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Elsevier - PMC COVID-19 Collection logoLink to Elsevier - PMC COVID-19 Collection
. 2017 Aug 4:1–170. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-803206-0.00001-8

Category Definitions

Dean F Sittig 1
PMCID: PMC7149322

Academic Degree

A qualification, usually determined by the successful completion of a prescribed course of study in higher education that often includes the passing of a comprehensive examination. Academic degrees are normally awarded by a college, university, or any number of professional schools such as medical, nursing, dental, osteopathic, pharmacy, and public health, for example. These institutions commonly offer degrees at various levels, typically including associate (most often a 2-year course of study is required), bachelor (4-year course of study), master (1–2 year course of study after the bachelor’), and doctorate (3–7 year course of study after bachelor’s or master’s degree).

  • Bachelor of Arts (BA)

  • Bachelor of Medicine (BM or MB)

  • Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS or MBChB)

  • Bachelor of Science (BS)

  • Doctor of Education (EdD)

  • Doctor of Jurisprudence (JD)

  • Doctor of Medicine (MD)

  • Doctor of Naturopathy (ND)

  • Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

  • Doctor of Nursing Science (DNS)

  • Doctor of Optometry (OD)

  • Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO)

  • Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD)

  • Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

  • Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM)

  • Doctor of Public Health (DPH)

  • Doctor of Science (DSc)

  • Master of Arts (MA)

  • Master of Business Administration (MBA)

  • Master of Dental Science (MScD)

  • Master of Health Administration (MHA)

  • Master of Nursing (MN)

  • Master of Public Health (MPH)

  • Master of Science (MS or MSc)

  • Master of Science in Dentistry (MSD)

  • Master of Science in Nursing (MSN or MScN)

  • Master of Science in Pharmacy (MPh or Mpharm or MScPh)

  • Master of Science in Social Work (MSW)

  • Master of Surgery (MS)

  • Medical Doctorate (MD)

Anatomy

The branch of biomedical science concerned with the bodily structure of humans, animals, and other living organisms. Anatomy is often studied through dissection and separation of individual parts of the body. For an in-depth overview of human anatomy, see: http://www.innerbody.com/.

  • Afferent

  • Alveolus

  • Amygdala

  • Aneurysm

  • Anterior (ventral)

  • Anulus

  • Aorta

  • Arteries

  • Artery

  • Atrium

  • Axon

  • Biceps brachii

  • Blood

  • Bone marrow

  • Both eyes (OU)

  • Cardiac region

  • Cartilage

  • Caudal

  • Central

  • Cephalic

  • Cerebral

  • Cerebrovascular

  • Cervix

  • Coronal plane (frontal)

  • Cortex

  • Cranial nerves

  • Cranial region

  • Deltoid

  • Dendrite

  • Diaphragm

  • Dissect

  • Distal

  • Dorsal

  • Endosteum

  • Esophagus

  • External (superficial)

  • Gastrointestinal (GI) tract

  • Gluteus maximus

  • Hair

  • Heart

  • Hormones

  • Humeral

  • Inferior (caudad)

  • Innervate

  • Internal

  • Interstitial

  • Intestines

  • Intraperitoneal

  • Kidneys

  • Lateral

  • Latissimus dorsi

  • Left eye (OS)

  • Liver

  • Lung

  • Lymph node

  • Macroscopic

  • Medial

  • Membrane

  • Mouth (Os)

  • Muscles

  • Nails

  • Nerve

  • Pectoralis major

  • Periosteum

  • Peripheral

  • Placenta cord membranes

  • Plasma

  • Posterior (dorsal)

  • Proximal

  • Pylorus

  • Quadriceps femoris

  • Red blood cell (RBC)

  • Renal

  • Right eye (OD)

  • Right lower arm (RLA)

  • Right lower quadrant (RLQ)

  • Right upper quadrant (RUQ)

  • Sagittal plane

  • Septum

  • Serum

  • Sigmoid colon

  • Sketch

  • Skin

  • Stomach

  • Striated

  • Superior (cephalad)

  • Sweat

  • Syncytium

  • Trachea

  • Transverse plane (axial or cross section)

  • Triceps brachii

  • Unilateral

  • Veins

  • Vena cava

  • Ventral

  • Ventricle

  • Visceral

  • Vivisection

  • White blood cell (WBC)

Application Development

A field of study that includes the set of processes, procedures, and practices of developing software applications. Depending on the size, complexity, and criticality of the application to be developed, the process may involve the use of one or more programming languages, application development frameworks, testing methodologies, and one or more teams of software developers.

  • Agile software development

  • Capability Maturity Model (CMM)

  • Data modeling

  • Design effect

  • JavaScript Object Notation (JSOM)

  • Joint applications design (JAD)

  • Logical data model (LDM)

  • Logical schema

  • Productivity

  • Rapid application development (RAD)

  • Rapid prototyping

  • Requirements analysis

  • Software Engineering Institute Capability Maturity Model (SEI-CMM)

  • Software quality assurance (SQA)

  • Software risk analysis

  • Spiral software development

  • Subject-matter expert (SME)

  • Waterfall method

Artificial Intelligence

A subfield of computer science that focuses on the design, development, use and evaluation of computer-based systems, applications, and algorithms that mimic cognitive processes usually associated with human intelligence. The origins of the field of clinical informatics were in the field of artificial intelligence as researchers attempted to create computer systems that could diagnosis patients’ medical conditions. In the late 1980s, after several large-scale, highly visible AI projects failed to meet overly optimistic expectations, federal and commercial funding for new AI project rapidly dried up. This lead to the so-called AI winter. During this period, many AI researchers turned to building much less ambitious “expert systems” that proved very successful. These expert systems were further simplified to what became basic clinical decision support functionality that was widely implemented directly in electronic health records to perform simple drug–drug interaction checks or generate health maintenance reminders. In the early 2000s, with advent of the “big-data” revolution, several AI-type diagnostic decision support systems began to reappear.

  • Abduction

  • All source intelligence

  • Authoring system

  • Background question

  • Case-based reasoning (CBR)

  • Causal reasoning

  • Chance node

  • Conceptual knowledge

  • Connectionism

  • Consulting model

  • Consulting system

  • Critiquing model

  • Deduction

  • Evoking strength

  • Explicit

  • Facts

  • Factual knowledge

  • First principles, reasoning from

  • Foreground question

  • Frequency weight

  • HELP sector

  • Heuristic

  • Hypothetico-deductive approach

  • Immersive simulated environment

  • Implicit

  • Import number

  • Induction

  • Inference

  • Influence diagram

  • Integrative model

  • Knowledge-based system

  • Logical positivism

  • Model-based reasoning

  • Modus ponens (Latin for “mode that affirms”)

  • Modus tollens (Latin for “mode that denies”)

  • Overfitting

  • Problem solver

  • Problem space

  • Problem-solving method (PSM)

  • Prognostic scoring system

  • Proposition

  • Qualitative reasoning

  • Reasoning

  • Reasoning about time

  • Reminder systems

  • Representation

  • Rule interpreter

  • Secondary knowledge-based information

  • Situation action rules

  • Skeletal plans

  • Standard gamble

  • State diagram

  • Symbol

  • Treatment threshold probability

  • Truth maintenance

Body System

The human body’s key systems are composed of collections of cells, tissues, and organs that work together for a common purpose. Each system performs a key role in helping the body to work effectively.

  • Cardiovascular system

  • Central nervous system (CNS)

  • Circulatory system

  • Digestive system

  • Endocrine system

  • Excretory system

  • Exocrine system

  • Immune system

  • Integumentary system

  • Lymphatic system

  • Muscular system

  • Nervous system

  • Olfactory system

  • Renal system

  • Reproductive system

  • Respiratory system

  • Skeletal system

  • Urinary system

Bone

Hard, dense, rigid, yet lightweight and strong, whitish, active, connective tissue that makes up the human skeleton, supports and protects the organs of the body, produces red and white blood cells, stores minerals, and enables mobility. Bones come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes and have a complex three-dimensional internal and external structure. The mineralized matrix of bone tissue has an organic component, mainly collagen, and an inorganic component of bone mineral made up of various salts. In the adult human there are 206 separate bones. The largest bone in the human body is the thighbone (femur) and the smallest is the stapes in the middle ear.

  • Carpals

  • Cervical ribs

  • Cervical vertebrae

  • Clavicle

  • Coccyx

  • Costae (ribs)

  • Cranial bones

  • Cranium

  • Femur

  • Fibula

  • Frontal bone

  • Humerus

  • Lacrimal bone

  • Lumbar vertebrae

  • Mandible (lower jaw)

  • Maxillae (upper jaw)

  • Metacarpals

  • Metatarsals

  • Nasal bones

  • Occipital bone

  • Palatine bone

  • Parietal bones

  • Patella (knee cap)

  • Pelvis

  • Phalanges

  • Radius

  • Sacrum

  • Scapula

  • Stapes

  • Sternum

  • Temporal bones

  • Thoracic vertebrae

  • Tibia (shin)

  • Ulna

  • Vertebrae

  • Vertebral column

  • Zygomatic bone

Chemistry

The branch of science that deals with the identification of the substances of which matter is composed. Chemists also investigate the properties of these substances and the ways in which they interact, combine, and change. Finally chemists study the use of these processes to form new substances. To find specific information about various facets of the field of chemistry, see: http://www.chemistryguide.org/.

  • 0°C (freezing point of water)

  • 32°F (freezing point of water)

  • 100°C (boiling point of water)

  • 212°F (boiling point of water)

  • Acid

  • Activation energy

  • Anion

  • Anode

  • Aqueous

  • Atmospheric air

  • Avogadro’s number

  • Base

  • Buffer solution

  • Capacitance

  • Cation

  • Cofactor

  • Concentration

  • Conductance

  • Conductivity

  • Countercurrent

  • Diffusion coefficient

  • Electroneutrality

  • Electrolyte

  • Filter (for physical material)

  • Fluorescent

  • Flux

  • Half-life

  • Homogeneous

  • Isolated

  • Isotonic

  • Lyse

  • Medium

  • Modulator

  • Molality

  • Molarity

  • Noxious

  • Osmolarity

  • Partial pressure in a gas mixture

  • Permeability

  • pH

  • Potentiation

  • Preparation

  • Rate constant

  • Relative humidity

  • Resistance

  • Sink

  • Tonicity

  • Trace

  • Turbid

  • Turbulence

  • Vapor pressure

  • Wavelength

Clinical Decision Making

The cognitive process is used by clinicians to decide what is wrong with the patient, what should be done to remedy or alleviate the patient’s problem, and when these interventions or procedures should be performed. Often there are many elements of uncertainty in the decision-making process. Therefore, clinicians must assess the probability that a particular patient is (or is not) suffering from a particular illness along with the potential harm that could occur if he or she is wrong. Wrong can be defined as either the patient has a treatable illness and he or she does not recognize it, or the patient is treated for a particular illness that he or she does not have.

  • Anchoring bias

  • Ascertainment bias

  • Assessment bias

  • Availability bias (or heuristic)

  • Bayesian approach

  • Bias

  • Clinical guideline

  • Clinical judgment

  • Cognitive bias

  • Cognitive heuristics

  • Concordant (test results)

  • Confirmation bias

  • Context

  • Decision analysis

  • Decision node

  • Decision tree

  • Expected utility

  • Expected value decision making

  • Indifference probability

  • Knowledge

  • Life expectancy

  • Pathognomonic

  • Prophylactic

  • Protocol (care plan)

  • Quality-adjusted life years (QALYs)

  • Recency bias

  • Referral bias

  • Reflective thinking

  • Risk attitude

  • Risk neutral

  • Shared decision-making

  • Summative decision

  • Test interpretation bias

  • Test referral bias

  • Utility

  • Withholding/withdrawing treatment

Clinical Decision Support

Clinical decision support (CDS) is a category of concepts and methods designed to provide patient-specific clinical information to a healthcare provider at the point of care. The goal of CDS is to improve the quality, safety, and reliability of the care provided while at the same time reducing its cost. CDS can take the form of many different types of interventions within an electronic health record. For example, order sets, condition-specific clinical displays, access to reference information, and clinical alerts are all types of CDS that have been designed and developed since the early 1960s. In addition, in the early days of the field of clinical informatics there was a concerted effort to develop diagnostic decision-support systems that would help clinicians create a differential diagnosis and eventually identify the patient’s diagnosis. Although the systems were shown to be nearly as effective as expert clinicians, they fell out of favor in the late 1980s and early 1990s. More recently several companies have developed new products using similar techniques, and these applications are slowly gaining a following and have potential to offer high-quality advanced CDS regarding diagnoses to clinicians.

  • Action item

  • Action palette

  • Admission order sets

  • Alert acceptance rate

  • Alert fatigue

  • Alert message

  • Alert notification

  • Alert override rate

  • Alert salience

  • Alert trigger

  • Alerts

  • Antecedent

  • Antibiotic ordering support

  • ASBRU—clinical guideline representation language

  • Automated decision support

  • Automatic order termination

  • Backward chaining

  • Beer’s criteria

  • Black box warnings

  • Care reminders

  • Careflow

  • Clinical content

  • Clinical content providers

  • Clinical decision support system (CDSS)

  • Clinical information online resources

  • Clinical pathway guideline (CPG)

  • Clinical Practice Guideline–Reference Architecture (CPG-RA)

  • Clinical prediction rule

  • Cognitive artifacts

  • Computer interpretation

  • Computer-interpretable guideline (CIG)

  • Condition-specific order sets

  • Condition-specific treatment protocol

  • Consequent

  • Consultation systems

  • Context-sensitive information retrieval

  • Context-sensitive user interface

  • Cookbook medicine

  • Critical lab value checking

  • Critiquing systems

  • Decision support opportunity map

  • Declarative knowledge

  • Default doses/pick lists

  • Departmental order sets

  • Description logic

  • Diagnostic support

  • Digital electronic Guideline Library framework (DeGeL)

  • Disease-specific order sets

  • Documentation aids

  • Drug/allergy interaction checking

  • Drug/condition interaction checking

  • Drug/drug interaction checking

  • Duplicate order checking

  • e-Mycin

  • EON

  • Evidence grading

  • Evoking criteria

  • Expression language

  • Five rights of clinical decision support

  • Formalism

  • Formulary checking

  • Forward chaining

  • Framingham equation

  • Free-text order parsing

  • Guideline

  • Guideline Elements Model (GEM)

  • Guideline Expression Language (GELLO)

  • Guideline Markup Tool (GMT)

  • Hard stop

  • High-risk state monitoring

  • IBM’s Watson

  • Implication

  • Indication-based ordering

  • Interpret

  • Interpretation systems

  • Interruptive alert

  • Intrusive alert

  • IV/PO conversion

  • Knowledge acquisition

  • Knowledge base

  • Knowledge discovery

  • Knowledge engineering (KE)

  • Knowledge management (KM)

  • Knowledge modeling

  • Knowledge representation

  • Laboratory test interpretation

  • Look-alike/sound-alike medication warnings

  • Maximum daily dose checking

  • Maximum lifetime dose checking

  • Medical logic module (MLM)

  • Medication/laboratory test cost display

  • Medication dictionary

  • Medication dose adjustment

  • Medication order sentences

  • MediConsult

  • Modal alert

  • Monitoring systems

  • Nomogram

  • Noninterruptive alert

  • Nonintrusive alert

  • Nonmedication order sentences

  • Notify me when

  • Nutrition ordering tools

  • Order approvals

  • Order routing

  • Order sets

  • Patient-specific relevant data displays

  • Personal order sets

  • Plan of care alerts

  • Polypharmacy alerts

  • Preventive care reminders

  • Problem list management

  • Procedural knowledge

  • Procedure-specific order sets

  • Prognostic tools

  • Quality metric

  • Question prototypes

  • Radiology ordering support

  • Reference links

  • Registry functions

  • Representation of time

  • Risk assessment tools

  • Risk calculator

  • Service-specific order sets

  • Single dose range checking

  • Standards-Based Sharable Active Guideline Environment (SAGE)

  • Standing orders

  • Subsequent or corollary orders

  • Syndromic surveillance

  • Synthesize

  • Systematic review

  • Tacit knowledge

  • Tallman Lettering

  • Task-network model (TNM)

  • Ticklers

  • Transfer order set

  • Transfusion support

  • Treatment planning

  • Triage tools

  • Trigger event

  • Virtual medical record (vMR)

  • Weight-based dosing

Clinical Disorder

A functional abnormality or disturbance in one or more parts of the human body. Clinical disorders can be categorized into mental disorders, physical disorders, genetic disorders, emotional and behavioral disorders, and functional disorders. The term disorder is often considered more value-neutral and less stigmatizing than the terms disease or illness, and therefore is often the preferred terminology. In mental health, the term mental disorder is used as a way of acknowledging the complex interaction of biological, social, and psychological factors in psychiatric conditions.

