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Show State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) third-party payer This program was enacted as part of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, which established Title XXI of the Social Security Act to provide States with $24 billion in Federal funds for 1998-2002 targeting children in families with incomes up to 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. Any organization, public or private, that pays or insures health or medical expenses on behalf of beneficiaries or recipients. An individual pays a premium for such coverage in all private and in some public programs; the payer organization then pays bills on the individual's behalf. Such payments are called third-party payments and are distinguished by the separation among the individual receiving the service (the first party), the individual or institution providing it (the second party), and the organization paying for it (third party). technology assessment A comprehensive form of policy research that examines the technical, economic, and social consequences of technological applications. It is especially concerned with unintended, indirect, or delayed social impacts. In health policy, the term has come to mean any form of policy analysis concerned with medical technology, especially the evaluation of efficacy and safety. telemedicine The use of telecommunications (i.e., wire, radio, optical or electromagnetic channels transmitting voice, data and video) to facilitate medical diagnosis, patient care, and/or distance learning. tertiary care Services provided by highly specialized providers (e.g., neurologists, neurosurgeons, thoracic surgeons, intensive care units). Such services frequently require highly sophisticated equipment and support facilities. The development of these services has largely been a function of diagnostic and therapeutic advances attained through basic and clinical biomedical research. tertiary prevention Prevention activities which focus on the individual after a disease or illness has manifested itself. The goal is to reduce long-term effects and help individuals better cope with symptoms. u utilization Use; commonly examined in terms of patterns or rates of use of a single service or type of service, e.g., hospital care, physician visits, prescription drugs. Use is also expressed in rates per unit of population at risk for a given period. utilization review Evaluation of the necessity, appropriateness, and efficiency of the use of health care services, procedures, and facilities. In a hospital, this includes review of the appropriateness of admissions, services ordered and provided, length of a stay, and discharge practices, both on a concurrent and retrospective basis. Utilization review can be done by a peer review group, or a public agency. V vital statistics Statistics relating to births (natality), deaths (mortality), marriages, health, and disease (morbidity). Vital statistics for the United States are published by the National Center for Health Statistics. Excerpts from Glossary of Terms Commonly Used in Health Care. Printed with permission from Academy for Health Services Research and Health Policy, 1801 K Street NW, Suite 701-L, Washington D.C. 20006-1301 Utah's Health: An Annual Review Volume VIII 149 |