread to several other countries. It has…
Mild cognitive impairment – Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is the stage between the expected cognitive decline of normal aging and the more serious decline…
Mild COVID-19 – The CDC classified someone who has COVID-19 symptoms but isn’t sick enough to need hospitalization as having ‘mild’ COVID-19. Deeper…
Military weapon – Ill-defined term that attempts to distinguish between weapons used specifically for military purposes and those for other uses such as…
Millennial – Members of this generation of young adults include those born between 1992 and 2000. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there…
Minimal essential coverage – To meet the individual mandate requirement under the Affordable Care Act, a health insurance plan must meet the minimum of…
Minimally clinically important difference (MCID) – Also called “minimally important difference” or in a slightly different form, “minimally clinically important improvement.” This term refers to the…
Minimum essential coverage – A health plan that meets the individual mandate requirement, including exchange plans, employer-sponsored insurance, or a government plan like Medicaid.…
Mobile health (mhealth) – This refers to health services supported by mobile devices. The emergence of low-cost smartphones and tablets and the proliferation of…
Modern sporting rifle – A term used for weapons which have all the features of assault rifles without automatic fire. The term implicitly contrasts…
Monotherapy – Monotherapy means a person is taking only one medication to treat a particular condition. It generally refers only to the…
Mood disorders – Widely fluctuating emotions are the symptoms of mood disorders. These are among the most common mood disorders: Major depressive disorder is…
Moral hazard – When used in reference to health insurance, the term moral hazard describes how a person’s behavior changes once that person…
Moral injury – The manifestation of life events that are “extreme and unprecedented” that cross a moral line and can cause harm to…
Mortality ratio – When assessing a hospital’s mortality rate, researchers will evaluate the number of patient deaths (mortality) as a ratio that compares…
Mouth mirror – The upper jaw bone.
Mpox – On Nov. 28, the World Health Organization renamed monkeypox disease as ‘mpox’ to remove the ‘racist and stigmatizing’ language that…
Multifactor authentication – A security feature that requires multiple pieces of information to confirm the identity of someone requesting access to an online…
Multiple-employer welfare arrangement (MEWA) – Also known as a multiple employer trust (MET), a MEWA allows a group of employers to combine their contributions to…
Multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) – This is a rare and potentially life-threatening inflammatory response associated with COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the SARS-Cov-2 virus.…
Mutations – All viruses, including coronaviruses, replicate by attaching themselves to a living cell and subvert the cell’s DNA (the blueprint that…

National Drug Code – Prescription drugs sold in the United States are identified using a three-segment number called the National Drug Code (NDC) that…
National Family Caregiver Support Program – The National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP) provides grants to states and territories to help family and informal caregivers care…
Nationwide Health Information Network – A set of common standards, services and policies that allow for secure exchange of information over the Internet. Deeper dive…
Natural history study – These medical papers aim to explain the etiology, or origin, of a condition, its natural course and progression, and the…
Natural immunity – This term refers to someone who has gotten sick and developed an immune defense against the disease-causing pathogen. Vaccines help…
Natural language processing (NLP) – Natural language processing is the capability of computers to understand human language. If you’ve ever gotten into an automated phone…
Naturalistic study – Instead of creating an intervention or designing an observational study in which there is interaction with the participants (surveys, measurements,…
Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities – NORCs are communities or buildings where a large proportion of residents are older, and live independently. They are not comprehensive…
Navigators – https://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Programs-and-Initiatives/Health-Insurance-Marketplaces/assistance Health insurance navigators provide in-person assistance to consumers, small businesses and their employers when enrolling in insurance plans under…
Near miss – Incidents that would have led to an adverse event if it hadn’t been for luck or early detection far outnumber…
Negative predictive value – This is a measure of accuracy for screening tests that refers to true negatives — the probability that subjects with…
Neglected tropical diseases – Diseases that could be controlled or even eliminated through mass administration of medication or vaccination but haven’t been because of…
Net neutrality – Net neutrality protects equal treatment of all data that travels over internet networks fairly, with no discrimination and no blocking…
Network adequacy – Insurers, consumer advocates and insurance regulators evaluate the adequacy of a physician or hospital network based on the ability of…
Networks – Health insurance plans contract with hospitals, physicians, clinical laboratories and other health care providers to supply in-network care at rates…
Networks – Health plans make a distinction between in-network coverage and out-of network coverage. When health plans contract with doctors, hospitals, clinical…
Never event/serious reportable event – Some adverse events do serious harm and are considered to be entirely preventable. Examples are surgery on the wrong site…
New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen – In 2022, the Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment protects the right to carry a loaded handgun in public for self-defense
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) – Nitrogen dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released into the air from the exhaust of motor vehicles and the burning of…
Nitrogen fixation – Nitrogen fixation is the natural or industrial process that causes free nitrogen (N2).
Nitrogen leaching – Nitrogen leaching happens when soil reaches a point where it cannot hold any more water and the air spaces between soil particles become filled with water.