  • Abdominal and pelvic pain

  • Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA)

  • Abnormal uterine bleeding

  • Above the knee amputation (AKA)

  • Acute kidney injury (AKI)

  • Acute myocardial infarction (AMI)

  • Alcohol abuse (EtOH)

  • Alzheimer disease

  • Anemia

  • Anxiety

  • Aortic aneurysm

  • Aortic stenosis (AS)

  • Arteriosclerosis

  • Arthralgias

  • Atelectasis

  • Atherosclerosis

  • Atrial fibrillation (Afib)

  • Atrial septal defect (ASD)

  • Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

  • Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

  • Back pain

  • Below the knee amputation (BKA)

  • Benign neoplasms

  • Blind

  • Bone pain

  • Cardiovascular disease (CVD)

  • Cervical cancer

  • Chest pain

  • Chronic condition

  • Chronic disease

  • Chronic illness

  • Chronic kidney disease (CKD)

  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

  • Chronically ill

  • Cognitive impairment

  • Coma

  • Complicated pregnancy

  • Congenital anomalies

  • Congestive heart failure (CHF)

  • Constriction

  • Coronary artery disease (CAD)

  • Cough

  • Crying

  • Deafness

  • Deep vein thrombosis (DVT)

  • Delirium

  • Delirium tremens (DTs)

  • Dementia

  • Dependence

  • Depression

  • Developmental disability (DD)

  • Diabetes mellitus (DM)

  • Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA)

  • Diarrhea

  • Dilation

  • Disability

  • Dysphagia

  • Dyspnea

  • Dysuria

  • Edema

  • Embolism

  • Embolus

  • End-stage renal disease (ESRD)

  • Erectile dysfunction (ED)

  • Etiology

  • Extremity pain

  • Facial flushing

  • Facial pain

  • Fatigue

  • Fever

  • Fixation

  • Flank pain

  • Frustration

  • Functionally disabled

  • Funny Looking Kid (FLK)

  • Gallbladder disorders

  • Genital skin lesion

  • Genital ulcer

  • Handicapped

  • Hard of Hearing (HOH)

  • Headache

  • Hearing loss

  • Heart failure (HF)

  • Hematuria

  • Hernia

  • Homebound

  • Homicide

  • Hydrops fetalis

  • Hypertension (HTN)

  • Hypotension, shock

  • Impairment

  • Indication infarct

  • Intrauterine hypoxia

  • Ischemia

  • Labile

  • Labor/Delivery complications

  • Learning disability (LD)

  • Leg pain

  • Lesion

  • Lethargy

  • Limp

  • Low back pain (LBP)

  • Lymphadenopathy

  • Malaise

  • Malignant

  • Malignant neoplasms

  • Memory loss

  • Mental health

  • Mental illness/impairment

  • Mentally retarded/developmentally disabled (MR/DD)

  • Minimally conscious state

  • Mitral regurgitation (MR)

  • Morbid

  • Muscle cramps

  • Myalgias

  • Myocardial infarction (MI)

  • Nausea

  • Neonatal hemorrhage

  • Numbness

  • Nutritional deficiencies

  • Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)

  • Occlusion

  • Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)

  • Otalgia

  • Parkinson disease (PD)

  • Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA)

  • Patent foramen ovale (PFO)

  • Perinatal period

  • Permanent vegetative state (PVS)

  • Petechiae

  • Postpartum depression (PPD)

  • Pregnancy

  • Premature atrial contractions (PACs)

  • Proteinuria

  • Pruritus

  • Pulmonary embolism (PE)

  • Pulmonary hemorrhage

  • Rash, generalized

  • Red eye

  • Scrotal pain

  • Seizure

  • Senility

  • Sensory loss

  • Seriously emotionally disturbed

  • Short gestation

  • Shortness of breath (SOB)

  • Shoulder pain

  • Sinus tachycardia

  • ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI)

  • Suicide

  • Syncope

  • Tachypnea

  • Tinnitus

  • Torticollis

  • Transient

  • Transient ischemic attack (TIA)

  • Traumatic brain injury (TBI)

  • Tremor

  • Tumor

  • Turgid

  • Twitch

  • Vasoconstriction

  • Venous thromboembolism (VTE)

  • Ventricular septal defect (VSD)

  • Vomiting

  • Weakness

  • Weight loss

Clinical Procedure

A clinical procedure is a physical process intended to identify a problem or achieve a result in the care of patients with health problems. Clinical procedures can be used for various reasons including: identifying, measuring, diagnosing, treating, restoring structure or function of a specific patient symptom, condition, or specific physiological parameter.

  • Acupuncture

  • Advanced cardiac life support (ACLS)

  • Advanced life support (ALS)

  • Anesthesia

  • Angiogram (Angio)

  • Angiography

  • Animal-assisted therapy

  • Antivenom

  • Aortography

  • Apheresis

  • Arterial blood gas (ABG)

  • Arterial catheter (line)

  • Arterial pressure

  • Auscultation

  • Basic life support (BLS)

  • Blood test

  • Cancer immunotherapy

  • Cancer vaccine

  • Cardiac stress test

  • Cardioconversion

  • Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)

  • Cell therapy

  • Central venous catheter (line)

  • Central venous pressure (CVP)

  • Cerebral angiography

  • Chelation therapy

  • Chemotherapy

  • Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

  • Cold compression therapy

  • Combination therapy

  • Computer-based monitoring

  • Coronary angiography

  • Coronary arteriography

  • Craniosacral therapy

  • Cytoluminescent therapy

  • Diagnostic bronchoscopy

  • Dislocation procedure

  • Drug therapy

  • Electrocardiography

  • Electroconvulsive therapy

  • Electrocorticography

  • Electroencephalography

  • Electromyography (EMG)

  • Electroneuronography

  • Electronystagmography

  • Electrooculography

  • Electrophoresis

  • Electroretinography

  • Electrotherapy

  • Endoluminal capsule monitoring

  • Enzyme replacement therapy

  • Epidural (extradural) block

  • Esophageal motility study

  • Evoked potential

  • Extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal (ECCO2R)

  • Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)

  • Facial rejuvenation

  • Fluid replacement therapy

  • Fluoride therapy

  • Fracture procedure

  • General anesthesia

  • Heat therapy

  • Hemodialysis

  • Hemofiltration

  • History and physical (H&P)

  • Hormonal therapy

  • Hormone replacement therapy

  • Hydrotherapy

  • Hyperbaric oxygen therapy

  • Immunization

  • Immunosuppressive therapy

  • In vitro fertilization (IVF)

  • Infusion

  • Inhalation therapy

  • Insulin potentiation therapy

  • Insulin shock therapy

  • Intramuscular (IM)

  • Intravenous therapy

  • Intubation

  • Invasive

  • Laboratory tests

  • Laser therapy

  • Life-sustaining treatment

  • Lithotomy

  • Lithotripsy

  • Lithotriptor

  • Local anesthesia

  • Low-dose chemotherapy

  • Lymphangiography

  • Magnetic resonance angiogram (MRA)

  • Magnetic therapy

  • Magnetoencephalography

  • Mechanical ventilation

  • Medical inspection (body features)

  • Monoclonal antibody therapy

  • Nebulization

  • Negative pressure wound therapy

  • Nicotine replacement therapy

  • Noninvasive

  • Noninvasive monitoring technique

  • Ophthalmoscopy

  • Opiate replacement therapy

  • Oral rehydration therapy

  • Otoscopy

  • Oxygen therapy

  • Palliative care

  • Palpation

  • Particle therapy

  • Patient monitoring

  • Percussion (medicine)

  • Perfuse

  • Phage therapy

  • Photodynamic therapy

  • Phototherapy

  • Physical exam (Px)

  • Physiotherapy

  • Plasmapheresis

  • Point-of-care testing

  • Politzerization

  • Posturography

  • Precordial thump

  • Prophylactic treatment

  • Proton therapy

  • Psychotherapy

  • Pulmonary angiography

  • Radiation therapy

  • Radiation therapy planning

  • Radiography

  • Regional anesthesia

  • Respiratory therapy (RT)

  • Rule out (RO)

  • Scintillography

  • Shock therapy

  • Speech therapy

  • Spinal anesthesia (subarachnoid block)

  • Stem cell treatments

  • Stool test

  • Subclavian catheter (line)

  • Subcutaneous (Sub-Q)

  • Symptomatic treatment

  • Targeted therapy

  • Thermography

  • Thrombosis prophylaxis

  • Topical anesthesia (surface)

  • Tracheal intubation

  • Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)

  • Treatment (tx)

  • Universal precautions

  • Unsealed source radiotherapy

  • Vaccination

  • Vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC)

  • Ventriculography

  • Virtual reality therapy

  • Vision therapy

Clinical Role

In a healthcare organization there are many different jobs that need to be done. Clinicians with different training and experience do these jobs by fulfilling a “role.” These clinical jobs almost always involve contact with patients. For the most part, they usually require formal study and training after you have finished high school, college, and often medical, nursing, or pharmacy school. It is common for each of these “roles” to have slightly different data access rights or user privileges within an electronic health record [e.g., the ability to write and sign orders for medications is usually allowed only by clinicians with a medical degree (MD, DO) or advanced nursing certification].

  • Advice nurse

  • Allergist

  • Allied health personnel

  • Anesthesiologist

  • Attending physician

  • Biomedical informatician

  • Biomedical informaticist

  • Board certified

  • Cardiologist

  • Caregiver

  • Case manager

  • Certified nurse aide (CNA)

  • Certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA)

  • Chief executive officer (CEO)

  • Chief health informatics (information) officer (CHIO)

  • Chief information (informatics) officer (CIO)

  • Chief information security officer (CISO)

  • Chief medical informatics (information) officer (CMIO)

  • Chief nursing informatics (information) officer (CNIO)

  • Chief operating officer (COO)

  • Chief quality and informatics (information) officer

  • Clinical champion

  • Clinical informatician

  • Clinical informaticist

  • Clinical nurse specialist (CNS)

  • Clinical research informatician

  • Early adopter

  • EHR super user

  • End user

  • Expert witness

  • Fellow

  • Gastrointestinal (GI) specialist

  • Gatekeeper

  • General medical practitioner (GP)

  • General surgeon

  • Genital-urinary (GU) specialist

  • Geriatrician

  • Healthcare paraprofessional

  • Health data broker

  • Health data custodian

  • Health informatician

  • Health informaticist

  • Health personnel

  • Healthcare proxy

  • Help at the elbow

  • Home health aide

  • Hospitalist

  • House staff

  • Immunologist

  • Informatician/informaticist

  • Intern

  • Internist

  • Interprofessional teams

  • Interventional radiologist

  • Intravenous (IV) nurse

  • Licensed clinical social worker (LCSW)

  • Licensed practical nurse (LPN)

  • Licensed vocational nurse (LVN)

  • Medical assistant (MA)

  • Medical student

  • Medical technologist (MT(ASCP))

  • Medical technologist in molecular pathology (MP(ASCP))

  • Multidisciplinary teams

  • Neurologist

  • Neurosurgeon

  • Nurse

  • Nurse anesthetist

  • Nurse practitioner (NP)

  • Nursing student

  • Obstetrician/Gynecologist (OB/GYN)

  • Occupational therapist (OT)

  • Orderly

  • Orthopedist

  • Parents or relatives

  • Pharmacist

  • Pharmacy technician

  • Physical therapist (PT)

  • Physician assistant (PA)

  • Plastic surgeon

  • Podiatrist

  • Postgraduate year (PGY) 1–8

  • Primary care provider (PCP)

  • Private duty nursing

  • Provider

  • Pulmonologist

  • Registered dietician (RD)

  • Registered nurse (RN)

  • Registered pharmacist (RPh)

  • Research informatician

  • Resident

  • Respiratory therapist (RT)

  • Respite care

  • Service class provider

  • Service class user

  • Skilled care

  • Stakeholder

  • Support groups

  • Surgeon

  • Surrogate

  • Trauma surgeon

  • User training

Clinical Specialty

A clinical specialty is a name for a particular branch of medicine. After completing their medical school training, physicians or surgeons usually further their medical education in a specific specialty of medicine by completing a multiple year residency training program and sometimes an additional multiple year fellowship training program to become a medical specialist. In most cases there are additional tests or “board examinations” that these clinicians must pass before they are able to practice as a board-certified specialist in their chosen subfield of medicine or surgery.

  • Adolescent medicine

  • Allergy and immunology

  • Anesthesiology

  • Cardiology

  • Clinical and laboratory medicine

  • Colon and rectal surgery

  • Critical care medicine

  • Cytopathology

  • Dermatology

  • Diagnostic radiology

  • Digital radiology

  • Emergency medicine

  • Endocrinology

  • Family medicine

  • Family practice

  • Forensic pathology

  • Forensic psychiatry

  • Geriatrics

  • Gerontology

  • Gynecology (GYN)

  • Hematology

  • Hyperbaric medicine

  • Infectious diseases (ID)

  • Internal medicine (IM)

  • Medical genetics

  • Microbiology

  • Nephrology

  • Neurology

  • Nuclear medicine

  • Obstetrics (OB)

  • Oncology

  • Ophthalmology

  • Orthopedic surgery

  • Orthopedics

  • Otolaryngology

  • Pain medicine

  • Pathology

  • Pediatrics

  • Plastic surgery

  • Podiatry

  • Preventive medicine

  • Psychiatry

  • Pulmonary medicine

  • Radiation oncology

  • Radiology

  • Rehabilitation services

  • Rheumatology

  • Speech therapy

  • Sports medicine

  • Surgery

  • Thoracic surgery

  • Transfusion medicine

  • Urology

  • Vascular surgery

Clinical Syndrome

A clinical syndrome describes a patient state that consists of a constellation of several medical signs, symptoms, and/or other physical or emotional characteristics that often occur together. Some syndromes, such as Down syndrome, have only one cause; others, such as Parkinsonian syndrome, have multiple possible causes. In other cases, the cause of the syndrome is unknown.

  • Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)

  • Acute coronary syndrome (ACS)

  • Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)

  • Andersen syndrome

  • Down syndrome

  • Menopause

  • Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)

  • Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)

  • Shock

  • Spell

  • Stockholm syndrome

  • Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

  • Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS)

  • Tetralogy of Fallot

  • Vertigo

  • Wolf–Hirschhorn syndrome

Communication

The act or process of using mutually agreed upon words, sounds, pictures, gestures, or behaviors to convey an intended meaning (e.g., thoughts, feelings, findings, or ideas) from one group to another. There are numerous options or channels (e.g., visual, haptic, auditory, olfactory, electromagnetic, kinesics, or biochemical) in which this communication can occur. Human communication is unique and often open for numerous interpretations due to its extensive use of abstract language constructs involving words, signs, symbols, or sounds.

  • Acknowledgment

  • Asynchronous

  • Body of message

  • Channel

  • Channel capacity

  • Header of message

  • Isochronous

  • Listserve

  • Mailing list

  • Public area branch exchange

  • Public switching telephone network

  • Receiver

  • Sender

  • Signal-to-noise ratio

  • Situation, Background, Assessment and Recommendation (SBAR) technique

  • Social contagion

  • Social network

  • Spam

  • Spamming

  • Synchronous communication

  • Transaction set

  • Voicemail

Computational Algorithm

A computational algorithm (pronounced AL-go-rith-um) is an unambiguous set of steps, a procedure, or a formula a computer can use to perform a specific task or solve a problem. Algorithms can be expressed in any language, including natural languages such as English, French, or Spanish to advanced programming languages such as Perl, C++, or Java. A computer uses algorithms to solve specific problems. There can be many different algorithms to solve the same type of problem. The most “elegant” algorithms often have the fewest steps, execute the fastest, and use the least amount of computer memory.

  • AdaBoost

  • Algorithm accuracy evaluation

  • Algorithm performance, space

  • Algorithm performance, time (big O)

  • Apriori algorithm

  • Artificial neural networks (ANN)

  • Association rule learning algorithm

  • Averaged one-dependence estimators (AODE)

  • Backpropagation

  • Basic Local Alignment and Search Technique (BLAST)

  • Bayesian algorithm

  • Bayesian belief network (BBN)

  • Binary search

  • Boosting

  • Bootstrapped aggregation (bagging)

  • Breadth-first search

  • Bubble sort

  • C4.5 and C5.0 (different versions of a powerful approach)

  • Chi-squared automatic interaction detection (CHAID)

  • Classification and regression tree (CART)

  • Collaborative filtering

  • Computational complexity

  • Conditional decision trees

  • Convolutional neural network (CNN)

  • Crowdsourcing

  • Cryptographic hashing functions

  • Data compression algorithm

  • Decision stump

  • Decision tree algorithm

  • Deep belief networks (DBN)

  • Deep learning algorithm

  • Deep Boltzmann machine (DBM)

  • Depth-first search

  • Dimensionality reduction algorithm

  • Eclat algorithm

  • Elastic Net

  • Ensemble algorithm

  • Evolutionary algorithm

  • Exhaustive search

  • Expectation maximization (EM)

  • Feature selection algorithm

  • Filtering algorithm

  • Finite-state machine

  • First-order predicate logic

  • Flexible discriminant analysis (FDA)

  • Fourier transform

  • Gaussian Naive Bayes

  • Generalized linear models

  • Genetic algorithms

  • Gradient boosted regression trees (GBRT)

  • Gradient boosting machines (GBM)

  • Hash function

  • Hierarchical clustering

  • Hopfield network

  • Huffman coding

  • Insertion sort

  • Instance-based algorithm

  • Iterative Dichotomiser 3 (ID3)

  • k-Means

  • k-Medians

  • k-Nearest Neighbor (kNN)

  • Learning vector quantization (LVQ)

  • Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO)

  • Least-angle regression (LARS)

  • Lift

  • Linear discriminant analysis (LDA)

  • Linear regression

  • Locally estimated scatterplot smoothing (LOESS)

  • Locally weighted learning (LWL)

  • Lossless compression

  • Lossy compression

  • M5

  • Markov cycle

  • Markov model

  • Markov process

  • Merge sort

  • Mixture discriminant analysis (MDA)

  • Multidimensional scaling (MDS)

  • Multinomial Naive Bayes

  • Multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS)

  • Naive Bayes

  • Neural network

  • NP hard

  • Numerical methods

  • Ordinary least squares regression (OLSR)

  • Partial least squares regression (PLSR)

  • Perceptron

  • Performance measures

  • Principal component analysis (PCA)

  • Principal component regression (PCR)

  • Probabilistic matching algorithm

  • Projection pursuit

  • Proxy calculations

  • Quadratic discriminant analysis (QDA)

  • Quick sort

  • Radial basis function network (RBFN)

  • Random forest

  • Recursive algorithms

  • Refinement

  • Regression algorithm

  • Regularization algorithm

  • Reinforcement learning

  • Ridge regression

  • Sammon mapping

  • Seasonal and Trend decomposition using Loess (STL decomposition)

  • Secure Hash Algorithm 1 (SHA-1)

  • Secure Hash Algorithm 2 (SHA-2)

  • Self-organizing map (SOM)

  • Semisupervised learning

  • Stacked auto-encoders

  • Stacked generalization (blending)

  • Stepwise regression

  • Supervised learning

  • Support vector machine (SVM)

  • t-Distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding (t-SNE)

  • Training data set

  • Transpose

  • Unsupervised learning

  • Verhoeff algorithm

  • Viterbi algorithm

Computer Application

An application is a computer program, or group of interacting programs, that perform a set of coordinated tasks to help the user. Applications run inside of the computer’s operating system software. Applications designed for desktop or laptop computers are referred to as desktop applications. Applications built specifically for mobile computing platforms are often called apps.

  • AI-Rheum

  • Antibiotic Assistant Program

  • Armed Forces Health Longitudinal Technology Application (AHLTA)

  • Attending

  • Automated Medical Record (AMR)

  • Backwards compatibility

  • Bar Code Medication Administration (BCMA)

  • Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)

  • Best-of-breed

  • Billing System

  • Biomed Central

  • Blue Button

  • Brigham & Women’s Integrated Computing System (BICS)

  • Browser

  • Citation manager

  • Clinical data registry

  • Clinical data repository (CDR)

  • Clinical documentation

  • Clinical Image Access Service (CIAS)

  • Clinical information system (CIS)

  • Clinical Observation Access Service (COAS)

  • Clinical Trials Management System (CTMS)

  • ClinicalTrials.gov

  • Coaching expert system

  • Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA)

  • Composite HealthCare System II (CHCS–DoD)

  • Computational propaganda

  • Computer-Assisted Patient Interviewing (CAPI)

  • Computer-Based Training (CBT)

  • Computer program

  • Computer-Stored Ambulatory Record System (COSTAR)

  • Computer-based Patient Record System (CPRS)

  • Computerized Patient Record (CPR)

  • Computerized Physician/provider Order Entry (CPOE)

  • Continuous speech recognition

  • Control system

  • Custom-designed system

  • Data acquisition

  • Data compression

  • Data processing

  • Data recording

  • Data transcription

  • Data transformation

  • Database management

  • Database management system (DBMS)

  • Debugger

  • Decision-support system

  • Departmental system

  • Disease registry

  • DxPlain

  • e-Consent

  • Electronic Health Record (EHR)

  • Electronic mail (e-mail)

  • Electronic medical record (EMR)

  • Electronic Medication Administration Record (eMAR)

  • Electronic nursing record

  • Electronic Patient Record (EPR)

  • Electronic Transmission of Perscription (ETP)

  • Enterprise Information System (EIS)

  • Enterprise Master Patient Index (EMPI)

  • Expert system

  • Fraud detection

  • Front-end application

  • General regular expression parser (GREP)

  • Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

  • Gmail

  • Graph database

  • Groupware

  • Guidance

  • Hadoop

  • Health Evaluation through Logical Programming (HELP)

  • Health Information Exchange (HIE)

  • Helper app

  • Homepage

  • Hospital Information System (HIS)

  • Iliad (Diagnostic Decision Support System)

  • Image recognition

  • Immunization registry

  • Inference engine

  • Information processing

  • Integrating Information from Bench to Bedside (I2b2)

  • Interactive Voice Response (IVR)

  • Interface engine

  • Internet Browser

  • Internist-1

  • Inventory management

  • Kaggle

  • Knowledge base system

  • LaTex

  • Longitudinal medical record

  • Management Information System (MIS)

  • Map reduce

  • Master Patient Index (MPI)

  • Master Provider File (MPF)

  • Medlars online (Medline)

  • MedlinePlus

  • MedWeaver

  • Metathesaurus

  • Mosaic browser

  • Mycin

  • Newsgroup

  • Niche vendor

  • Nursing information system

  • Object-oriented database

  • Oncocin

  • OPAL

  • Optical character recognition (OCR)

  • Order entry

  • Order entry system

  • Pathfinder

  • Patient care system

  • Patient portal

  • Patient tracking application

  • Patient-centered Access to Secure Systems Online (PCASSO)

  • Pediatric Early Warning Score (PEWS) system

  • Personal Health Record (PHR)

  • Personally controlled health management system

  • Personally controlled health record

  • Pharmacy information system

  • Picture Archiving and Communication (PACS)

  • Plugin

  • Point of care system

  • Practice management system

  • Problem-oriented Medical Record System (PROMIS)

  • PRODIGY

  • PROforma

  • Protégé

  • Prototype system

  • Provider profiling system

  • PubMed

  • Question answering programs

  • Quick Medical Record (QMR)

  • Recommendation engine

  • Red Cap

  • Relational Data Base Management System (RDBMS)

  • Relational database

  • Report Program Generator (RPG)

  • Results review

  • Rule-based expert system

  • Search engine

  • Search technology

  • Siri

  • Skype

  • Social media

  • Specialized registry

  • Speech recognition

  • Speech understanding

  • Spreadsheet

  • Statistical package

  • System programs

  • Technicon medical information system (TMIS)

  • The Medical Record (TMR)

  • Third-party

  • TRICARE Online

  • Turnkey system

  • Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS)

  • Value-added reseller (VAR)

  • Vista

  • Voice recognition

  • Web BLOB Service (WBS)

  • Web browser

  • Web catalog

  • Web crawler

  • Web-Based Training (WBT)

  • Wizorder

  • Word processor

Computer Architecture

A computer’s architecture provides a framework for the rules that describe the capabilities, functionality, organization, and sometimes the methods of implementing various types of applications or computer systems.

  • Application program

  • Applications design

  • Architecture (computer, information)

  • Archival storage

  • Batchmode

  • Business logic layer

  • Central computing system

  • Centralized database

  • Client/server architecture

  • Complex Instruction Set Computing (CISC)

  • Computer architecture

  • Data layer

  • Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM)

  • Distributed data architecture

  • Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)

  • Emergency Data Sets Framework (EDSF)

  • Federal Health Architecture (FHA)

  • Federated model

  • Health informatics Service Architecture (HISA)

  • Health information access layer (HIAL)

  • High-level process

  • Integrated versus interfaced

  • Java Database Connectivity (JDBC)

  • Lexicon query service (LQS)

  • Low-level process

  • Massive Parallel Processing (MPP)

  • Medicaid Information Technology Architecture

  • Middleware

  • Modular computer system

  • Multiprocessing

  • Multiuser system

  • National Information Infrastructure (NII)

  • Network-based hypermedia

  • Online Transaction Processing (OLTP)

  • Open system

  • Parallel processing

  • Patient Identification Services (PIDS)

  • Presentation layer

  • Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC)

  • Reference architecture

  • Reference Model for Open Distributed Processing

  • Regulated clinical research information model

  • Remote Job Entry (RJE)

  • Remote Procedure Calls (RPC)

  • Representational State Transfer (REST)

  • Scalability

  • Sequential Access Method (SAM)

  • Service-oriented Architecture (SOA)

  • Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)

  • Single user system

  • System

  • Systems aggregation

  • Systems integration

  • Terminal server

  • Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR)

  • Timesharing mode

  • Turing machine

  • User interface layer

  • von Neumann machine

  • Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI)

  • View schemas

  • Virtual Storage Access Method (VSAM)

  • Visual Basic Architecture (VBA)

  • Web Access to DICOM-persistent Objects (WADO)

  • Workflow engine

  • World Wide Web (WWW)

Computer Hardware

Computer hardware, often referred to as hardware when discussing computer-related topics, are the physical elements used to create a functional computer system, such as the microprocessor, memory, network, monitor, keyboard, data storage, all of which are tangible physical objects. By contrast, software is the set of instructions that can be stored and run by hardware to complete a task.

  • Analog computer

  • Application service provider (ASP)

  • Backup electrical generator

  • Cable

  • Cathode ray tube (CRT)

  • Central monitor

  • Central processing unit (CPU)

  • Client

  • Cloud computing

  • Compact disk (CD)

  • Compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM)

  • Computer on Wheels (COW)

  • Computer system

  • Data bus

  • Deactivate

  • Digital computer

  • Digital subscribe line (DSL)

  • Digital video disk (DVD)

  • Direct-access storage device (DASD)

  • Display monitor

  • Distributed computing system

  • Dynamic random-access memory (DRAM)

  • Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC)

  • Environment (computing)

  • Exam room computers

  • File server

  • Flash card

  • Flash memory

  • Floppy disk

  • Handheld device

  • Hard disk

  • High performance computing (HPC)

  • Hot site backup

  • Ink-jet printer

  • Integrated circuit (IC)

  • Laptop computer

  • Laser printer

  • Life cycle

  • Liquid crystal display (LCD)

  • Macintosh

  • Magnetic disk

  • Magnetic tape

  • Mainframe computer

  • Medical information bus (MIB)

  • Memory

  • Memory stick

  • Microchip

  • Modulator-demodulator (MODEM)

  • Netbook computer

  • Network protocol

  • Off-line device

  • Online device

  • Optical disc

  • Original equipment manufacturer (OEM)

  • Patient monitor

  • Personal computer (PC)

  • Personal digital assistant (PDA)

  • Physicians’ workstation

  • Print server

  • Printer

  • Product

  • Random-access memory (RAM)

  • Raster scan display

  • Read-only memory (ROM)

  • Read-only backup

  • Reboot (computer)

  • Red electrical outlet/plug

  • Redundant array of independent (inexpensive) disks (RAID)

  • Scanning devices

  • Server

  • Smartphone

  • Star topology

  • Storage

  • Switch

  • System integration

  • System interface

  • Telemedicine technologies

  • Terminal

  • Terminal interface processor

  • Test system

  • Thick client

  • Thin client

  • Transmitter

  • Twisted-pair wires

  • Uninterruptible power supply (UPS)

  • Universal workstation

  • Variable memory

  • Video display terminal (VDT)

  • Virtual memory

  • Volatile memory

  • Warm site backup

  • Workstation

  • Workstation-on-wheels (WOW)

  • Write it once system

  • Write once read many (WORM)

Computer Networking

The use of computers and associated hardware to create a telecommunications network that can be used to facilitate the exchange of data, information, or services among individuals, groups, or institutions. Computer networks often differ in their transmission medium (e.g., copper wires, fiber optics, radio frequencies, or microwaves) used to carry their signals, communications protocols to organize network traffic, the network’s size, topology, and organizational intent. In most cases, application-specific communications protocols are layered (i.e., carried as payload) over other more general communications protocols.

  • 127.0.0.1 (localhost)

  • Advanced Research Project Agency Network (ARPANET)

  • Asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL)

  • Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)

  • Backbone network

  • Bandwidth

  • Baud rate

  • Bit rate

  • Bits per second

  • Bluetooth

  • Broadband network

  • Broadband signal

  • Broadband transmission

  • Circuit switched network

  • Citrix

  • Coaxial cable

  • Communication protocol

  • Computer network

  • Cyberspace

  • Daisy chain networking

  • Dial tone multifrequency (DTMF)

  • Domain

  • Dynamic DNS (domain name service)

  • Ethernet

  • Fiber-optic cable

  • Frame relay

  • Gateway

  • Gigabit per second (Gbps)

  • Global system for mobile communications (GSM)

  • Hyperlink

  • Information super highway

  • Integrated Delivery System/Network (IDS) (IDN)

  • Internet

  • Internet relay chat (IRC)

  • Intranet

  • IP address

  • Latency

  • Local area network (LAN)

  • Megabit

  • Megabits per second (Mbps)

  • Microwave

  • Name authority

  • Name server

  • National Health Information Infrastructure (NHII)

  • National Health Information Network (NHIN)

  • Network

  • Network access provider

  • Network bridge

  • Network latency

  • Network node

  • Network operating system

  • Network router

  • Network services

  • Network stack

  • Network topology

  • Next-generation Internet

  • Node

  • Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) seven layer model

  • Packet

  • Packet-switched network

  • Peer-to-peer networking

  • Private branch exchange (PBX)

  • Proxy

  • Remote access

  • Remote presence health care

  • Router

  • Secure hypertext transfer protocol (SHTTP)

  • Store and forward

  • Subnet

  • System administration

  • Telecommunication

  • Telepresence

  • Token ring ethernet

  • Transmit (XMT)

  • Transmittal (XMTL)

  • Uniform resource identifier (URI)

  • Uniform resource locator (URL)

  • Uniform resource name

  • Wide area network (WAN)

  • Wi-Fi (Wireless Infrastructure)

  • WiFi Spectrum

Computer Programming

Computer programming (or just programming) is a process that leads from the initial formulation of a problem that the computer can help solve through the intricate process required to create an executable computer program. The programming process involves activities such as analysis of the problem or entire business, developing understanding of the tasks to be accomplished and the existing workflow, generating algorithms required to manipulate the data elements required to solve the problem, verification of requirements of the chosen algorithms including their appropriateness, correctness, computational resource consumption, and implementation of these algorithmic concepts (commonly referred to as coding) in the chosen programming language. The purpose of programming is to find a sequence of instructions that will automate performing a sequence of specific tasks or solving a given problem. The process of programming thus often requires expertise in many different subjects, including knowledge of the application domain, specialized algorithms and formal logic.