Nocebo effect – The opposite of the placebo effect, a nocebo effect describes side effects or increased symptoms, rather than symptom improvement, that…
Noma – An instrument, also called a dental mirror, that is fitted with a handle and used in the examination of the…
Non-cavitated lesion – A disfiguring, often fatal gangrenous disease that begins with ulcers in the mouth. Its chief victims are young children living…
Non-claims costs – Non-claims costs are what health insurers pay for cost containment strategies, claims adjustment, sales department salaries and benefits, fees and…
Non-communicable diseases – Non-communicable diseases are usually chronic illnesses that aren’t physically transmissible from person to person and last three months or longer.…
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) – NCDs are often called lifestyle diseases because their origins stem from behaviors humans may be able to control such as…
Non-embedded deductible – Health insurers offer non-embedded deductibles when providing family coverage. A non-embedded deductible means the total family deductible must be paid…
Non-inferiority – Non-inferiority refers to a characteristic of a drug indicating that it works at least as well as another drug, often…
Non-participating provider – A non-participating provider is an out-of-network physician, hospital, or other health care provider that can charge whatever the market will…
Non-preferred drugs – Non-preferred drugs are usually brand-name medications (although in rare instances, there are non-preferred generic drugs). As a result of not…
Nosocomial – This term is usually used in reference to an infection acquired while under medical care, usually at a hospital. A…
Note bloat – Patient progress notes have become long and overwrought due to cut-and-paste functions and expandable templates in electronic health records (EHRs),…
Number needed to harm – This number is similar to the number needed to treat (NNT) in the opposite direction: It is the number of…
Number needed to treat – The number needed to treat, or NNT, is a way to sum up treatment effect, and unlike some statistical concepts,…
Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders (NICHE) – NICHE is a widely adopted nurse-driven program that helps hospitals and healthcare organizations improve the care of older adults. The…
Nutrigenomics – This up-and-coming field looks at how nutrients from food can impact how one’s individual genes are expressed. This field of…

Objective – An objective is the reason for doing a study, what the researchers want to accomplish. The objective could be to…
Objective vs. outcome vs. endpoint – These three terms are often confused, particularly outcome and endpoint, which are sometimes synonyms and other times separated by a…
OBRA – An early stage in the tooth decay process. At this stage, a fluoride treatment or sealant may stop or reverse…
Observation care – Observation care is meant to apply to patients who aren’t sick enough to be admitted to inpatient wards but who…
Observational study – In observational studies, researchers look for differences between exposed and unexposed groups, after people have already made their own lifestyle…
Observed-to-expected (O/E) mortality ratio – The observed mortality rate is divided by the expected mortality rate to create the observed-to-expected mortality (O/E) ratio. A lower…
Off-exchange enrollment – Enrollment in the individual market in plans outside the exchange. Most meet ACA requirements. However, starting in late 2018, the…
Off-label – When a clinician prescribes a drug for any purpose or to a population other than what the U.S. Food and…
Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) – The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) leads the administration’s health IT efforts and is charged…
Older Americans Act – This groundbreaking legislation, enacted in 1965, was the first national initiative to address a widespread lack of community-based services for…
Older Americans Independence Centers (OAIC) – The program was established in honor of the late Congressional Representative Claude D. Pepper, to create centers of excellence in…
One Health – One Health is a growing field within public health that embraces the connection between animals, humans and the environment and…
One Health – One Health is a growing field within public health that embraces the connection between animals, humans and the environment and…
Open label studies – In an open label study, both the study participants/patients and the researchers/providers know what drug or treatment the participants are…
OpenNotes – OpenNotes is an international movement that advocates for transparent communication in health care and studies the effects of shared notes…
OpenNotes – OpenNotes is a national effort designed to give patients access to the visit notes written by their doctors, nurses, or…
Opportunistic infection – An infection caused by pathogens — a bacteria, fungi, parasite, or virus — that has taken advantage of a person’s…
Oral and pharyngeal cancers – The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987, along with subsequent federal regulations, aimed to improve standards in nursing home care…
Oral bullae – A diverse group of tumors of the lips, tongue, pharynx and oral cavity. Usually squamous cell carcinomas, they are counted…
Oral flora – Oral blisters
Oral health literacy – The bacteria that colonize the mouth.
Oral mucosa – The ability to obtain, process and understand the basic information needed to make appropriate oral health decisions. Beyond basic reading,…
Oral mucositis – A mucous membrane that covers the tissues within the oral cavity. It serves as a protective barrier against chemical irritants,…
Organogenesis – The inflammation and ulceration of the mucosal lining of the mouth; a common and painful complication of radiation and chemotherapy…
Oropharyngeal Cancers – The formation and differentiation of organs and their systems within a developing embryo.
Osteonecrosis of the jaw – Cancers of the back of the throat, including the base of the tongue and tonsils.
Osteopenia – Osteopenia is a loss of bone mineral density that weakens bones, but bone mass is not low enough to be…
Osteoporosis – Osteoporosis is low bone mineral density caused by altered bone microstructure, ultimately predisposing people to low-impact, fragility fractures. Osteoporotic fractures…
Out-of-network billing – This occurs when a patient goes out-of-network for care. Sometimes bills from out-of-network providers can be much higher than what…
Out-of-pocket limit (or out-of-pocket cap or maximum) – This limit is the most a consumer would pay during a policy period (usually a year) before health insurance would…
Outbreak – A disease outbreak is the occurrence of cases of a disease more than what would normally be expected in a…
Outbreak culture – Outbreak culture is a term to describe the collective mindset that develops within communities and by public health and humanitarian…
Outcome – An outcome is any measure of the patient’s health, such as a score on a pain or disease severity scale,…
Overall survival – Overall survival refers to how long a person lives from the time they were diagnosed with a condition until the…
Overdiagnosis, Overtreatment – There’s been growing awareness in recent years of the risk posed to patients from exposure to tests and treatments that…
Ozone (O3) – Ozone (O₃) is a gas composed of three oxygen atoms that occurs in the Earth’s upper atmosphere and absorbs radiation…

P-hacking – P-hacking is data diving, data fishing, data mining, or any other term (dredging, snooping, etc.) that describes manipulating or rearranging…
Palliative care – Palliative care is a unique medical specialty that takes a holistic, integrated approach to provide patients with relief of symptoms…
Pandemic – The definition is subject to debate among public health officials and scientists, but generally it is an epidemic extending over…
Partial Medicaid expansion – Several states are seeking permission from CMS to do a partial Medicaid expansion – up to 100 percent of poverty,…
Participating provider – A participating provider is a physician, hospital, or other health care provider that a health insurer designates as in-network in…
Parts per million (ppm) – Parts per million (ppm) is the number of units of mass of a contaminant per million units of total mass.…
Patent protections – Pharmaceutical companies use patents from the federal Food and Drug Administration to gain market exclusivity on their medications and other…
Pathogen – Any organism that causes disease. Pathogens include bacteria, virus, and fungi. The body comes in contact constantly with pathogens, but…
Pathogenesis – In the simplest terms, pathogenesis describes how a disease begins and develops. In medical studies, researchers may discuss pathogenesis in…
Patient dumping – A statutorily imposed liability that occurs when a hospital capable of providing the necessary medical care transfers a patient to…
Patient harm – This is a blanket term for harm to a patient that results from medical care or a failure to provide…
Patient matching – An umbrella term used to describe the processes involved in correctly identifying a patient and linking that patient’s electronic medical…
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act – See Affordable Care Act
Patient registry – A computer database of confidential patient information, usually on a specific disease or condition, used to conduct population health management.…
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic chemicals that do not fully break down in the environment or human body,…
Per-protocol population – The per-protocol population is the group of subjects in a randomized-controlled trial that most closely stuck to their treatment regimens.…
Periapical abscess – An oral lesion involving exposed bone in the jaw.
Periodontal disease – A pocket of pus at the apex of the root of a tooth, caused by an infection.
Permanent teeth – or adult teeth – Bacterially-caused infections of the oral surfaces, including gingivitis, an inflammation of the gums; and periodontitis which may involve both the…
Person-centered care – Person centered care (PCC) is a process that “moves decision-making directly to the individual despite frailty, cognitive impairment or the…
Pertussis – Pertussis is also known as whooping cough. It is a contagious respiratory disease, spread by air droplets in breath, and…
PET scan – Positron emission tomography, a type of medical imaging test that uses a radioactive dye that doctors can see moving through…
PFAS – These are per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemical substances that are made up of chemicals that accumulate over time in people, animals…
Pharmacotherapy – Use of medications to treat a condition is pharmacotherapy. Two types of pharmacotherapy are polypharmacy — use of more than…
Pharmacy benefit rebates – To control the cost of prescription drugs, pharmacy benefit managers negotiate rebates with drug manufacturers and say they pass these…
Pharmacy gag orders – Under the contracts pharmacies have with pharmacy benefit managers, neither side can disclose the actual amounts pharmacies pay or how…
Pharynx – There are 28 to 32 of them, depending upon whether the four wisdom teeth, also known as third molars, are…
Phases of Clinical Testing – New drugs and devices typically go through four, and sometimes five, phases of clinical testing. Three of these happen before…
Phenotype – This term refers to the physical or otherwise observable characteristics of an organism or some aspect of an organism, such…
Phishing – A “lure” that entices an unwitting user to grant a thief remote access to proprietary data. For instance, a victim…
Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) – This is a reporting program from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for physicians and other providers.
Physician-assisted death – Physician-assisted death (PAD) refers to the practice of a physician providing a potentially lethal medication to a terminally ill, suffering…
Pistol – A handgun with one chamber per barrel. A semiautomatic pistol has a magazine in the gun’s grip.
Pistol brace – A brace similar to a crutch design in which stabilizing metal bands surround the user’s arms. Such bands are used…
Placebo effect – A placebo is a “fake” medicine or treatment intended to substitute for the real one, most commonly used for the…
Plan Year – The date that a health plan begins. Some of the new rules under the health law may go into effect…
Poison bullet – A bullet design to produce maximum damage through tumbling and/or fragmentation. This is done by creating an empty space inside…
Political determinants of health – Some health policy experts say politics has such a strong influence on social conditions that affect health outcomes that the…
Polygenic risk score – Polygenic risk score is a mathematical formula based on genetic test results that reflect the cumulative effect of many different…
Polypharmacy – Polypharmacy refers to the use of multiple drugs, whether to treat a single condition or to treat multiple conditions (related…
Polyvictimization – This term refers to people 60 and older who are harmed through multiple co-occurring or sequential types of elder abuse…
Population health – A term used in the health assessment of an entire group of people. “Population” often refers to those in a…
Population health management – This is the aggregation of patient data across multiple health IT resources, analyzing that data, and using that data to…
Portal/patient portal – An access point to an online system. The word “portal“ is frequently used by hospitals and insurers as shorthand for…
Positive aging – This concept has many definitions but one from The New Zealand Ministry of Social Development may best summarize the idea:…
Positive predictive value – This is a measure of accuracy for screening tests that refers to true positives — the probability that subjects with…
Positivity rate – This refers to the percent of COVID-19 tests with positive results over a seven to 14-day period. As part of…
Post hoc analysis – A post hoc analysis refers to analyzing data for reasons that differ from the reason the data was originally collected.…
Post-acute sequelae COVID (P.A.S.C) – This is new terminology used by the CDC to describe long COVID, long-haul COVID or chronic COVID. Deeper dive Sequelae means the aftereffect of…
Post-claims underwriting – When a health insurer investigates a consumer’s health history after selling that consumer a health plan and usually after a…
Post-vaccination infection – No vaccine is 100% effective, as some people don’t mount an immune response and pathogens mutate to evade vaccines, but…
Practice guideline – Practice guidelines are developed by a panel of experts, frequently convened as a group within a professional medical society, that…
Pragmatic study – Pragmatic trials have a different purpose than explanatory trials, which typically include the usual randomized controlled trials, epidemiological studies and…
Pre-authorization or prior approval – Health insurers often require physicians or patients to get prior approval pre-authorization for expensive diagnostic tests or procedures. Failing to…
Preadmission certification – An authorization from a health insurer to a patient for a hospital admission before the patient is admitted. Failing to…
Preadmission testing – Health insurers often require patients to get any necessary diagnostic testing done before a non-emergency hospital admission.
Predictive analytics – Predictive analytics is the branch of advanced analytics, and is used to make predictions about future events. Predictive analytics applies…
Preferred drugs – A preferred drug is usually a brand-name medication that a health insurer has clinically reviewed and approved for use based…
Pregnancy-associated mortality – Pregnancy-associated mortality is a death while pregnant or within one year of the end of pregnancy, regardless of cause.The pregnancy-related…
Pregnancy-related mortality – Pregnancy-related mortality is a death during pregnancy or within a year of the end of pregnancy from a pregnancy complication,…
Premature mortality – An alternative way to compare the health of different populations is to add up the potential years life lost (PYLL)…
Premium deficiency reserve (PDR) – This is the amount an insurer would need if the expected premiums to be collected would not cover future claims…
Premium rate review – State insurance departments use the premium rate review to review and accept, revise or reject health insurers’ rate requests.
Premium shock – Critics of the Affordable Care Act use the term premium shock to describe the rising cost of health insurance premiums…
Premium stabilization – When the Affordable Care Act became effective on Jan. 1, 2014, the law included three tools to encourage health plans…
Premium support – Proposal to give people a voucher or coupon to help pay for health insurance. At the moment, it’s most often…
Premium surplus – Premium surplus is the amount insurers report as profit or reserved capital and calculated by subtracting costs for paying medical…
Premolar – The throat
Preprint – A preprint is a full draft of a research study shared online before it goes through the peer review process.…
Prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) – A state-run electronic database used to track patient prescriptions of controlled substances, especially opioids. Physicians and pharmacists (and sometimes law…
Presumptive positive – This is a term used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention related to the diagnostic testing process for…
Presumptive positive – This is a term used in the early days of the pandemic by the CDC related to the diagnostic testing…
Prevalence – Prevalence is one of two key epidemiological terms that refers to the total existing cases of a disease, injury, or…
Prevalence – Prevalence is the total of cases of a disease existing in a population. It’s different from incidence, the rate of newly diagnosed cases.