  • Active storage

  • Addition

  • Agile

  • Agile coach

  • Ajax

  • Alphabetic ordering

  • Analog-to-digital conversion (ADC)

  • Android

  • Applets

  • Application Programming Interface (API)

  • Apps

  • Assembler

  • Assembly code

  • Binary sort

  • Bit (short for binary digit)

  • Boot

  • Buffer

  • Buffer overflow

  • Burn down

  • Business logic

  • Closed loop control

  • Code

  • Code review

  • Coercion

  • Command

  • Compiler

  • Compiler optimization

  • Computed check

  • Computer bug

  • Computer-readable content

  • Concept modeling

  • Consistency check

  • Constraint-based programming

  • Construction

  • Daily standup

  • Data accessibility

  • Data architecture

  • Data capture

  • Data control structure

  • Data element

  • Data flow

  • Data flow diagram

  • Data independence

  • Data mediator

  • Data model

  • Data quarantining

  • Data set

  • Data storage

  • Data stream

  • Database

  • Database recovery

  • Debug

  • Delta check

  • Demonstration (demo)

  • Design by constraint

  • Division

  • Document Type Definition (DTD)

  • Dynamic programming

  • Entity, attribute, value (EAV)

  • Entity–Relationship diagram (ER or ERD)

  • Error trap

  • Exception handling

  • Extended Architecture Operation System (XA)

  • Floating point exception

  • Generalization

  • Global variable

  • Hash table

  • Hashing

  • Hierarchical database

  • Information Object

  • Information Object Class

  • Information Object Instance

  • Input

  • Integrated Development Environment (IDE)

  • Interpreter

  • Iteration

  • Iterative

  • Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE)

  • Job

  • jQuery

  • Kernel

  • Late binding

  • Linux

  • Local variable

  • Machine code

  • Macro

  • Markup

  • Marshalling

  • Mathematical operations

  • Model View Controller (MVC)

  • Multiplicity

  • Multiprogramming

  • Node.js

  • Object

  • Object modeling

  • Object oriented programming (OOP)

  • Object-based approach

  • Object-oriented analysis

  • Object-oriented programming

  • Open loop control

  • Output

  • Page

  • Pattern check

  • Pointer-to-data

  • Product backlog

  • Product owner

  • Regular expression

  • Remote Method Invocation (RMI)

  • Requirements development process

  • Resource Definition Format (RDF)

  • ReST Protocol

  • Retrospective

  • Rounding error

  • Scrum

  • Semantic web

  • Serialization

  • Service

  • Shell script

  • Simultaneous access

  • Simultaneous controls

  • Software

  • Software assurance

  • Software design patterns

  • Software engineering

  • Source

  • Source code compartment

  • Specialization

  • Sprint

  • Sprint backlog

  • Sprint planning

  • Sprint review

  • Structured programming

  • Stub

  • Style sheets

  • Subtraction

  • Synchronization

  • System specification

  • Systems development

  • Team velocity

  • Technical specifications

  • Termination

  • Text editor

  • Truncate

  • Type checking

  • Unified Modeling Language (UML)

  • Unix

  • User stories

  • Virtual addressing

  • Virtualization

  • Waterfall model

  • Website design

  • Windows

  • Word

  • Word size

  • Working memory

  • Wrapper

Computer Security

The protection of computers and the computing infrastructure (i.e., hardware, software, data, information, or knowledge) from theft, damage, disruption, or misdirection of services it provides. It includes protecting and controlling physical access to the hardware, as well as protecting the software or data from harm that may come via inappropriate network access, data corruption, or code injection due to malicious activities by internal or external agents, whether intentional, accidental, or due to someone being tricked into deviating from routine security procedures.

  • Acceptable use policy

  • Access

  • Access control mechanism

  • Active content

  • Administrative safe guards

  • Advanced persistent threat

  • Adversary

  • Anonymization of data

  • Asset

  • Availability

  • Backup

  • Behavior monitoring

  • Bioterrorism

  • Bootkit

  • Box

  • Business continuity

  • Check digit

  • Checksum

  • Cipher

  • Ciphertext

  • Code escrow

  • Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart (Captcha)

  • Computer forensics

  • Computer security incident

  • Consequence

  • Continuity of operations plan

  • Cryptanalysis

  • Cryptographic algorithm

  • Cryptographic encoding

  • Cryptography

  • Cryptology

  • Cyber ecosystem

  • Cyber exercise

  • Cyber incident

  • Cyber incident response plan

  • Cyclic redundancy checks

  • Data availability

  • Data breach

  • Data encryption

  • Data encryption standard

  • Data integrity

  • Data leakage

  • Data loss

  • Data lost prevention

  • Data privacy

  • Data redundancy/mirroring

  • Data reidentification

  • Data spill

  • Data theft decipher

  • Dated administration

  • Decode

  • Decrypt

  • Decryption

  • Digital forensics

  • Disaster recovery

  • Disaster recovery plan (DRP)

  • Downtime

  • Encipher

  • Encode

  • Encrypt

  • Encrypted

  • Encryption

  • Enterprise risk management

  • Event

  • Exfiltration

  • Exploit

  • Exploitation analysis

  • Exposure

  • Failure

  • Fletcher’s checksum

  • Identification (ID)

  • Incident management

  • Incident response

  • Incident response plan

  • Information assurance

  • Information assurance compliance

  • Information communication technology (ICT) supply chain threat

  • Information security policy

  • Information sharing

  • Information system resilience

  • Information system security operations

  • Information Technology (IT) asset

  • Insider threat

  • Integrated risk management

  • Integrity

  • Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR)

  • Intense

  • Internet Security Assessment (ISA)

  • Investigate

  • Investigation

  • Keep pair

  • Keystroke logger

  • Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe (LOCKSS)

  • Machine learning and evolution

  • Master boot record

  • Minimum necessary data set

  • Mitigation

  • Moving target defense

  • Multilevel security

  • Operational exercise

  • Outsider threat

  • Passive attack

  • Physician identification number (PIN)

  • Plaintext

  • Precursor

  • Preparedness

  • Privacy

  • Protected health information (PHI)

  • Provider identification number (PIN)

  • Recovery

  • Redundancy

  • Reidentification

  • Resilience

  • Response

  • Response plan

  • Risk analysis

  • Risk assessment

  • Risk mitigation

  • Risk-based data management

  • Rootkit

  • Secret key

  • Secret key cryptography

  • Secure Hash Standard (SHA)

  • Secure shell (ssh)

  • Security architecture and policy

  • Security audit

  • Security automation

  • Security flaw

  • Security incident

  • Security policy

  • Security program management

  • Security provision

  • Security risk assessment

  • Situational awareness

  • Situs State

  • Spear phishing

  • Spillage

  • Spoofing

  • Symmetric cryptography

  • Symmetric encryption algorithm

  • Symmetric key

  • Tabletop exercise

  • Tailored trustworthy space

  • Targets threat

  • Terminal ID (TERMID)

  • Threat actor

  • Threat agent

  • Threat analysis

  • Threat and vulnerability assessment (TVA)

  • Threat assessment

  • Ticket

  • Traffic light protocol

  • Unauthorized access

  • User Datagram Protocol (UDP)

  • User Identification (USERID)

  • Vulnerability

  • Vulnerability assessment and management

  • Web widget

  • Whale phishing

  • White list

  • White-hat hacker

  • Wipe the disk

Computer-Based Education

A type of curricula in which students interact with a computer as a key element of the learning process. Students may read materials, watch or listen to recordings, complete exercises, interact with models or simulations, and discuss examples, via computer rather than receiving the information from printed materials or an instructor’s oral presentation. Computer-based education is most often accomplished asynchronously, in that the instructor and students are most often not interacting or communicating with each other at the same time.

  • Avatar

  • Computer-based simulation

  • Conceptual fidelity

  • Confederate

  • Continuing medical education (CME)

  • Discrete event simulation

  • European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL)

  • International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL)

  • Maintenance of certification (MOC)

  • Manikin (mannequin)

  • Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)

  • Professional development

  • Simulated patient

  • Standardized patient

  • Transformation-based learning

  • Tutoring system

  • Virtual patient

Corporation

A corporation is a legal entity that is separate and distinct from its owners. Corporations enjoy most of the rights and responsibilities that an individual possesses. For example, a corporation has the right to enter into contracts, loan and borrow money, sue and be sued, hire employees, own assets and pay taxes. It is often referred to as a “legal person.” This means that the corporation itself, not the people who make it up or the people who own it, is held legally liable for the actions and debts the business incurs.

  • Allscripts

  • Aprima Medical Software

  • AthenaHealth

  • Cerner Corporation

  • Computers Programs and Systems, Inc. (CPSI)

  • eClinicalWorks (eCW)

  • ECRI

  • E-MDs

  • Epic Systems Corporation

  • General Electric (GE) Health care

  • Greenway Medical Technologies

  • Hospital Corporation of America (HCA)

  • International Business Machines (IBM)

  • Meditech

  • NextGen Healthcare Information Systems Inc.

  • Practice Fusion

  • Red Hat

  • Surescripts

  • Telco

Data Analysis

A systematic process for collection of raw data, inspecting, cleaning, transforming, and modeling that data with the goal of turning it into useful information, suggesting conclusions, and supporting decision-making.

  • Data variability

  • Data variety

  • Data velocity

  • Data veracity

  • Data volume

  • Digital signal processing (DSP)

  • Drill-down analysis

  • Frequency modulation

  • Garbage in, garbage out (GIGO)

  • Instrumental variable

  • Pattern recognition

  • Pharmacokinetic parameters

  • Pharmacovigilance

  • Protocol analysis

  • Waveform template

  • Wavelet compression

Data Structure

A manner in which data can be organized in a computer so that they can be used efficiently in an algorithm or for analysis. A data structure is a concrete implementation of a specific abstract data type. Different kinds of data structures are suited to different kinds of applications, and some are highly specialized to specific tasks. Data structures provide a means to manage large amounts of data efficiently.

  • Address (data)

  • Associative array

  • Binary tree

  • Data arrays

  • First in, first out (FIFO)

  • First in, last out (FILO)

  • Graph

  • Linked list

  • Sets

  • Stack (data)

  • Tree

Data Type

The term data type is used in different scientific contexts to refer to the methods of classifying data according to the possible values for that type, the operations (e.g., statistical methods) that can be done on values of that type, the meaning of the data, and (especially in computer science) the way values of a particular type of data can be stored.

  • 9-digit ZIP Code Plan (ZIP + 4)

  • Absolute time

  • Alphabet

  • Alphanumeric

  • Analog data

  • Analog signal

  • Array

  • Array list

  • Bit array

  • Bitmap

  • Boolean (true or false)

  • Cartesian tree

  • Character

  • Circular buffer

  • Coded data

  • Common Clinical Data Set

  • Container

  • Continuous data

  • Control table

  • Data

  • Datum

  • Delimited character string

  • Digital data

  • Digital signal

  • Discriminated union

  • Disjoint union

  • Double floating point

  • Double-ended queue

  • Doubly linked list

  • Dynamic array

  • Enumerated

  • Floating point

  • Free list

  • Freetext

  • Genetic data

  • Geospatial data

  • Greenwich mean time (GMT or ZULU)

  • Gregorian date

  • Hashed array tree

  • Iliffe vector

  • Image data

  • Integer

  • Interval scale

  • Irrational number

  • Julian date

  • List

  • Lookup table

  • Medical data

  • Multidimensional data

  • Multimap

  • Multiset

  • Noise

  • Nominal scale

  • Nonnumeric characters

  • Ordinal scale

  • Outcomes data

  • Parallel array

  • Patient specific information

  • Patient-generated data

  • Pixel

  • Priority queue

  • Queue

  • Randomized binary search tree

  • Ratio scale

  • Rational number

  • Real number

  • Record

  • Relative time

  • Self-balancing binary search tree

  • Serial data

  • Set

  • Sorted array

  • Sparse array

  • Sparse matrix

  • Structured content

  • Tagged union

  • Telemetry

  • Tuple

  • Unstructured data

  • Value set

  • Variable-length array

  • Variant record

  • Vector

  • Weight-balanced tree

  • XOR linked list

  • Year (YR)

  • Year (YYYY)

  • Year 2000 (Y2K)

  • Year of birth (YOB)

  • Year-to-date (YTD)

Data Visualization

Data visualization involves the graphical display of data to facilitate its analysis and communication by making it more accessible, understandable, and usable. Data visualization can be both an art and a science. To convey ideas effectively, the data’s aesthetic form and functionality must be accurately portrayed.

  • Abscissa

  • Amplitude

  • Asymptote

  • Augmented reality

  • Bar chart

  • Bar graph

  • Baseline

  • Boundary conditions

  • Box and whiskers plot

  • Bubble chart

  • Data display

  • Flowcharts

  • Forest plot

  • Graph

  • Graphical analysis

  • Line

  • Logarithmic scale

  • Minimum

  • Monotonic

  • Ordinate

  • Orthogonal

  • Overshoot

  • Peak

  • Plateau

  • Rate of change

  • Sinusoidal waveform

  • Slope

  • Spike

  • Star plot

  • Time course

  • Trend

  • Trough

  • Undershoot

  • Waveform

  • Whiskers plot

Data Warehousing

The process of creating a central repository of data often uploaded from multiple disparate operational data sources that can be used for data analysis and reporting. The data are often transformed from the operational or transactional systems and integrated (or combined) to facilitate different types (e.g., longitudinal) of queries.

  • Administrative versus clinical data

  • Aggregate content

  • Appliances

  • Appropriate field size/type for data

  • Atomicity

  • Atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability (ACID)

  • Attribute

  • Batch mode processing

  • Business intelligence

  • Byte

  • Charge master

  • Chron jobs

  • Clean the data

  • Conform to mention

  • Consistent, standardized internal data naming

  • Content structuring

  • Data aggregation

  • Data attribute

  • Data consistency

  • Data consolidation (reduction)

  • Data cubes

  • Data Description Language (DDL)

  • Data dictionary

  • Data Dictionary Definition Language (DDDL)

  • Data dimensions

  • Data Element Catalog

  • Data integration

  • Data mining

  • Data retention policy

  • Data synthesis

  • Data Views

  • Data warehouse

  • Database backup

  • Datamart

  • Deletes

  • Denormalization

  • Deprecate

  • Dimensional model

  • Dimensional table

  • Draw up

  • Drill across

  • Drill down

  • Drill through

  • Durability

  • Electronic Data Capture (EDC)

  • Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)

  • Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW)

  • Entity

  • Entity Frameworks

  • Entity–Relationship model

  • Exabyte

  • Extract, Transform, Load (ETL)

  • Fact table

  • Field

  • Flag fields (binary)

  • Flat files

  • Foreign key

  • Function graphs

  • Functional programming

  • Gantt chart

  • Geospatial maps

  • Gigabyte (Gb)

  • Global Unique Identifiers as primary keys (GUIDs as PKs)

  • Graphical Query Language (GQL)

  • Heat map

  • Hierarchy

  • Histogram

  • Inner join

  • Inserts

  • Isolation

  • Joins

  • Key field

  • Level of data normalization (first-, second-, third-level normalization)

  • Line graph

  • Longitudinal query

  • Maintenance of raw data after cleansing

  • Many-to-many relationship

  • Master Provider Index (MPI)

  • Megabyte (MB)

  • Metadata

  • Model organism database

  • Multiple multidimensional OLAP

  • Nightly download

  • NoSQL (not only SQL)

  • Null

  • Off-site storage

  • One field–one concept

  • One version of the truth across the enterprise

  • Online analytical processing (OLAP)

  • Open Data Base Connectivity (ODBC)

  • Outer join

  • Performance benchmarks

  • Petabyte (Pb)

  • Pie chart

  • Postgenomic data base

  • Primary key

  • Query tuning/optimization

  • Query-by-example

  • Radar plot

  • Read-only access/privileges

  • Real-time data upload

  • Referential integrity

  • Report date

  • Research Data Repository (RDR)

  • Rolling benchmark calculation

  • Scatter plot

  • Schema

  • Secondary use of data

  • Slice and dice

  • Snowflake schema

  • Sparklines

  • Table relationship mapping

  • Tables

  • Terabyte (Tb)

  • Time series plot

  • Timelines

  • Transactional system

  • Tree map

  • Trigger

  • Twinkling database

  • Updates

  • Value

  • Virtual data warehouse (VDW)

  • Warehousing

  • X–Y plots

  • Yottabyte

Disease

Refers to any condition that impairs the normal functioning of the human body. Diseases are often associated with some type of dysfunction within the body’s normal homeostatic process. Commonly, the term disease is used to refer specifically to infectious diseases, that result from the presence of pathogenic microbial agents, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, multicellular organisms, and aberrant proteins known as prions. There are also noninfectious diseases, including most forms of cancer, heart disease, and genetic disease. Four main types of diseases are typically considered: pathogenic diseases, deficiency diseases, hereditary diseases, and physiological diseases.

  • Acute bronchitis

  • Acute disease

  • Acute illness

  • Anthrax

  • Appendicitis

  • Bacterial sepsis

  • Black lung (pneumoconiosis)

  • Chronic lower respiratory disease

  • Cytomegalovirus (CMV)

  • Diphtheria

  • Epidemic

  • Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)

  • Graft versus host disease (GVHD)

  • Group B strep

  • Haemophilus influenza

  • Heart disease

  • Hepatitis B (Hep B)

  • Hepatitis C virus (HCV)

  • Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

  • Human papillomavirus (HPV)

  • Influenza (flu)

  • Ischemic vascular disease

  • Japanese encephalitis (JE)

  • Liver disease

  • Measles

  • Meningitis

  • Meningococcal infection

  • Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)

  • Mumps

  • Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC)

  • Nephritis

  • Pathogen

  • Pathological

  • Peptic ulcer

  • Pertussis

  • Pneumococcal pneumonia

  • Pneumonia

  • Pneumonitis

  • Polio

  • Rabies

  • Reportable diseases

  • Respiratory distress

  • Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)

  • Rotavirus

  • Rubella

  • Septicemia

  • Sexually transmitted disease (STD)

  • Shingles

  • Smallpox

  • Symptoms (Sx)

  • Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)

  • Tetanus

  • Tuberculosis (TB)

  • Upper respiratory infection (URI)

  • Urinary tract infection (UTI)

  • Varicella

  • Venereal disease (VD)

  • Viral hepatitis

  • Virus

  • Yellow fever

  • Zika virus

Electronic Health Record Function

An electronic health record is a compilation of software routines that provide all the features and functions (e.g., data capture, order creation, information sharing, recording clinician findings, thoughts, and actions, and storage of an accurate and complete copy of a patient’s health record) required to help clinicians (e.g., physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, nutritionists, etc.) practice medicine.

  • Accessibility-centered design

  • Accounting of disclosures

  • Active order

  • Active problem

  • Activities of daily living (ADLs)

  • Admission Discharge Transfer (ADT)

  • Advance Health Care Directive

  • After Visit Summary (AVS)

  • Amendments

  • Application access—all data request

  • Archive

  • Assessment

  • Audit report(s)

  • Auditable events and tamper-resistance

  • Automated measure calculation

  • Automated numerator recording

  • Automatic access time-out

  • Baseline rate, population

  • Bed Master File (BED)

  • Best Practice Alert (BPA)

  • Break The Glass (BTG)

  • Cancelled order

  • Chief Complaint (CC)

  • Clinical information reconciliation and incorporation

  • Clinical practice guidelines

  • Clinical quality measures (CQMs)—record and export

  • Common Clinical Data Set summary record—create and receive

  • Contact information

  • Cosign

  • Coverage list

  • Data export

  • Data segmentation for privacy

  • Date of birth (DOB)

  • Date of death (DOD)

  • Date/Time stamp

  • Demographics

  • Dependent

  • Dictation

  • Differential diagnosis

  • Direct Project

  • Discharge summary

  • Discontinued (DC) order

  • Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order

  • Dose

  • Drug-formulary and preferred drug list checks

  • Edge Protocol

  • Electronic Prescribing (eRx)

  • Electronic Reportable Lab

  • Electronic signature (eSignature)

  • Emergency access

  • Encounter-based record

  • End-user device encryption

  • Episode-based record

  • Estimated Date of Confinement (EDC)

  • Family health history

  • Filled prescription

  • Frequency of administration

  • Hand-off

  • Health Risk Assessment (HRA)

  • History (hx)

  • History of Present Illness (HPI)

  • Implantable device list

  • Laboratory information system (LIS)

  • Medical history for all children

  • Medication allergy list

  • Medication history

  • Medication list

  • Medication route

  • No Known Allergies (nka)

  • Objective

  • Order catalog

  • Order Entry (OE)

  • Ordering provider

  • Parts of order

  • Past Medical History

  • Patient health information capture

  • Patient-specific education resources

  • Pending order

  • Perscription

  • Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST)

  • Plan

  • Problem list

  • Problem-oriented medical record (POMR)

  • Profile

  • Psychiatric history

  • Quality system management

  • Radiology Information System (RIS)

  • Reason for referral

  • Referral

  • Resolved problem

  • Results reporting

  • Review of Systems (ROS)

  • Safety-enhanced design

  • Secure messaging

  • Sign & Hold (S&H)

  • Signature

  • Sign-out

  • Smoking history

  • Smoking status

  • Social history

  • Social, psychological, and behavioral data

  • Stop date

  • Subjective

  • Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan (SOAP) note

  • Surgical history

  • Test name

  • Transmission to cancer registries

  • Transmission to immunization registries

  • Transmission to public health agencies—electronic case reporting

  • Trusted connection

  • Vendor system

Evaluation

A systematic set of methods for making a judgment or assessment of a subject’s merit, amount, worth, number, value, or significance. These judgments are made using criteria governed by a set of standards. Formative evaluations can be used to assess an intervention, initiative, person, project, program, or even an entire organization, and help with decision-making designed to make something better. Summative evaluations can be used to ascertain the degree of achievement or value in regard to the aim and objectives and results of any such action or intervention that has been completed. The primary purpose of evaluation, in addition to gaining insight into prior or existing initiatives, is to enable reflection and assist in the identification of future decisions or change.

  • Cost-benefit analysis

  • Cost effectiveness threshold

  • Formative assessment

  • Formative evaluation

  • Goal-free approach

  • Internal validation

  • Marginal cost-effectiveness ratio

  • Objectivist

  • Process measure

  • Quasilegal approach

  • Responsive-illuminative approach

  • Staged evaluation

  • Subjectivist

  • Summative assessment

  • User profiling

  • Validation

  • Web analytics

Field of Study

A branch of knowledge that is taught and researched as part of higher education. A student or scholar’s field of study, or academic discipline, is commonly defined and recognized by university faculties, learned societies, and the academic journals that publish research in that particular scientific area. In general, the specific knowledge that is included in any specific academic discipline is open to debate and commonly, multiple fields of study cover the same knowledge.

  • Anthropology

  • Anthropometry

  • Artificial intelligence (AI)

  • Basic research

  • Basic science

  • Behavioral economics

  • Behaviorism

  • Bibliometrics

  • Big data

  • Bioethics

  • Bioinformatics

  • Biomedical computing

  • Biomedical engineering

  • Biomedical informatics

  • Biostatistics

  • Calculus

  • Causal modeling

  • Clinical informatics

  • Clinical research

  • Clinical research informatics

  • Cognitive science

  • Cognitive work analysis

  • Comparative effectiveness research (CER)

  • Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)

  • Complexity science

  • Computational linguistics

  • Computational intelligence

  • Computer programming

  • Computer science (CS)

  • Computer supported cooperative work (CSCW)

  • Computer vision (CV)

  • Computer-aided instruction (CAI)

  • Computer-based education

  • Consumer health informatics

  • Cybernetics

  • Data science

  • Data visualization

  • Database design and administration

  • Decision analysis

  • Decision science

  • Decision support

  • Dental informatics

  • Descriptive statistics

  • Distributed cognition

  • eHealth

  • Epidemiology

  • Ergonomics

  • Ethnography

  • Evidence-based medicine (EBM)

  • Experimental science

  • Genomics

  • Health informatics

  • Health information management (HIM)

  • Health information technology (HIT)

  • Health policy

  • Health services research

  • Health technology assessment (HTA)

  • Human–computer interaction (HCI)

  • Human factors

  • Imaging informatics

  • Implementation science

  • Industrial engineering (IE)

  • Inferential statistics

  • Informatics

  • Information and communications technology (ICT)

  • Information science

  • Interventional radiology

  • Lexicography

  • Linear systems

  • Machine learning

  • Medical anthropology

  • Medical computer science

  • Medical computing

  • Medical decision making

  • Medical informatics

  • Medical information science

  • Medical management

  • Medical technology

  • Metrology

  • Mobile health (mHealth)

  • Morphology

  • Morphometrics

  • Nanotechnology

  • Neural computing

  • Neural informatics

  • Nonlinear systems

  • Nosology

  • Nuclear medicine imaging

  • Numerical analysis

  • Nursing informatics

  • Operations research

  • Outcomes research

  • Pathophysiology

  • Persuasive technology

  • Population health

  • Precision medicine

  • Predicate calculus

  • Predictive modeling

  • Program evaluation

  • Public health

  • Public health informatics

  • Recommender systems

  • Scientific writing

  • Sociotechnical systems

  • Spatiotemporal analytics

  • Structural informatics

  • Technology assessment

  • Teleconsultation

  • Teledermatology

  • Telehealth

  • Telemedicine

  • Telepathology

  • Teleradiology

  • Telerobotics

  • Topology

  • Translational bioinformatics

  • Ultrasound imaging

  • Vectorcardiography

  • Virtual reality

Genetics

A biological field concerned with genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms. It focuses mainly on the study of the subcellular properties (i.e., molecular structures, functions of genes, and gene behavior) of cells or organisms that enable the transfer, or in some cases the inability to transfer, various traits from parents to their offspring. This transfer allows for the propagation of certain anatomical and physiological characteristics from one generation to the next.

  • Allele

  • Alternative splicing product

  • Base pair

  • Biomarker

  • Candidate gene study

  • Chromosome

  • Complementary DNA

  • Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)

  • DNA sequencing

  • Drive

  • Enzyme

  • Epigenetics

  • Fitness landscape

  • Functional genomics

  • Gene

  • Gene prediction

  • Gene product

  • Gene therapy

  • Genome

  • Genome level characters

  • Genome wide association study (GWAS)

  • Genotype

  • Horizontal gene transfer

  • Human Genome Project (HGP)

  • Hybridization

  • Infectome

  • Ligand

  • Messenger RNA

  • Microbiome

  • Mouse model

  • Mutation

  • Next-generation sequencing

  • Northern blot

  • Oligonucleotide

  • Open reading frame

  • Orthologous

  • Phage

  • Pharmacogenetics

  • Pharmacogenomics

  • Phenotype

  • Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)

  • Polymorphism

  • Proband

  • Protein sequence database

  • Proteomics

  • Reading frame

  • Ribonucleic acid (RNA)

  • Sequence alignment

  • Sequence information

  • Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)

  • Southern blot

  • Structural alignment

  • Systematic classification of proteins

  • Transcription factor

  • Universal genetic code

  • Variants

  • Whole genome shotgun sequencing

Government Funding

Any financial support provided by a local, state, or federal government organization often used to fund various types of scientific research. The funding is often determined through a competitive process, in which potential projects are evaluated (often by peers) and only the most promising receive funding.

  • Affordable Care Act (ACA)

  • Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Services Block Grant

  • American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)

  • Cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid (caBIG)

  • Career Development Award (K Award)

  • Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009

  • Clinical Translational Science Awards (CTSA)

  • Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment Program (EPSDT)

  • Health Manpower Shortage Area (HMSA)

  • Home and Community-Based Waivers

  • Integrated Advanced Information Management Systems (IAIMS)

  • Medicaid (Title XIX)

  • Notice of Award (NOA)

  • Notice of Grant Award (NGA)

  • Principal Investigator (PI)

  • Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE)

  • Request for Applications (RFA)

  • Social Security

  • Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) Services

  • State Medicaid Health Information Technology Plan

  • Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

  • Veterans’ Disability Pension Program

Government Organization

A permanent or semipermanent organization that forms a part of the government’s bureaucracy. Individual organizations are often responsible for the oversight and administration of specific government functions. A government organization may be established by national, state, or local legislative or executive branches of government. The autonomy, independence, and accountability of government organizations vary widely.

  • Advisory Committee for Immunization Practice (ACIP)

  • Agency

  • Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

  • Area Agency on Aging (AAA)

  • Australian Health Information Council (AHIC)

  • Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council (AHMAC)

  • Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

  • Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)

  • Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

  • Consolidated Health Informatics (CHI)

  • Department of Defense (DoD)

  • Department of Health (DoH)

  • Department of Health and Human Services (HHS or DHHS)

  • Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)

  • Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

  • European Union (EU)

  • Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA)

  • Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

  • Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

  • Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

  • Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

  • General Services Administration (GSA)

  • Government Accountability Office (GAO)

  • Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA)

  • Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)

  • Health Systems Agency (HSA)

  • Home Health Agency (HHA)

  • Indian Health Service (HIS)

  • Inspector General (IG)

  • Maternal and Child Health Block Grant (Programs for Children with Special Needs)

  • Military Health System (MHS)

  • Ministry of Health (MOH)

  • National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA)

  • National Cancer Institute (NCI)

  • National Center for Biotechnical Information (NCBI)

  • National Center for Health Services and Research (NCHSR)

  • National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)

  • National Committee for Quality Health Care (NCQHC)

  • National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS)

  • National Computer Security Association (NCSA)

  • National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC)

  • National Health Service (UK) (NHS)

  • National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

  • National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)

  • National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)

  • National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

  • National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

  • National Institute of Dental Research (NIDR)

  • National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases (NIDDKD)

  • National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

  • National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

  • National Institute on Aging (NIA)

  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

  • National Institutes of Health (NIH)

  • National Library of Medicine (NLM)

  • National Program for Information Technology (UK) (NPfIT)

  • National Science Foundation (NSF)

  • National Security Agency (NSA)

  • National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)

  • Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

  • Office of Civil Rights (OCR)

  • Office of Inspector General (OIG)

  • Office of Management and Budget (USA) (OMB)

  • Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC)

  • Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)

  • President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC)

  • Public Health Agency

  • Public Health Department

  • Public Health Services (PHS)

  • Regional Health Information Network (RHIN)

  • Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO)

  • Veterans Health Administration (VHA)

  • Veterans’ Health Services Programs

  • Vital Statistics

  • World Health Organization (WHO)

Health Insurance

A financial arrangement in which a company or government agency provides a future guarantee of compensation for specified medical expenses resulting from injury, illness, or death in return for payment of an upfront premium. The insurance companies or government agencies determine the upfront premium by estimating the overall medical costs associated with the individuals in the group that it is insuring.

  • Adjusted Average Per Capita Cost (AAPCC)

  • Blue Cross/Blue Shield (BC/BS)

  • Braided Funding

  • Captive

  • Carrier

  • Catastrophic Health Insurance

  • Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP)

  • Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS)

  • Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Veterans Administration (CHAMPVA)

  • Competitive Medical Plan (CMP)

  • Consumer

  • Coverage

  • Coverage Basis

  • Coverage Decision

  • Covered Services

  • Current Annual Premium

  • Current Claimant

  • Custodial Care

  • Defined Benefit

  • Defined Contribution

  • Drug Claims Processing

  • Drug Risk-Sharing Arrangements

  • Dual Eligible

  • Exclusive Provider Arrangement (EPA)

  • Expenditure Target (ET)

  • Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP)

  • Federal Poverty Level (FPL)

  • Flexible Savings Account (FSA)

  • Formulary

  • Future Purchase Option (FPO)

  • General Liability Claims/Losses

  • Guaranteed Renewal

  • Health Insurance Purchasing Cooperative (HIPC)

  • Health Plan

  • Health Risk Factors

  • Health Status

  • High-Risk Pool

  • Home Health Care Benefit Amount

  • Indemnity insurance

  • Inflation Protection Duration: Life of Policy/Certificate

  • Institutional Long-Term Care (ILTC)

  • Joint and Several Liability

  • Joint Underwriting Association

  • Lifetime Maximum Structure (LMS)

  • Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI)

  • Maintenance Assistance Status (MAS)

  • Major medical insurance

  • Medical Necessity

  • Medicare Advantage

  • Medicare Supplement Insurance (MedSupp)

  • Medigap

  • Nursing Home Liability Insurance

  • Offshore Captives

  • Partnership Status

  • Policy Benefit Type

  • Policy Number

  • Preadmission Certification

  • Preexisting Condition

  • Preferred Provider Arrangement (PPA)

  • Premium

  • Private health insurance

  • Professional Liability Claims/Losses

  • Psychiatric Rehabilitation Option

  • Qualifying Condition

  • Regulated Insurance Carrier

  • Reimbursement

  • Reinsurance

  • Remaining Lifetime Benefits

  • Rent-A-Captive

  • Restricted-Benefit Enrollee

  • Risk Retention Group (RRG)

  • Self-Insured plans

  • Service Plan

  • Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)

  • Spend-Down

  • Spousal Impoverishment

  • Underinsured

  • Underwriting

  • Veterans’ Disability Compensation Program

  • Workers’ Compensation Program

Healthcare Finance

A branch of the field of finance that describes the processes by which patients and healthcare beneficiaries pay for medical expenses. When thinking about healthcare finance, one must consider at least three questions: How is the money raised to pay for the healthcare services? How are funds from groups of patients pooled? And, how are healthcare services paid for?