Prevalence – A bicuspid, or double-cusped tooth, located between the sharp incisor teeth in front of the mouth and the larger molar…
Price transparency – Price transparency refers to a movement to provide consumers with the cost of the individual services of health care, such…
Priming – This phenomenon is particularly important for psychology, sociology and other social science studies, though it can also sometimes be relevant…
Principal investigator – Think of a principal investigator (PI) of a clinical trial as similar to the producer of a film. The PI,…
Prion diseases – Prion diseases, also called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are a family of rare brain disorders. The disease agent is believed…
Prior authorization – Insurers sometimes ask doctors and other clinicians to provide more information about intended treatments and medicines for patients before agreeing…
Private equity – Private equity companies invest in businesses that turn a profit or have strong cash flow or both. Often, these investors…
Private health insurance – The federal government defines private health insurance as that which an individual would get through a comprehensive private insurance plan,…
Private option – Remember the debate over the “public option” in the health law? Some states have pursued what’s been dubbed the “private…
Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) – PACE is a Medicare and Medicaid program that helps people meet their health care needs in the community instead of…
Progression-free survival – Progression-free survival is an endpoint used in cancer studies. It measures how much time passes (usually measured in months) from…
Prospective payment – Used in some payment models when an insurer pays a provider before care is delivered. The amount of payment does…
Prospective study – A prospective study follows people forward in time. The advantage of prospective research is that researchers can pose a question…
Prostate cancer – Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men in the United States, behind only skin cancer. It is…
Protected Health Information (PHI) – This term, first mentioned in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996, refers to any identifiable information…
Psychoneuroimmunology – Sometimes referred to as psychoendoneuroimmunology, psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) is the study of the interaction of the brain and the body. More…
Public health – Although sometimes used interchangeably with the term population health, “public health” is increasingly used to reference a narrower set of…
Public health model (firearm violence reporting) – Presenting how a person and a community’s quality of life puts them at a greater or lessor risk of being involved in a shooting or dying by suicide.
Public option – A public option refers to a health insurance program that a state or the federal government would make available to…
Public option – Early versions of the Affordable Care Act included a public option, in which a government-run health insurer would serve to…
Publication bias – Publication bias refers to differences between studies that get published in medical journals and those that do not. A 1991…
Pulp – In epidemiology, the measure of how many existing cases of a disease or condition are found in a population at…

QHP-eligible uninsured population – This is a number that federal health authorities calculate based on the number of uninsured individuals ages 0 to 64…
Qualified Health Plan (QHP) – An insurance plan that is certified by the exchange/marketplace. It has to meet all the legal requirements such as providing…
Qualified health plans (QHPs) – These are certified health insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act that meet certain criteria allowing them to be offered…
Qualified small employer health reimbursement arrangements (QSEHRAs) – These were established under the Cures Act of 2016 to allow small employers with fewer than 50 full-time equivalent employees…
Qualifying life event – See Special Enrollment Period.
Quality Adjusted Life Years – Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALY) measures the value and benefit of health outcomes. It’s used to guide and inform health…
Quality Indicator Survey (QIS) process – The Quality Indicator Survey (QIS) process is one of the two types of CMS-approved surveys (along with the traditional standard…
Quality of life trial – Instead of testing how well a particular intervention treats a disease or its symptoms, a trial focused on quality of…
Quality-adjusted life year (QALY) – A measure used to quantify the value of treatment by measuring the time a patient lives and the quality of…
Quality-adjusted life-year – A quality-adjusted life-year, abbreviated as QALY, is a mathematically derived measurement intended to capture both quality and quantity of life.…
Quarantine and isolation – These are terms that are often confused by the public. A quarantine involves restricting the moment of a healthy person…
Quarantine and isolation – These are terms that are often confused by the public. A quarantine involves restricting the moment of a healthy person…

R-naught/R0 – R0 (pronounced R-naught) is a number epidemiologists use to determine the infectiousness of a disease and a community’s susceptibility to…
R-naught/R0 – R0 (pronounced R-naught) is a number epidemiologists use to determine the infectiousness of a disease and a community’s susceptibility to…
Randomization – Trials that compare an intervention to two groups usually require randomization, where participants enrolled in the trial are randomly assigned…
Randomized controlled trial – A randomized controlled trial, or RCT, is a specific kind of scientific experiment in which researchers screen and recruit people,…
Ransomware – A type of malware (malicious software) that attempts to deny access to a user’s own data by encrypting the data…
Rate review – The process through which state insurance officials review proposed premium increases. Some states can approve or disapprove rates while others…
RE-AIM Framework – This is a model for planning, executing, and evaluating efforts to implement population-level changes in the health and well-being of…
Readmission – This is usually used as shorthand for when a patient returns to the hospital within 30 days. Patients can of…
Readmission rates – Beginning in 2012, the federal Medicare program reduced what it pays hospitals with high readmission rates for patients discharged (and…
Recall bias – This type of bias refers to a research participant’s difficulty in accurately remembering information they are asked for in a…
Red flag laws – Red flag laws, also called gun violence restraining orders or extreme risk protection orders, allow loved ones or law enforcement…
Reference pricing – Employers and health plans sometimes set a certain price limit (the reference price) when reimbursing employees or plan members for…
Regenerative Medicine – Regenerative medicine (RM) encompasses an emerging field of specialty medicine with the goal of replacing, engineering, or regenerating human cells,…
Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO) – A Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO) (pronounced “Rio“) is an entity that provides health information exchange services to participating stakeholders…
Rehabilitation services – The essential benefits requirements of the health law include both habilitation and rehabilitation services. Rehabilitation helps a patient regain an…
Reinsurance – During the first three years under the Affordable Care Act (2014 through 2016), the law called for a temporary reinsurance…
Reinsurance – This is what it sounds like – insurance for the insurers. Reinsurance provides a backstop so an insurer doesn’t end…
Relative risk – Relative risk, usually abbreviated RR, is a comparison of risk levels between two groups in a study, usually the treatment…
Relative value units (RVUs) – The federal Medicare program makes payments to physicians based on their relative value units (RVUs), which reflect a relative level…
Remote patient monitoring – Remote patient monitoring is the use of technology to monitor the health of patients outside of conventional clinical settings. This…
Repeater – A firearm with a magazine that can hold more than one cartridge at a time.