  • Blended Funding

  • Capital

  • Capital Expenditure Review

  • Capitalization

  • Capitation Rate

  • Carve Out

  • Catchment Area

  • Certificate of Need (CON)

  • Community Rating

  • Cost Containment

  • Cost Minimization Analysis (CMA)

  • Cost Neutrality

  • Cost of Illness Analysis (COI)

  • Cost of Living Adjustment/Allowance (COLA)

  • Cost Sharing

  • Cost Shifting

  • Cost Utility Analysis

  • Cost-Based Reimbursement

  • Cost-Benefit Analysis

  • Cost-Shifting

  • Diagnostic-related Group (DRG)

  • Guarantor

  • Insurance guarantor

  • Medicare (Title XVIII)

  • Self-pay

  • Uncompensated Care

  • Uniform billing form (UB-92)

  • Workman’s compensation

Hospital Department

The set of organizational components commonly found in hospitals. Hospital departments provide specific diagnostic or therapeutic services to patients throughout the hospital.

  • Acute Care

  • Ancillary Services

  • Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) Unit

  • Burn unit

  • Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU)

  • Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU)

  • Care/Case Management

  • Critical care

  • Critical Care Unit (CCU)

  • Ear, Nose, Throat (ENT)

  • Emergency Department (ED)

  • Emergency Room (ER)

  • Escort Services

  • General surgery

  • Graduate Medical Education (GME)

  • Head, Eyes, Ears, Nose, (Mouth), and Throat (HEENT)

  • Health Education

  • Health Promotion

  • Hospice Care

  • Information Systems (IS)

  • Information Technology (IT)

  • Inpatient

  • Intensive Care Unit (ICU)

  • Intermediate Care

  • Labor and Delivery (L&D)

  • Laboratory (LAB)

  • Long-term care Ombudsman

  • Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU)

  • Mental Health Services

  • Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

  • Network Operation Center (NOC)

  • Nursing station

  • Occupational Health Services

  • Occupational Therapy (OT)

  • Ombudsman

  • Operating Room (OR)

  • Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)

  • Perinatal

  • Pharmaceutical and Therapeutic (P&T) committee

  • Physical Therapy (PT)

  • Postacute Care (PAC)

  • Postanesthesia Care Unit (PACU)

  • Pulmonary Intensive Care Unit (PICU)

  • Rapid Response Team (RRT)

  • Rehabilitation

  • Risk management (RM)

  • Skilled Nursing Care

  • Special Care Units

  • Subacute Care

  • Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU)

  • Tertiary care

  • Transportation Services

  • Trauma line

Human–Computer Interaction

A subfield of computer science that focuses on the design and use of computing technology that provides the interface between computing technology and the people who use it. It relies heavily on the more mature fields of cognitive science and human factors engineering. An important goal of the field is to facilitate a “dialog” between humans and computers, which is similar to that of human-to-human interactions.

  • Abbreviations to avoid

  • Affordance

  • Augmented reality

  • Autocompletion

  • Bitmap display

  • Button

  • Cascading style sheets

  • Charting by exception

  • Chronological order

  • Cognitive load

  • Contrast

  • Copy and paste

  • Cursor

  • Dashboard

  • Data overload

  • Direct manipulation

  • Drop-down control

  • Error recovery

  • Feedback

  • Flowsheet

  • Foreground/background color combinations to avoid

  • Graphic editor

  • Graphical models

  • Graphical user interface (GUI)

  • Growth charts

  • Haptic feedback

  • Human-readable content

  • Hypertext

  • Icon

  • Information overload

  • Interface consistency

  • Joystick

  • Keyboard

  • Keystroke Level Modeling (KLM)

  • Learnability

  • Light pen

  • Make the right thing to do, the easiest thing to do

  • Mandatory field

  • Memorability

  • Mental models

  • Menu

  • Metaphor

  • Metaphor graphics

  • Mouse (pointing device)

  • Multimedia

  • Passive

  • Perception

  • Postscript

  • Presentation

  • Prospective memory

  • Radio button

  • Range check

  • Raster image

  • Readability

  • Red, green, blue pixels

  • Relevant feedback

  • Reverse chronological order

  • Right information to right person at right time, so they can make right decision

  • Screenshot

  • Shared mental model

  • Structured data

  • Tab control

  • Tab metaphor

  • Tactile feedback

  • Tiling

  • Touchscreen

  • Trackball

  • Usability

  • Usability engineering

  • Use error

  • User experience (UX)

  • User interaction model

  • User profile

  • User-centered design (UCD)

  • Vector image

  • View

  • Visibility

  • Visualization

  • What you see is what you get (WYSIWYG)

  • White board

Identity Management

A broad administrative area or discipline that deals with identifying individuals in a system (such as a hospital, a healthcare delivery network, or an entire community), protecting that identify, and controlling their access to resources within that system by associating specific user rights and restrictions with the user’s established identity. The goal of identity management is to ensure that the right individuals are able to access the right resources at the right times and for the right reasons.

  • Access and identity management

  • Access control

  • Accessibility

  • Accountability

  • Attestation

  • Audit trail

  • Authenticate

  • Authentication

  • Authenticity

  • Authorization

  • Biometric authentication

  • Biometric identification

  • Biometric identifier

  • Comingled records

  • Confidentiality

  • Confidentiality, integrity, availability (CIA)

  • Data confidentiality

  • Deidentification

  • Deidentified data

  • Duplicate records

  • Face (facial) recognition

  • Finger print recognition

  • Handwriting recognition

  • Inaccessibility

  • Internet certificate

  • k-Anonymity

  • Key

  • Key resource

  • Nonrepudiation

  • Palm-print recognition

  • Password

  • Password change policy

  • Personal identification number (PIN)

  • Personal identifying information

  • Role-based security

  • Role-limited access

  • Social Security Number (SSN)

  • Three factor authentication—something you know, something you have, something you are

  • Two-factor authentication

Imaging

The process of creating a visual representation or reproduction of an object’s internal or external structure. It can be used to allow clinicians to look at the inside or outside of the human body for clues about a medical condition. A variety of machines, modalities, and techniques can create visual representations of the internal and external structures and activities of the body.

  • Back projection

  • Charge-coupled device (CCD) camera

  • Chest photofluorography

  • Chest X-ray (CXR)

  • Color resolution

  • Computed radiography

  • Computed tomography (CT)

  • Computerized axial tomography (CAT)

  • Contrast radiography

  • Contrast resolution

  • Contrast-enhanced ultrasound

  • Convolution

  • Deformable model

  • Diffuse optical imaging

  • Diffusion tensor imaging

  • Diffusion-weighted imaging

  • Digital image

  • Digital image acquisition

  • Digital radiography

  • Digital subtraction angiography

  • Dosimetry

  • Echocardiography

  • Edge detection

  • Electrical impedance tomography

  • Feature classification

  • Feature detection

  • Feature extraction

  • Filmless imaging

  • Fluoroscopy

  • Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

  • Functional mapping

  • Global processing

  • Gray scale

  • Gynecologic ultrasonography

  • Histogram equalization

  • Image database

  • Image enhancement

  • Image generation

  • Image management

  • Image manipulation

  • Image processing

  • Imaging modality

  • Intravascular ultrasound

  • Ionizing radiation

  • Light

  • Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

  • Molecular imaging

  • Multimodal image fusion

  • Neuroimaging

  • Nonionizing radiation

  • Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging

  • Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy

  • Obstetric ultrasonography

  • Phantom

  • Positron emission tomography (PET)

  • Projection

  • Qualitative arrangement

  • Radioactive isotope

  • Region detection technique

  • Resolution

  • Shadow graph

  • Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)

  • Spatial resolution

  • Surface based warping

  • Surface rendering

  • Template Atlas

  • Temporal resolution

  • Temporal subtraction

  • Three-dimensional reconstruction and visualization

  • Three-dimensional structure information

  • Ultrasound

  • Unsharp masking

  • Virtual colonoscopy

  • Volume rendering

  • Volume-based warping

  • Voxel

  • X-ray

  • X-ray crystallography

Information Resource

An element of computing infrastructure (e.g., equipment, personnel) that provides users with the data, information, or knowledge required to help them do their job. Specific information resources may be accessible via the Internet or stored locally on servers.

  • Cochrane Database

  • Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL)

  • Digital library

  • E-book

  • Electronic textbook (eBook)

  • EMBASE

  • Evidence-based medicine database

  • Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

  • Full text database

  • Genomics database

  • Guidelines.gov clearinghouse

  • Hospital Consumer Assessment Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS)

  • Impact factor

  • Index Medicus

  • Information resources

  • Internet archive

  • Medical literature analysis and retrieval system (MEDLARS)

  • Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MEDPAR) File

  • Medicare Provider Inventory (MPI)

  • Merck Medicus

  • Multimedia content

  • Multiparameter Intelligent Monitoring in Intensive Care (MIMIC)

  • National Death Index (NDI)

  • National Digital Information Infrastructure Preservation Program (NDIIPP)

  • National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)

  • Original content

  • Physician’s Desk Reference (PDR)

  • Population-based atlas

  • Primary knowledge-based information

  • Primary literature

  • Science citation index

  • Social security death index

  • State Medicaid databases

  • Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database

  • UMLS semantic network

  • Up-to-date

  • Value Set Authority Center

  • Visible human project

Information Retrieval

The process of obtaining information resources (e.g., articles, books, websites) relevant to an information need (i.e., a query) from a collection of information resources. Searches can be based on full-text information resources or other content-based indexing techniques. Often a query does not uniquely identify a single resource from the collection of resources searched, in which case multiple resources are returned and ranked according to different degrees of relevancy (e.g., closeness of match, time of creation, or proximity to the user). This ranking of search results is a key difference of information retrieval searching compared to precise database searching.

  • All-Payer Claims Database (APCD)

  • Automated indexing

  • Bibliographic content

  • Bibliographic database

  • Boolean search

  • Browsing

  • Check tag

  • Chronology

  • Citation database

  • Cooccurrence of terms

  • Document frequency

  • Emtree

  • Entrez

  • Entry term

  • Exact match searching

  • Excerpta Medica

  • Exploded term

  • Field qualification

  • Filter (for data/information)

  • Full text

  • Google

  • Granularity

  • Index

  • Index attribute

  • Index item

  • Indexed Sequential Access Method (ISAM)

  • Indexing

  • Information

  • Information need

  • Information seeking behavior

  • Inverse document frequency (IDF)

  • Inverted index

  • Keyword

  • Lexical-statistical retrieval

  • Link-based indexing

  • Manual indexing

  • Mesh subheading

  • Metacontent

  • Metadata harvester

  • Natural language query

  • Online bibliographic searching

  • Page rank algorithm

  • Page rank indexing

  • Partial match searching

  • Precision

  • Proximity searching

  • Publication type

  • Query

  • Query and retrieval

  • Ranking

  • Recall

  • Recency ranking

  • Reference

  • Relative recall

  • Relevance ranking

  • Retrieval

  • Search intermediary

  • Search optimization

  • Set-based searching

  • Start with versus contains queries

  • Subheading

  • Subject heading

  • Synoptic content

  • Term frequency

  • Term frequency—inverse document frequency (TF-IDF)

  • Term weighting

  • Text retrieval conference (TREC)

  • Text word searching

  • Vector space model

  • Weights

  • Wildcard character

Journal

A serious, scholarly, peer-reviewed publication that deals with a particular subject or professional activity. Journals may be available in either paper or electronic formats.

  • Applied Clinical Informatics (ACI)

  • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (AIM)

  • BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making

  • Computers in Biology and Medicine

  • International Journal of Medical Informatics (IJMI)

  • Journal of Biomedical Informatics (JBI)

  • Journal of Clinical Monitoring and Computing

  • Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR)

  • Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)

  • Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA)

  • Medical Decision Making

  • Methods of Information in Medicine (MIM)

  • Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)

  • New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM)

Law

The system of rules that our society recognizes as regulating the actions of its members. Failure to follow these laws may result in the imposition of penalties. Many of the “laws” consist of thousand page–plus documents that describe in excruciating detail what is and what is not allowed to occur. Finally, many of these laws have a significant impact on the way health information technology is or is not used in the clinical setting.

  • 508 compliance

  • Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)

  • Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

  • Antitrust

  • Any Willing Provider Laws

  • Arbitration Agreements

  • Authorized Testing and Certification Bodies (ATCBs)

  • Belmont Report

  • Beneficence

  • Business Associate (BA)

  • Business Associate Agreement (BAA)

  • Certified Electronic Health Record Technology (CEHRT)

  • Clinical Laboratory Improvements Amendment (CLIA)

  • Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)

  • Collateral Damages

  • Conditions of Participation (COP)

  • Contracting

  • Copyleft

  • Copyright

  • Covered entity

  • Data stewardship

  • Data Use Agreement (DUA)

  • Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI)

  • Eligible Hospitals (EH)

  • Eligible Professionals (EPs)

  • Emancipated minor

  • Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA)

  • Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)

  • End User License Agreement (EULA)

  • Enterprise Liability

  • Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)

  • Estimated Liability Costs

  • Fair Information Practice Principles (FIPP)

  • Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

  • First do no harm

  • Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

  • Full disclosure

  • Generalizable knowledge

  • Guardian

  • Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act

  • Health Insurance Flexibility and Accountability (HIFA)

  • Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), 1996

  • Hearsay evidence

  • Hill–Burton Act

  • Hold harmless clause

  • Institutional Review Board (IRB)

  • Instructional Health Care Directive

  • Intellectual property (IP)

  • Justice

  • Legal issues

  • Liability

  • License/Licensure

  • Licensing

  • Malpractice

  • Mandate

  • Meaningful Use (MU)

  • Medical power of attorney

  • Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015

  • Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

  • Minor

  • Moral hazard

  • Negligence law

  • Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)

  • Noneconomic Damages

  • Notifiable disease

  • Older Americans Act (OAA)

  • Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1993

  • Open access

  • Open policy

  • Open source

  • Patents

  • Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA)

  • Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA)

  • Peer review

  • Plagiarism

  • Power of Attorney (POA)

  • Professional patient relationship

  • Professional review approach

  • Public Health Service Act

  • Punitive Damages

  • Redact

  • Release of Information (ROI)

  • Settlement

  • Software contract

  • Strict product liability

  • Subpoena

  • Tort Reform

  • Treatment, Payment, Operations (TPO)

  • View, Download, and Transmit

Logic

The systematic use of symbolic and mathematical techniques and principles underlying the arrangements of elements in a computer, which are used to determine the forms of valid deductive argument with a goal of performing a specific task.

  • AND (Boolean)

  • Boolean logic

  • Complement (Boolean)

  • If–then–else

  • Mutually exclusive

  • NAND (Boolean)

  • NOT (Boolean)

  • Not OR (NOR) Boolean logic

  • OR (Boolean)

  • Reify

  • Truth tables

  • Venn diagram

  • XOR Exclusive OR (Boolean)

Malware

A relatively new term that is short for “malicious software.” Rather than being useful to help solve a problem, this software has a malicious intent to disrupt, damage, steal sensitive information, display unwanted advertising, or disable individual computers or entire computing systems. Malware is not used to describe software that causes unintentional harm due to some error or deficiency in its design, development, configuration, or use.

  • Adware

  • Antispyware software

  • Antivirus software

  • Bit torrent

  • Macro virus

  • Malicious applet

  • Malicious code

  • Malicious logic

  • Malware signature

  • Phishing

  • Ransomware

  • Scareware

  • Spyware

  • Trojan horse

  • Virus (computer code)

  • Worm

  • Zombie

Management

The features, functions, and tools required to organize and coordinate the activities of healthcare-related activities within the healthcare system to achieve defined objectives. Management is also concerned with creating the policies and procedures required to organize, plan, control, and direct an organization’s resources, including physical, financial, and human to achieve the objectives of the organization (i.e., provide high-quality patient care to the most patients at the least cost).

  • Accounts payable (AP)

  • Accounts receivable (AR)

  • Accreditation

  • Adult care home

  • Adult day care

  • Assessing clinical information system needs

  • Behavior change

  • Boiler plate text

  • Bring your own device (BYOD)

  • Capital budget

  • Clinical Decision Support (CDS) Oversight committee

  • Clinical program

  • Collaboration

  • Collaborative decision-making

  • Collaborative work

  • Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative

  • Conflict management

  • Consensus group process

  • Consumer price index (CPI)

  • Cooperative

  • Credentialing

  • Data governance

  • Decision support system (DSS)

  • Doing Business As (DBA)

  • Drug Utilization Review (DUR)

  • Dual reporting structure

  • Email etiquette

  • Employee Identification Number (EIN)

  • Employer Identification Number (EIN)

  • EMR Oversight committee

  • Environmental scan

  • Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC)

  • Financial management

  • Fiscal year (FY)

  • Fixed cost

  • Formative decision

  • Full-time equivalent (FTE)

  • Global budgeting

  • Gross domestic product (GDP)

  • Gross national product (GNP)

  • Group purchasing organization (GPO)

  • Health planning

  • Health Service Area

  • Horizontal integration

  • Hospital administration

  • Incremental cost–benefit ratio

  • Indefinite Duration, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ)

  • Individual practice association (IPA)

  • Information technology strategy

  • Initial public offering (IPO)

  • Inventory

  • Just-in-time learning

  • Kaizen

  • Learning health system

  • Letter of intent (LOI)

  • Long run cost

  • Management by objectives (MBO)

  • Matrix management

  • Medical Executive Committee (MEC)

  • Medical Operations Committee (MOC)

  • Medical record committee

  • Medical Review Board (MRB)

  • Negotiation

  • Net present value (NPV)

  • No margin, no mission

  • Nominal group process

  • Occupancy rate

  • On-the-job training (OJT)

  • Operating budget

  • Opportunity cost

  • Opt-in

  • Opt-out

  • Organizational behavior

  • Organizational change

  • Organizational culture

  • Organizational mission

  • Organizational objectives

  • Organizational tactics

  • Organizational vision

  • Participatory decision-making

  • Patient engagement strategy

  • Patient safety strategy

  • Pay by transaction versus pay by user

  • Performance management

  • Physician Incentive Plan (PIP)

  • Population management

  • Present value

  • Process improvement

  • Production

  • Production room

  • Productivity cost

  • Productivity Improvement Program (PIP)

  • Profit and loss (P&L)

  • Project management

  • Project milestones

  • Prospective payment system

  • Purchasing collaborative

  • Reengineering health care

  • Regional Extension Center (REC)

  • Request for information (RFI)

  • Request for proposal (RFP)

  • Resource allocation

  • Resources

  • Responsibility versus accountability

  • Return on equity (ROE)

  • Return on investment (ROI)

  • Risk Management Program

  • Scope creep

  • Service Level Agreement (SLA)

  • Short run cost

  • Social influence theory

  • Social media strategy

  • Software Oversight Committee (SOC)

  • System development life cycle

  • System requirements

  • Time trade-off

  • Utilization review

  • Value-added reseller (VAR)

  • Value-based purchasing (VBP)

  • Volume performance standard

  • Work to limit of license

  • Workflow reengineering

  • Zero-base budgeting (ZBB)

Mathematics

An abstract field of science concerned with the study of topics such as number, quantity, structure, patterns, space, and change of physical objects and abstract concepts. Those who study mathematics (mathematicians) look for patterns and attempt to use them to formulate conjectures. They then attempt to resolve the truth or falsehood of the conjectures by mathematical proof. When mathematicians create mathematical structures that are good models of real phenomena, then mathematical reasoning can provide insight or predictions about nature or the future.

  • 2.71828 (e)

  • 3.14159 (pi)

  • 1024 (2^10)

  • Acute

  • Arc

  • Arithmetic moving average (ARIMA)

  • Base-10

  • Base-2

  • Billion

  • Binary

  • Binary coded decimal (BCD)

  • Binary to decimal conversion

  • Boolean operators

  • Cardinal numbers

  • Coefficient

  • Complex numbers

  • Constant

  • Cosign vector calculation

  • Cosine function

  • Cross product

  • Date

  • Default value

  • Denominator

  • Denormalized numbers

  • Density–amplitude domain

  • Derivative

  • Differential

  • Differential equation

  • Differentiate

  • Digital

  • Dimension

  • Discrete

  • Discriminant

  • Dot product

  • Eigenvectors

  • Entropy

  • Exponent

  • Exponential constant

  • Exponential function

  • Factor

  • Factorial

  • Floating-point arithmetic

  • Fourier analysis

  • Frequency components

  • Frequency response

  • Function

  • Fuzzy logic

  • Global extrema

  • Gradient

  • Gradient descent

  • Halting problem

  • Hash value

  • Hyperbolic

  • Infinitesimal

  • Infinity

  • Integral

  • Interpolate

  • Intersection

  • Inverse

  • Inverse function

  • Kilobyte

  • Limit

  • Linear

  • Linear algebra

  • Local extrema

  • Logarithm

  • Matrix

  • Matrix inversion

  • Maximum

  • Multiplication

  • Natural logarithm

  • Nonlinearity

  • Not a number (NaN)

  • Numerator

  • Octal

  • Operator

  • Optimization

  • Order of magnitude

  • Order of operations

  • Ordinal numbers

  • Partial derivative

  • Percentage

  • Perimeter

  • Power

  • Power law

  • Proof

  • Proportional

  • Quadratic equation

  • Quadratic formula

  • Quotient

  • Ratio

  • Reciprocal

  • Regression

  • Residual

  • Root

  • Root mean square

  • Satisfiability problem

  • Sign

  • Sine function

  • Smoothing

  • Space constant

  • Sum of squares

  • Summation

  • Tangent

  • Time constant

  • Travelling salesman problem

  • Union

  • Vector differentiation

  • Wavelet transformation

Measurement

The assignment of a number to some characteristic of an object or event (e.g., size, length, amount, time, temperature) so that it can be compared with other objects or events. The scope and application of a measurement is dependent on the context and discipline. In the natural sciences and engineering, measurements do not apply to nominal properties (i.e., properties with no magnitude) of objects or events. However, in other fields such as statistics as well as the social and behavioral sciences, measurements can have different levels, including nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio scales.

  • Accuracy of measurement

  • Acoustic

  • Acuity

  • Analog

  • Analytical

  • Angstrom

  • Attenuation

  • Calibration

  • Calorie

  • Distortion

  • Drift

  • Dye dilution indicator

  • Electromyogram

  • False negative result

  • False positive result

  • Fractional change

  • Gain

  • Gold standard test

  • Index test

  • Indicator

  • Intermittant monitoring

  • Invasive monitoring

  • Key performance indicator (KPI)

  • Off scale

  • Offset

  • Order entry rate

  • Patient satisfaction

  • Point of service (POS) testing

  • Pressure

  • Pressure transducer

  • Quantity

  • Real-time data acquisition

  • Recording

  • Refractivity index

  • Resolution of measurement

  • Response time

  • Sampling rate

  • Scalar

  • Signal

  • Signal artifacts

  • Spectrum bias

  • Static

  • Temporal

  • Transducer

  • Ultrasonography

  • Unobtrusive measures

  • Valid

  • Visual analog scale

  • Within Defined Limits (WDL)

Measurement Unit

A term used to describe a definite magnitude of a quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law. In general, a country or organization adopts a specific set of measurement units which are used as a standard for measurement of the same quantity everywhere. There are several different overarching measurement systems including the “English” system, which is in use in the United States, and the SI (Système International d’Unités), which is a globally agreed upon system of units, with seven base units. These base units can be modified by various prefixes (e.g., milli, kilo, mega, etc.). Using the SI system, any value of a specific quantity can be expressed as a simple multiple of the unit of measurement. For most scientific purposes, the SI measurement units are used regardless of the country in which one resides.

  • Ampere (A)

  • Atto (a)

  • Candela (cd)

  • Celsius (C)

  • Centigrade (C)

  • Cubic centimeters (cc)

  • Decibel (Db)

  • Exa (E)

  • Fahrenheit (F)

  • Femto (f)

  • Giga (G)

  • Gram (g)

  • Hertz (Hz)

  • Hour (H)

  • Inch (In)

  • Kelvin (K)

  • Kilo (k)

  • Kilogram (kg)

  • Mega (M)

  • Meter (m)

  • Metric

  • Micro (μ)

  • Microgram (mcg)

  • Micron

  • Milli (m)

  • Milliequivalent (meq)

  • Milligram (mg)

  • Milliliter (mL)

  • Millimeter (mm)

  • Mole (mol)

  • Nano (n)

  • Newton

  • Parts per million (PPM)

  • Peta (P)

  • Pico (p)

  • Postmeridiem (PM)

  • Radian

  • Revolutions per minute (RPM)

  • Second (s)

  • Tera (T)

  • Tesla

  • Units

  • Yocto (y)

  • Yotta (Y)

  • Zepto (z)

  • Zetta (Z)

Medical Billing

The process by which medical coders (either automated or manually) translate clinical documentation of a healthcare service, which is often described in narrative or free text, into a set of diagnosis, procedure, or medication codes, which can be submitted as a claim to an insurance company or directly to the patient. Often, the healthcare provider must follow-up on the claim with the insurance company to ensure it is paid.

  • Administrative services only (ASO)

  • Admitted Carriers

  • All Patient Diagnosis-Related Group (APDRG)

  • Allowable Costs

  • All-Payer System

  • Alternative Market

  • Ambulatory Payment Classification (APC)

  • Appropriateness

  • Assisted Living Facility (ALF) Benefit Amount

  • Average Wholesale Price (AWP) of Prescription Drugs

  • Avoidable Hospital Conditions

  • Bad Debts

  • Balance Billing

  • Basis of Eligibility (BOE)

  • Beneficiary

  • Benefit Start Date of Current Claim Period

  • Billing Audit

  • Cafeteria Benefits Plan

  • Calendar Year

  • Capitated System

  • Capitation

  • Categorically Needy

  • Charges

  • Charity Care

  • Chart Audit

  • Claim Status

  • Coinsurance

  • Company Code

  • Contract Management System

  • Coordination of Benefits (COB)

  • Copayment

  • Cost center

  • Customary Charge

  • Customary, Prevailing, and Reasonable

  • Customer

  • Deductible

  • Diagnosis-Related Group (DRG)

  • Direct cost

  • Discounting

  • Disease Management Program

  • Durable Medical Equipment (DME)

  • Electronic Claim

  • Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)

  • Employer Master File (EMP)

  • Employer Name

  • Employer Type

  • Evaluation and Management Codes (E&M)

  • Explanation of Benefits (EOB)

  • Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN)

  • Fee for Service (FFS)

  • Fee Schedule

  • Fiduciary

  • Fixed fee

  • Foster Child

  • Fraud

  • Hospital Acquired Condition (HAC)

  • Indigent Care

  • Indirect cost

  • Inpatient Prospective Payment System

  • Level of Care (LOC)

  • Marginal cost

  • Medical Record Number (MRN)

  • Medical Savings Account (MSA)

  • Medically Indigent

  • Merit-Based Incentive Payment System

  • National Plan and Provider Enumeration System

  • National Provider Index (NPI)

  • Nonquantifiable benefits and costs

  • Orderable, Performable, Chargeable (OPC)

  • Overhead

  • Per capita payment

  • Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMS)

  • Physician Fee Schedule

  • Preferred Provider Insurance

  • Prepayment

  • Present on Admission (POA)

  • Primary Care Gatekeepers

  • Prospective payment

  • Relative Value Unit (RVU)

  • Resource-Based Relative Value Scale

  • Retrospective payment

  • Revenue center

  • Service benefit

  • Service bureau

  • Stop loss coverage

  • Super bill

  • Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN)

  • Universal Billing Form 92 (UB-92)

  • Usual customary and reasonable fee

  • Variable cost

  • Willingness to pay

Medical Device

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines a medical device as an instrument, apparatus, implement, machine, contrivance, implant, in vitro reagent, or other similar or related article, including a component part, or accessory that is intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other conditions, or in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, in man or other animals, or intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of man or other animals, and which does not achieve any of its primary intended purposes through chemical action within or on the body of man or other animals and which is not dependent upon being metabolized for the achievement of any of its primary intended purposes.

  • Assistive devices

  • Automatic inflation protection type

  • Cannula

  • Cardiovascular monitor

  • Catheter

  • Clamp

  • Crash cart

  • Defibrillator

  • Electrocardiogram (ECG/EKG)

  • Heart–Lung pump

  • High-efficiency particulate attraction filter (HEPA)

  • Hoist scale

  • Home medical equipment

  • Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD)

  • Intraortic balloon pump (IABP)

  • Intravenous (IV) pump

  • Laminar airflow hood

  • Left ventricular assist device (LVAD)

  • Ligature

  • Medication cart

  • Nasal cannula

  • Nasogastric tube (NG)

  • Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pump

  • Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube

  • Peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC)

  • Positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP)

  • Pyxis machine

  • Radio-frequency identification device (RFID)

  • Ventilator

  • Wheelchair (WC)

Medical Facility

A physical location where health care is provided. Medical facilities can range from small clinics and single physician offices to medium-sized urgent care centers and large hospitals with elaborate emergency rooms and trauma centers. In most places, medical facilities are regulated to some extent by a government or private entity. Such licensing by an approved regulatory agency is often required before a facility may open for business and care for patients. Medical facilities may be owned and operated as or by for-profit businesses, nonprofit organizations, and local, state, or federal governments.

  • Academic Medical Center (AMC)

  • Acute Care Unit

  • Ambulatory Care

  • Ambulatory Clinic

  • Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC)

  • Area Health Education Center (AHEC)

  • Assisted Living Facility

  • Behavioral Health

  • Board and Care Home

  • Children’s Hospital

  • Chronic Care

  • Clinic

  • Community Health Center (CHC)

  • Community Hospital

  • Community Long-Term Care (CLTC)

  • Community Mental Health Center (CMHC)

  • Community-Based Care/Services

  • Comprehensive Cancer Center

  • Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC)

  • Critical Access Hospital (CAH)

  • Emergency Care Center

  • Emergency Medical Services (EMS)

  • Emergency Shelter

  • Family Foster Home

  • Foster Care

  • Free clinic

  • General Practice

  • Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC)

  • Group Home

  • Group Practice

  • Health Facilities

  • Home Health

  • Home Health Care

  • Hospice

  • Hospital

  • Independent Living Facility

  • Intermediate Care Facility (ICF)

  • Intermediate Care Facility for the Mentally Retarded (ICF/MR)

  • Isolation room

  • Long-Term Care (LTC)

  • Medicare HMOs

  • Memory Care Unit

  • Military Treatment Facilities (MTFs)

  • Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH)

  • Neighborhood Health Center

  • Nursing Home

  • Nursing Home Care

  • Outpatient

  • Private Practice

  • Rehabilitation Hospital

  • Residential Care

  • Secure Facility

  • Senior Center

  • Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF)

  • Step down unit

  • Tertiary Care Hospital

  • Transitional Care

  • Urgent Care Center (Clinic)

  • Veteran Integrated Service Networks (VISN)

  • Wellness Clinic

Medication

A chemical substance that is introduced (i.e., ingested, injected into a muscle or vein, applied topically to the skin, inhaled, or inserted rectally) into a patient’s body. A medication is designed to treat a patient’s physical or mental illness or to relieve one or more symptoms of a patient’s clinical condition. It is not uncommon for medications to have unintended, adverse effects, or to interact with each other and harm patients. Often medications are referred to as drugs or pharmaceuticals.