Reporting Biases – According to the Cochrane Collaboration, reporting biases arise when the dissemination of information is skewed by the “nature and direction”…
Rescission – Retroactive cancellation of health insurance policy, usually after someone files a claim. This is illegal under the Affordable Care Act…
Reserve capacity – Higher social standing may help people build psychological resources, or a reserve capacity, to cope with stressors more resiliently so…
Resilience – Resilience is generally defined as how people cope with and bounce back from stress, adverse events and major life changes…
Resilience – The ability to recover or “bounce back” from difficult situations or challenging circumstances. Such capacity could be at an individual…
Resource based relative value scale (RBRVS) – In 1992, the federal Medicare program introduced the Resource-based Relative Value Scale (RBRVS) system to quantify physicians’ work and to…
Retrospective payment – A common form of payment used for fee-for-service payment is retrospective, meaning a provider delivers care, totals the costs for…
Retrospective study – Retrospective studies are observational studies that look back in time. In retrospective studies, researchers start with a population that’s already…
Reverse causality – Also called reverse causation, reverse causality becomes a possibility when the “effect” of something could actually be its cause. For…
Revolver – A handgun that contains a rotating cylinder that holds multiple cartridges, usually six. Each time it’s fired the barrel rotates to line up a new cartridge.
Rifling – Spiral grooves running down the length of the bore which engrave the bullet as it travels, imparting spin which stabilizes…
Rimfire – An older design for ammunition in which the primer is distributed around a rim, protruding outwardly around the case head…
Ring vaccination – This is a public health strategy aimed at halting the spread of a viral infection. It involves vaccinating all people…
Risk – The word “risk” often connotes danger: The risk of getting cancer. But in medicine, risk is a ratio that’s used…
Risk adjustment – The risk adjustment program under the ACA is permanent and designed to reinforce rules that prohibit risk selection. Under the…
Risk Adjustment – This is a way of spreading the financial risk that insurers bear – in and out of the exchanges –…
Risk Corridors – Given the uncertainty for insurers in the exchanges the first few years, risk corridors were established to enable the federal…
Risk pool – The risk pool is a group of individuals who get health insurance from one source, for example those who get…
Risk ratio – A commonly used effect size used to quantify research findings is a risk ratio, another word for relative risk. The…
Risk score – Health insurers assign a numeric value to patients when adjusting payment to providers based on the level of illness in…
Risk stratification – Health insurers use risk stratification to adjust payments based on differences in patient characteristics. Health plans assign patients to two…
Risk-adjusted mortality rate – In the plainest terms, a risk-adjusted mortality rate means that a mortality rate has been statistically adjusted to account for…
RNA vaccine – This is a class of vaccines that utilizes a piece of genetic information from a specific pathogen to produce an…
Root cause analyses – Root cause analyses, or RCAs, are performed by interdisciplinary teams involving everyone who is closest to the incident, and they…
Round – Synonymous with cartridge. Its likely etymology is a reference to repetition (as in boxing round) or, possibly, ammunition for cannons consisting…
Route of exposure – In talking about exposure to drugs, supplements, environmental contaminants, etc., it’s important not only to consider the dosage/concentration and duration…
Run-in period/phase – A run-in phase or run-in period describes the period before the trial starts when all possible study participants are given…
Rural – In general, “rural” refers to places outside of a city, or as HHS’s Health Resources and Services Administration puts it:…
Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program – Enacted in 1990, this program is the largest federal program specifically for people with HIV/AIDS and serves more than half…

Safety (firearms) – A switch on a gun that prevents a gun from firing by blocking the trigger mechanism.
Safety signal – A safety signal is any trend, pattern, set of symptoms or other indicator that a drug or intervention may have…
Saliva – This fluid, produced by the salivary glands, aids digestion and protects the oral tissues.
Salivaomics – Technologies that employ saliva as a medium for detecting and monitoring disease.
Salivary glands – A complex of glands that surround the oral cavity and produce and secrete saliva. They include three major pairs of…
SARS-CoV-2 or SARS-CoV-2019 – On February 11, 2020, the World Health Organization officially named the coronavirus causing illness, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) 2,…
SARS-CoV-2 variants – A variant is a strain of SARS-CoV-2 with one or more mutations to its viral genome (genetic code). Deeper dive…
Scaling and root planing – A “deep cleaning” treatment for periodontal disease that removes bacteria and dental plaque from gum pockets and root surfaces.
Scoping review – Scoping reviews are not brand new, but for reasons that are unclear, they seem to be becoming more common. Reporters…
Screening – Screening is a medical intervention or strategy that looks for the possible presence of a condition that has not yet…
Scrubber – A scrubber is a device or process for removing pollutants from industrial exhaust streams.
Sea level rise – Sea level rise brought on by human caused climate change will displace millions of people and ravage coast lines around…
Second surgical opinion – Health insurers often require patients to get the opinion of a second doctor after one physician has recommended a non-emergency…
Secondary endpoint – In addition to the primary endpoint reported in a study, researchers may measure and report secondary endpoints as well. These…
Section 1115 Waiver – States can negotiate these waivers with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to modify their Medicaid and CHIIP…
Section 1115A – Section 1115A of the Social Security Act was added to the Affordable Care Act to establish the Center for Medicare…
Secure gun storage – Secure gun storage involves keeping a loaded gun locked and separate from its ammunition. Storage involves safes and gun locks.
Selection bias – This bias is present in many studies and can sometimes completely invalidate the findings if the authors do not adequately…
Self-controlled case series – In a “controlled” study, the participants receiving an intervention are compared to a control group of participants who don’t receive…
Self-insured employer – A self-insured employer or purchaser (also called a self-funded employer or purchaser) sets funds aside to pay claims for health…
Self-insured plan – Usually involving larger businesses, in these plans the employer collects the premiums and pays the medical claims for workers and…
Self-pay patients – A self-pay patient pays a provider for his or her entire charge for a service from the patient’s own funds,…
Semiautomatic rifle – A semiautomatic rifle is a weapon designed to be fired from the shoulder and shoots a single bullet with each pull of the trigger.
Sensitivity – A way of measuring the accuracy of a screening, diagnostic, monitoring or other test in terms of how many people…
Sensitivity analysis – Any time researchers calculate results in an observational study, they have to make certain assumptions about what does and does…
Sepsis – Sepsis is an extreme bodily response to an infection.
Sequelae – This is a fancy word for all the effects or complications, typically long-term, that occur as a result of a…
Sequestration – Automatic budget cuts. It can be across the board, or some programs or agencies can be exempted or partially shielded…
Serologic test – A blood test to detect the presence of antibodies against a microorganism.
Serologic test – A blood test to detect the presence of antibodies against a microorganism. Deeper dive Antibodies are proteins that the body…
SES-health gradient – Health and longevity tend to decrease with poverty and social isolation, and increase with wealth and social status. This link…
Seven pillars of aging – Interwoven processes that promote aging and progression of age-related diseases and disabilities which include: stress adaptation, epigenetics, inflammation, macromolecular damage,…
Sex vs. gender – Two of the most commonly confused concepts in everyday language are sex and gender. Most often, the confusion is a…
Sexual orientation – Sometimes confused with gender identity, sexual orientation refers to one’s attraction to other people based on their sex. Heterosexuals are…
Shadow pricing – Shadow pricing describes a practice pharmaceutical companies use to raise prices on prescription drugs by raising prices in lockstep with…
Shared decision making (SDM) – SDM is a process some health plans and provider groups use to help patients and physicians make health care decisions…
Shared risk – Under a shared-risk program, the providers would have some loss of funds when spending exceeds an established target. Capitated payment,…
Shared savings – In a shared savings program, an insurer will share the savings with a provider or a group of providers if…
Shared-savings ACO – A shared-savings accountable care organization (ACO) is a Medicare initiative for physicians, hospitals, and other health care providers seeking to…
Shingles in older adults – Shingles (also called herpes zoster, or just zoster) is a painful skin rash that usually has blisters. Although shingles can…
SHOP Exchanges – The Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) is designed to help small businesses in every state provide health insurance coverage…
Side effect – A side effect is a health symptom or condition that occurs as a result of a drug, vaccine, surgery, procedure…
Sidearm – Synonym for a handgun. Source: UC Davis Campus Community Book Project
Silver diamine fluoride – A topical medicament that is used in the treatment of dental sensitivity and increasingly, as a minimally invasive treatment for…
Single-payer health care – Single-payer national health insurance is a system in which a single public agency would organize health care financing and replace…
Single-shot/action – An action without a magazine that can only load one cartridge at a time directly into the chamber. Single-action can…
Sjögren’s Syndrome – A topical medicament that is used in the treatment of dental sensitivity and increasingly, as a minimally invasive treatment for…
Skin changes, age-related – Aging means increased risk for skin injury, according to the National Library of Medicine. The skin is thinner, more fragile,…
Small business health options program (SHOP) exchanges – The Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) provides health and/or dental insurance coverage for businesses in every state. They are…
Smishing and vishing – By now, most of us are familiar with phishing, the practice of sending emails that appear as if they are…
Snooping – Incidents where staff at hospitals access someone’s medical records without authorization or being directly involved in the patient’s care. In…
Social aging – Social aging refers to changes in a person’s roles and relationships, both within their networks of relatives and friends and…
Social capital – Unlike traditional wealth, social capital is a nod to the relationship connections in one’s life that cannot be given financial…
Social construction of aging – The creation of social norms and symbols that encapsulates the aging process. While aging itself is a biological process, what…
Social desirability bias – Social desirability bias is a type of bias that can commonly occur with any type of self-reported data. It refers…
Social determinants of health – Social determinants of health are factors not related to medicine that can influence a person’s health outcomes. That means the…
Social determinants of health – The conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age are mostly responsible for health inequalities—the unfair and…
Social determinants of health (SDoH) – The federal Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion defines SDoH as conditions in the environment where people are born,…
Social epidemiology – Social epidemiology is a subset of epidemiology. It is the study of causes, patterns, frequency and locations of diseases to…
Social gerontology – Social gerontology is a subfield of gerontology that focuses on the social as opposed to the physical or biological aspects…
Social portfolio – A method of enhancing one’s pathway through mid to late life phases; Deeper Dive The social portfolio consists of an…
Social Vulnerability Index – This uses 16 U.S. census variables to help local officials identify communities that may need support before, during or after disasters.
Socioeconomic status (SES) – A person’s social class, or place in the hierarchy of power and self-determination can be quantified using measures of socioeconomic…
Software bill of materials (SBOM) – A list of ingredients that make up software components. This is emerging as a key building block in software security.…
Solastalgia – Solastalgia is a feeling of emotional or existential distress caused by climate and environmental change.
Specialty drugs – Specialty pharmaceuticals include bioengineered proteins, complex molecules and can be derived from blood.
Specialty pharmacies – These state-licensed pharmacies focus on providing medications for patients with serious health conditions such as bleeding disorders, cancer, cystic fibrosis,…
Specificity – A measure of a screening, diagnostic, monitoring or other lab test’s accuracy in terms of the true negative rate —…
Spillover – A spillover event, infection, pathogen or disease occurs when a zoonotic pathogen infects a new host species like humans.
Spontaneous vaginal delivery – A spontaneous vaginal delivery is a natural process that usually does not require significant medical intervention. Such a delivery at…
Staff model HMO – A staff model health maintenance organization (HMO) is a type of closed-panel HMO, meaning patients can receive services only through…
Staffing shortages – The stresses of the pandemic are considered likely to cause more doctors, nurses and other health professionals to retire early…
Stages of caregiving – Caregiving evolves through several stages–it may be referenced as four or five, depending on the source – and each brings…
Stand your ground laws – A stand your ground law allows someone to argue they shot someone out of self-defense. There are variations of these…
State-based marketplaces (SBMs) – Outside of the 33 states that use the federal marketplace at www.healthcare.gov, consumers in 17 states and the District of…
Statistical significance – Statistical significance is a test that researchers apply to their results to find out if their results represent real effects…
Stock (firearms) – An accessory of rifles that consists of two parts, the forestock and the buttstock. The forestock surrounds the barrel, allowing…
Stratification – Used in the context of clinical trials, stratification refers to dividing up study participants and/or outcomes into subgroups (also called…
Structural determinants – Social determinants of health (income, education, social class, etc.) are sometimes referred to as “structural determinants” by those who want…
Suicide – Firearm suicides represent over half of overall gun deaths in the U.S. And that ratio can be worse in certain areas —…
Sundowning – The National Institute on Aging defines sundowning as the restlessness, agitation, irritability or confusion experienced by some people with Alzheimer’s…
Super spreader – Someone who is infected with a particular disease and responsible for transmitting that bacteria or virus to many other people.…
Super spreader – Someone who is infected with a particular disease and responsible for transmitting that bacteria or virus to many other people.…
Supercentenarians/centenarians – They are the oldest of the old, an elite club of people who’ve lived to the age of 110 or…
Superfund – The Superfund is a U.S. federal government program designed to fund the cleanup of toxic wastes. Established in 1980, the…
Superiority trial – Superiority trials are similar to non-inferiority trials, but instead of trying to show that one drug is no less safe…
Superuser (or Super utilizer) – The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services define “super-utilizers” as a patient who often admits themselves to the hospital…
Supplemental poverty level – Unlike the official poverty measure, which is based solely on cash resources, the supplemental poverty measure uses cash resources and…
Surgical site infection – An infection of the surgical site within 30 days of the operative procedure. Abbreviated as SSI, it’s considered a preventable…
Surprise medical bills – Surprise medical bills are those that arise when a patient who has health insurance receives care from an out-of-network provider…
Surrogate endpoints – Clinical trials often rely on surrogate endpoints to determine whether treatments work. In medicine, surrogates are biomarkers (i.e. blood pressure,…
Surveillance – Surveillance refers to how researchers and public health officials identify, locate, count, and track a particular disease or other condition.…
Surveillance bias – A selection bias that shows more disease in a population because that population has increased testing and screening.
Surveillance bias (Detection bias) – Surveillance bias, also called detection bias, is a type of selection bias that results when one population is more likely…
Survival analysis – Survival analysis is a statistical calculation assessing the duration of time that passes before death occurs. While survival is one…
Symptomatic case-fatality rate (sCFR) – An epidemiology term that quantifies the risk that a person who is infected with a pathogen, and showing signs of…
Symptomatic case-fatality rate (sCFR) – An epidemiology term that quantifies the risk that a person who is infected with a pathogen, and showing signs of…
Systematic review – A systematic review is a type of study that comprehensively review all other relevant studies on a specific research question…

Table 1 – In nearly every clinical trial or observational study, the researchers provide the baseline characteristics of the study participants in Table…
Targeting with universalism – Providing programs and services in a way that they will be available to everyone, including (and maybe especially) targeting higher-risk…
Tax reporting – Beginning with the W-2s for 2012, the year-end income tax forms include the value of the employer’s contribution to the…
Techquity – Techquity refers to the use of technology as a tool to make health and health care more equitable. Techquity as…
Teledentistry – A chronic autoimmune disease in which the white blood cells attack the body’s moisture-producing glands. Common symptoms include dry mouth,…
Telehealth/telemedicine – Although they are sometimes used interchangeably, the terms telehealth and telemedicine have slightly different meanings. Telehealth is a broad term…
Telescopic sight (scope) – A telescope, with markings (reticle), such as a crosshair, that mounts over the barrel of a gun and extends its…
Telestroke – Telestroke is a form of telemedicine that allows providers to consult with on-call neurologists in other physical locations to better…
Telomeres – Social disadvantage appears to accelerate aging at the cellular level as indicated by the length of telomeres, the protective sections…
Tempromandibular joint and muscle disorders (TMJ) – The use of electronic information transfer technologies and/or mobile electronic devices to provide remote provider-patient assessments, diagnoses, consultations and referrals…
Terrorism – The FBI differentiates its definition between international terrorism and domestic terrorism.
Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC – A group of conditions that cause pain and dysfunction in the joint that connects the lower jaw (or mandible) and…
The Birthday rule – The birthday rule dictates which health insurance company would be the primary source of insurance coverage for a newborn when…
The Two-Midnight rule – The Two-Midnight rule for hospital admissions for Medicare patients was enacted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services (CMS)…
Third-party administrator – A third-party administrator (TPA) is an organization that pays claims for a self-insured (or self-funded) employer or other purchaser, but…
Third-party administrator – See “self-insured plan.”
Third-party payer – An insurer or government program that pays medical bills for a patient or “first party” given care by a hospital,…
Tiered network – In a tiered network, health insurers offer financial incentives to encourage health plan members to choose providers in the lowest-cost…
Traditional health plan – A traditional health plan is defined as a private health plan that has an annual deductible that is less than…
Translational research – In translational or applied scientific studies, researchers use a body of scientific knowledge to solve a practical problem. For example,…
Transmission – Infectious diseases are commonly spread through the transfer of bacteria, viruses or other germs from one person to another. This…
Trauma-informed care – A method of care or treatment that seeks to examine a person’s past history of trauma and focus on how…
Traumatic stress injury – Some military experts, psychiatrists and other advocates have been pushing for the renaming of post-traumatic stress disorder to post traumatic…
Treatment Emergent Adverse Event (TEAE) – A category of adverse events that can particularly occur with cancer or autoimmune condition treatments during a clinical trial is…
Treatment-naïve – Being treatment-naive means that an individual has not yet received any treatment for a particular condition. A treatment-naive person who…
Tricare – This federal health care program has almost 9.5 million members worldwide. It covers active duty service members, National Guard and Reserve…
Tropospheric ozone – Tropospheric (ground-level) ozone is created by chemical reactions between oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC). Whether in…
Two-sided risk – The term “two-sided risk” refers to arrangements that physicians, hospitals and other providers have with health insurers in which the…

Uncompensated care – When clinics, hospitals or doctors provide care without pay – from an insurer, the patient or a government program such…
Uncontrollable risk factor – While there are some things people can do that can either increase or decrease their risk for disease, there are…
Underinsured – People who have insurance but either face very high deductibles and out of pocket costs or skimpy benefits (or both)…
Underserved – Medically underserved populations are those who lack access to health care services such as low-income people, the homeless or other…
Underwriting – Health insurers in the small group and individual markets use “underwriting” – weighing an individual’s health status, “pre-existing conditions” and…
Unerupted tooth – The main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis (marijuana).
Unique device identification (UDI) – A unique device identification system established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to adequately identify medical devices sold…
Universal coverage – Universal health insurance coverage is a goal of the most ambitious health insurance reform plans, particularly single-payer initiatives.
Unstructured data – This is information that is not easily organized and located often in disperse locations. Examples include information collected from physician…
Upside risk – Hospitals, physicians or other health care providers have upside risk if they are paid more for services they deliver than…
Upstream medicine – The U.S. health care system is really more of a “sick care” system. Recognizing this, some health professionals have started…
Urban – Cities in America have sprawled so much that researchers call them “metropolitan statistical areas,” or MSAs. Urban areas are less…
Usual, customary and reasonable (UCR) – This rate is the amount an insurer pays for a certain medical service, and it often varies geographically. It is…
Usual, Customary and Reasonable (UCR) – This is the amount paid for a certain medical service, and it often varies geographically. It’s based on what providers…
Utilization review – Health insurers conduct utilization review (UR) to evaluate the appropriateness of care that physicians or other providers recommend for patients.…

V-safe after vaccination – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention created V-safe, a smartphone-based tool that uses text messaging and web surveys to…
Vaccine – Vaccines are agents (usually dead or weakened microorganisms, or a genetic piece of the organism) that elicit a specific immune…
Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) – The COVID pandemic drew new attention to the system the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for…
Vaccine effectiveness – Vaccine effectiveness means how well the vaccine performs in everyday life for a broad range of people. Deeper dive Data…
Vaccine efficacy – Efficacy refers to how well a vaccine performs under ideal conditions. Vaccine efficacy can only be determined in clinical trials,…
Vaccine efficacy and effectiveness – Efficacy refers to how well a vaccine works in clinical trials whereas effectiveness refers to how well a vaccine works in everyday life.
Vaccine hesitancy – Vaccine hesitancy is a term that has emerged as a more neutral way to discuss attitudes toward vaccines, without identifying…
Vaccine platform – A method of manufacturing vaccines for broad use and multiple pathogens.
Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) – The FDA committee responsible for reviewing and evaluating scientific data on the safety and effectiveness of vaccines and similar products…
Value-based hospital purchasing – A Medicare initiative that rewards hospitals with incentive payments for the quality of care they provide.
Value-based insurance or value-based insurance design (V-BID) – VBID is a methodology for identifying clinically beneficial screenings, lifestyle interventions, medications, immunizations, diagnostic tests and procedures, and treatments for…
Value-based purchasing – Value-based purchasing (VBP) is distinct from value-based insurance design (V-BID) in that VBP is designed to reward health care providers…
Vector – A vector is any agent or intermediary that carries and transmits a pathogen from one individual to another. Common vectors…
Vector-borne diseases – Vectors are organisms that pass diseases from animals to humans or between humans.
Vertical integration – Occurs in health care when one company in the supply chain acquires or merges with another company along the chain.…
Village model of aging in place – Villages are grassroots organizations that provide community-dwelling older adults with a combination of nonprofessional services, such as transportation, housekeeping, and…
Violence intervention and prevention – Violence interventions, also called community violence interventions, are programs that focus on people who are most at risk of being…
Viral load – A measure of virus particles. Generally, it refers to the amount of virus present in the body once a person…
Viral load – This is the measure of virus particles. Generally, it refers to the amount of virus present in the body once…
Virologist – Virology is the study of viruses and virus-like agents, including their types, disease-producing properties, how they multiply and their genetics.
Virtual nursing – A workforce model in which a hospital or health system hires or contracts with experienced nurses to work remotely to…
Virtual primary care – Virtual primary care is a term used to describe telemedicine-enabled visits with primary care physicians.
Virtual reality (VR) – A computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional image or environment. People can interact with these images using electronic equipment such as…
Virtual visit – An aspect of telehealth or telemedicine (insert hyperlink), a virtual visit is a medical appointment that takes place via video…
Virulence – The degree of damage a pathogen can cause to the body.
Virus – A biological entity with a protein covering that is neither alive nor dead.
Volatile organic compound (VOC) – Volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, are gasses emitted into the air from a variety of products or processes. Some are…

Washout period – A washout period can describe two scenarios: a) the run-in period before a study begins during which researchers are waiting…
Wastewater surveillance – The practice of monitoring sewage in specific cities or other regions for the presence of specific pathogens like SARS-CoV-2.
Wastewater surveillance – Wastewater is water that returns to the public utility system after it’s been used for purposes such as flushing a…
Wearables – The terms “wearables,” “wearable technology,” and “wearable devices” refer to electronic technologies that are worn on the body or clothing…
Weathering hypothesis – Some evidence suggests that greater exposure to adverse social conditions and physical environments produces a chronic stress response that over…
Webside manner – The way in which a health care professional interacts with patients remotely during telehealth or virtual visits.
Well-being – Well-being integrates mental health and physical health resulting in more holistic approaches to disease prevention and health promotion. The CDC…
Wellness trust – Finding traditional health systems ineffective at addressing the social determinants of health, some communities are trying to establish public trust…
White hat/black hat hacker – A white hat hacker is a computer security specialist who tests the security of computer systems and exposes their vulnerabilities…
Whitehall Study – The Whitehall Study of British Civil Servants, started in 1967, famously showed that men in the lower employment grades were more…
Work requirement/community engagement – Under waivers approved by the Trump administration, some states are requiring certain Medicaid recipients to work (usually about 20 hours…
Wrap-around benefits – Low-income people who qualify for various government programs may also qualify for wrap-around benefits – meaning some extra help to…

Xerostomia – A tooth that is still developing; it may be moving toward the surface of the gum but cannot yet be…

Zoonotic – A zoonotic disease refers to a pathogen that has been living within an animal, and then, for an environmental or…
Zoonotic – A zoonotic disease refers to a pathogen that has been living within an animal, and then, for an environmental or…

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