  • Adrenaline

  • Albuterol (Proventil)

  • Alendronate (Fosamax)

  • Allopurinol (Zyloric)

  • Alprazolam (Xanax)

  • Amitriptyline (Elavil)

  • Amlodipine (Norvasc)

  • Amoxicillin (Trimox)

  • Amoxicillin–clavulanate (Augmentin)

  • Analgesia

  • Antibiotic (ABX)

  • Artificial nutrition and hydration

  • As desired (ad lib)

  • As needed (prn)

  • Aspirin (asa)

  • At bedtime (q hs)

  • Atenolol (Tenormin)

  • Atomoxetine (Strattera)

  • Atorvastatin (Lipitor)

  • Azidothymidine (AZT)

  • Azithromycin (Zithromax)

  • Azithromycin pack (Z-pack)

  • Bedtime (hs)

  • BID—twice daily

  • Biocompatible

  • Biosimilar

  • Bupropion (Wellbutrin)

  • Capsule (cap)

  • Celecoxib (Celebrex)

  • Cetirizine (Zyrtec)

  • Ciprofloxacin (Cipro)

  • Citalopram (Celexa)

  • Clonazepam (Klonopin)

  • Clonidine (Catapress)

  • Clopidogrel (Plavix)

  • Cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril)

  • Desloratadine (Clarinet)

  • Detailing

  • Dextroamphetamine–amphetamine (Adderall)

  • Dextrose in water (DW)

  • Diazepam (Valium)

  • Digoxin (Lanolin)

  • Diltiazem (Cardizem)

  • Diptheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (DTaP) vaccine

  • Direct to consumer (DTC) advertising

  • Divalproex (Depakote)

  • Doxycycline (Vibramycin)

  • Enalapril (Vasotec)

  • Epinephrine

  • Escitalopram (Lexapro)

  • Esomeprazole (Nexium)

  • Every (q)

  • Every day (QD)

  • Every other day (QOD)

  • Fentanyl (Duragesic)

  • Fentanyl (Sublimaze)

  • Fexofenadine (Allegra)

  • Finasteride (Proscar)

  • Fluconazole (Dipluran)

  • Fluoxetine (Prozac)

  • Fluticasone (Flonase)

  • Folic acid

  • Form

  • Four-times daily (qid)

  • Fresh frozen plasma (FFP)

  • Furosemide (Lasix)

  • Gabapentin (Neurontin)

  • Gemfibrozil (Loped)

  • Generic substitution

  • Glipizide (Glucotrol)

  • Glyburide (Micronase)

  • Haemophilus influenza type B vaccine (Hib)

  • Hepatitis B vaccine (HepB)

  • Hourly (qh)

  • Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ)

  • Hydrocodone–acetaminophen (Vicodin)

  • Ibuprofen (Advil)

  • Immunization vaccines

  • Immunoglobulin G (IgG)

  • Inactivated polio vaccine (IPV)

  • Interchangables

  • International units (IU)

  • Intravenous (IV)

  • Iron supplements

  • IV Piggyback (ivpb)

  • IV Push (ivp)

  • Lansoprazole (Prevacid)

  • Levofloxacin (Levaquin)

  • Levothyroxine, T4 (Synthroid)

  • Lipids

  • Lisinopril (Prinivil)

  • Lorazepam (Ativan)

  • Losartan (Cozaar)

  • Losartan–hydrochlorothiazide (Hyzaar)

  • Lovastatin

  • Magnesium sulfate (MgSO4)

  • Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) vaccine

  • Medication name

  • Medication substitution

  • Metformin (Glucophage)

  • Methylphenidate (Ritalin)

  • Methylprednisolone (Medrol)

  • Metoprolol

  • Morphine (MSO4)

  • Naproxen (Naprosyn)

  • Narcan

  • Niacin (Niacor)

  • Nifedipine (Procardia)

  • Nitroglycerin (Nitrolingual)

  • Normal Saline (ns)

  • Nothing per os (NPO)

  • Number of doses

  • Olanzapine (Zyprexa)

  • Omeprazole (Prilosec)

  • Once daily (OD)

  • Orally (Per os)

  • Over the counter (OTC)

  • Oxycodone (OxyContin)

  • Oxygen (O2)

  • Pantoprazole (Protonix)

  • Paroxetine (Paxil)

  • Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA)

  • Penicillin V (Veetids)

  • Phenytoin (Dilantin)

  • Pioglitazone (Actos)

  • Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine

  • Potassium chloride (Klor-Con)

  • Pravastatin (Pravachol)

  • Prednisone (Deltasone)

  • Prescription (Rx)

  • PRN—from the Latin “pro re nata”

  • Promethazine (Phenergan)

  • Propranolol (Inderal)

  • Proton pump inhibitors (PPI)

  • Protonix

  • Quetiapine (Seroquel)

  • Quinapril (Accupril)

  • Ramipril (Altace)

  • Ranitidine (Zantac)

  • Ringer’s solution

  • Risperidone (Risperdal)

  • Rosiglitazone (Avandia)

  • Rx—perscription

  • Saline

  • Sertraline (Zoloft)

  • Sildenafil (Viagra)

  • Simvastatin (Zocor)

  • Sodium chloride (NaCl)

  • Spironolactone (Aldactone)

  • Subcutaneous (sq)

  • Sulfamethoxazole–trimethoprim (Bactrim)

  • Three times a day (tid)

  • To keep open (TKO)

  • Tobramycin–dexamethasone (TobraDex)

  • Topiramate (Topamax)

  • Total parenteral nutrition (TPN)

  • Toxin

  • Tramadol (Ultram)

  • Triamterene–hydrochlorothiazide (Dayside)

  • Twice daily (bid)

  • Unit-based dosing

  • Valsartan (Diovan)

  • Verapamil (Isoptin)

  • Warfarin (Coumadin)

  • Zolpidem (Ambien)

Natural Language Processing

A subfield of computer science, artificial intelligence, and computational linguistics concerned with developing algorithmic techniques to enable computers to understand human-generated written or spoken natural language.

  • Acronym expansion

  • Acronym standardization

  • Anaphoric references

  • Annotate

  • Annotation

  • Bigrams

  • Bound morpheme

  • Clauses

  • Concept hierarchy

  • Context deficit

  • Context-free grammar

  • Contextual meaning

  • Corpora

  • Derivational morpheme

  • Double negative detection

  • Exception rules

  • Exceptions

  • Foreign language detection

  • Grammar

  • Inflectional morpheme

  • Information extraction

  • Irony detection

  • Label

  • Language modeling

  • Lexeme

  • Lexical form

  • Lexical variants

  • Lexicon

  • Logical connections

  • Machine translation

  • Map tables

  • Metamap

  • Morpheme

  • Natural language processing (NLP)

  • Negation

  • Negative dictionary

  • N-grams

  • Parse

  • Parse tree

  • Part of speech tagging

  • Probabilistic context free grammar

  • Profanity detection

  • Punctuation

  • Punctuation correction

  • Referential expression

  • Sarcasm detection

  • Semantic analysis

  • Semantic grammar

  • Semantic mapping

  • Semantic pattern

  • Semantic type

  • Sentiment analysis

  • Specialized vocabulary mapping

  • Spelling check

  • Spelling correction

  • Stem

  • Stop word list

  • Stop words

  • String

  • Syntax verification

  • Term

  • Text parsing

  • Tokenization

  • Tokens

  • Trigrams

  • Valence weighting

  • Vector mapping

  • White space

  • Word duplication

  • Word sense

  • Word sense disambiguation

Network Security

The activities, policies, and practices an organization uses to protect, prevent, and monitor for unauthorized access, misuse, unintentional modification, or denial of access to a computer network and the network-accessible data, information, and knowledge it contains. Network security involves the authorization of access to data in a network, which is controlled by the network administrator. It includes both hardware and software technologies.

  • Active attack

  • Airgap

  • Asymmetric cryptography

  • Attack

  • Attack method

  • Attack mode

  • Attack pattern

  • Attack signature

  • Attacker

  • Back door

  • Blacklist

  • Bot

  • Bot herder

  • Bot master

  • Botnet

  • Computer network defense analysis

  • Critical infrastructure

  • Cyber infrastructure

  • Cybersecurity

  • Denial of service

  • Distributed denial of service

  • Drive-by download

  • Dynamic attack surface

  • Firewall

  • Hacker

  • Intrusion

  • Intrusion detection

  • IP sec (Internet Protocol Security) logic bomb

  • Network mapper (Nmap)

  • Network resilience

  • Next-generation firewall

  • Packet capture

  • Penetration

  • Penetration test (Pen test)

  • Perimeter definition

  • Pretty Good Privacy (PGP)

  • Private key

  • Proxy access

  • Public key

  • Public key cryptography

  • Public key encryption

  • Public key infrastructure (PKI)

  • Remote desktop protocol (RDP)

  • Secure Socket Layer (SSL)

  • System integrity

  • System security analysis

  • System security architecture

  • Virtual private networks (VPNs)

Organization

A legal entity consisting of an organized group of people that has a collective purpose or goal. There are a variety of types of organizations, including business corporations, governments, nongovernmental organizations, political organizations, international organizations, armed forces, charities, societies, associations, not-for-profit corporations, partnerships, cooperatives, and educational institutions.

  • Accountable Care Organization (ACO)

  • Ambulatory Care Group (ACG)

  • Cochrane Collaboration

  • Community Health Information Network (CHIN)

  • Community Health Management Information Systems (CHMIS)

  • Digital Preservation Coalition

  • Disease Management

  • For-Profit

  • Foundation for Accountability (FACCT)

  • Group model health maintenance organization

  • Health care organization (HCO)

  • Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)

  • Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS)

  • Institutional Health Services

  • Internet Service Provider (ISP)

  • Local Service Provider

  • Managed Care Organization (MCO)

  • Managed competition

  • N3 Service Provider (N3SP)

  • National Application Service Provider (NASP)

  • Nationwide Health Information Network (NwHIN)

  • Network model HMO

  • Network-model health maintenance organization

  • Nonprofit/Not-For-Profit

  • Open archives initiative

  • Pharmaceutical Benefits Manager (PBM)

  • Physician Hospital organization

  • Preferred Provider Organization (PPO)

  • Prepaid group practice

  • Provider Sponsored Organization (PSO)

  • Purchasing coalitions

  • Regional network

  • Social Health Maintenance Organization (SHMO)

  • Staff model health maintenance organization (HMO)

  • The Joint Commission (TJC)

  • The Joint Commission for Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)

  • World intellectual property organization

Patient Safety

The field of study that focuses on the policies, procedures, and activities designed to prevent accidental or preventable harm (e.g., medical errors, injuries, accidents, and infections) produced in the course of providing medical care to patients. Research and activities emphasize the system of care delivery rather than focusing entirely on the activities of individuals that are designed to prevent errors, and to learn from errors that occur. The field is built on the concept of a blame-free culture of safety that involves healthcare professionals, organizations, and patients.

  • Active error

  • Adverse drug event (ADE)

  • Adverse drug reaction (ADR)

  • Adverse event

  • Blame-free culture

  • Blunt end

  • Checklist

  • Checklist effect

  • Clinical risk

  • Clinical risk analysis

  • Clinical risk control

  • Clinical risk estimation

  • Clinical risk evaluation

  • Clinical risk management

  • Clinical risk management file

  • Clinical risk management plan

  • Clinical risk management process

  • Clinical safety

  • Clinical safety case

  • Clinical safety case report

  • Clinical safety officer

  • Close call

  • Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) product

  • Common format

  • Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA)

  • Fixation error

  • Harm

  • Hazard

  • Hazard log

  • Health IT System

  • Hospital-acquired

  • Iatrogenic event

  • Incident

  • Initial clinical risk

  • Intended use

  • Issue

  • Likelihood

  • Manufacturer

  • Never events

  • Nonhealth product

  • Nosocomial

  • Patient

  • Postdeployment

  • Procedure

  • Release

  • Residual clinical risk

  • Risk

  • Risk factor

  • Safety incident

  • Safety incident management log

  • Sentinel event (SE)

  • Sentinel event alert (SEA)

  • Serious safety event (SSE)

  • Severity

  • Technology-related event (TRE)

  • Top management

  • Unintended consequences

People

The men and women who have made important contributions to the field of clinical informatics. This category also includes the titles or roles within the organization that people routinely fill.

  • Al Barrak, Ahmed

  • Al-Shorbaji, Najeeb

  • Altman, Russ

  • Altuwaijri, Majid

  • Ameen, Abu-Hanna

  • Ammenwerth, Elske

  • Andersen, Stig Kjaer

  • Aronsky, Dominik

  • Bakken, Suzanne

  • Bakker, Ab

  • Ball, Marion J.

  • Barnett, G. Octo

  • Bates, David W.

  • Bellazzi, Riccardo

  • Bleich, Howard L.

  • Blobel, Bernd

  • Borycki, Elizabeth

  • Brennan, Patricia Flatley

  • Butte, Atul

  • Carr, Robyn

  • Chang, Polun

  • Chief Clinical Informatics (Information) Officer (CCIO)

  • Chief Privacy Officer

  • Chute, Christopher G.

  • Cimino, James J.

  • Classen, David C.

  • Coiera, Enrico

  • Collen, Morris F.

  • Curmudgeon

  • Database Administrator (DBA)

  • De Moor, Georges

  • Degoulet, Patrice

  • Detmer, Don E.

  • Engelbrecht, Rolf

  • Espinosa, Amado

  • Eysenbach, Gunther

  • Fieschi, Marius

  • Fox, John

  • Friedman, Carol

  • Friedman, Charles P.

  • Gardner, Reed M.

  • Geissbuhler, Antoine

  • Get Out of My Emergency Room (GOMER)

  • Gogia, Shashi

  • Gonzalez Bernaldo de Quiros, Fernan

  • Greenes, Robert A.

  • Hammond, W. Edward

  • Hanmer, Lyn

  • Hannah, Kathryn

  • Hannan, Terry

  • Hasman, Arie

  • Haux, Reinhold

  • Haynes, R. Brian

  • Health Level 7 (HL7) Analyst

  • Hersh, William R.

  • Holmes, John

  • Hovenga, Evelyn

  • Hripcsak, George

  • Hullin, Carol

  • Humphreys, Betsy L.

  • Hussein, Rada

  • Integration conversion programmer

  • Integration data architect

  • Integration project manager

  • Integration testing coordinator

  • Johnson, Kevin B.

  • Kimura, Michio

  • Klaus-Peter, Adlassnig

  • Knowledge engineer

  • Koch, Sabine

  • Kohane, Isaac S.

  • Kulikowski, Casimir

  • Kushniruk, Andre

  • Leao, Beatriz de Faria

  • Lederberg, Joshua

  • Ledley, Robert S.

  • Lehmann, Christoph

  • Leong, Tze Yun

  • Li, Yu-Chuan (Jack)

  • Liaw, Siaw-Teng

  • Lindberg, Donald A.B.

  • Lorenzi, Nancy M.

  • Lovis, Christian

  • Lun, Kwok Chan (KC)

  • Luna, Daniel

  • Mandil, Salah Hussein

  • Mandl, Ken D.

  • Mantas, John

  • Maojo, Victor

  • Marcelo, Alvin

  • Margolis, Alvaro

  • Marin, Heimar de Fatima

  • Martin-Sanchez, Fernando

  • Masic, Izet

  • McCray, Alexa

  • McDonald, Clement “Clem” J.

  • Mihalas, George

  • Miller, Perry L.

  • Miller, Randolph A.

  • Moehr, Jochen

  • Moen, Anne

  • Moghaddam, Ramin

  • Moore, Jason H.

  • Moura, Lincoln de Assis

  • Murray, Peter

  • Musen, Mark A.

  • Nohr, Christian

  • Norman, Donald A.

  • Ohno-Machado, Lucila

  • Otero, Paula

  • Park, Hyeoun-Ae

  • Patel, Vimla L.

  • Peterson, Hans

  • Pinciroli, Francesco

  • Protti, Denis

  • Rector, Alan

  • Rienhoff, Otto

  • Ritchie, Marylyn D.

  • Roberts, Jean

  • Roger France, Francis

  • Sabbatini, Ranato

  • Safran, Charles

  • Saltz, Joel H.

  • Saranto, Kaija

  • Scherrer, Jean-Raoul

  • Schneider, Werner

  • Seroussi, Brigitte

  • Shabo, Amnon

  • Shahar, Yuval

  • Shaikh, Aziz

  • Shortliffe, Edward “Ted” H.

  • Slack, Warner V.

  • Smith, Barry

  • Stead, William W.

  • Szolovits, Peter

  • Takeda, Hiroshi

  • Talmon, Jan

  • Tanaka, Hiroshi

  • Tchuitcheu, Ghislain Kouematchoua

  • Tierney, William M.

  • Toyoda, Ken

  • van Bemmel, Jan H.

  • van der Lei, Johan

  • Warner, Homer R.

  • Weber, Patrick

  • Weed, Lawrence

  • Westbrook, Johanna

  • Westbrooke, Jucy

  • Wiederhold, Giovanni “Gio” C. M.

  • Wong, Chun-Por (CP)

  • Wright, Graham

  • Wu (Ying Wu), Helen

  • Wyatt, Jeremy

  • Zhao, Junping

  • Zvarova, Jana

Physiologic Measurement

Techniques used to assess or measure the function of major organ systems or other bodily functions either directly or indirectly. Physiological measurements can be obtained using a variety of methods, including: self-report; direct observation; direct measurement; indirect measurement; laboratory tests; and electronic monitoring.

  • ABO blood group (ABO)

  • Acid–base balance

  • Acidosis

  • Activated partial thromboplastin time—aPTT (PTT)

  • Acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE)

  • Acute physiology score (APS)

  • Acute renal failure (ARF)

  • Alkalosis

  • Alveolar to arterial partial pressure of oxygen gradient (A–a gradient)

  • Amylase

  • Antinuclear antibodies (ANA)

  • Apgar score

  • Basic metabolic panel (BMP)

  • Birth weight (BW)

  • Blood pressure (BP)

  • Blood urea nitrogen (BUN)

  • Body mass index (BMI)

  • Body surface area (BSA)

  • Complete blood count (CBC)

  • Comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP)

  • Creatine clearance (CrCl)

  • Diastole

  • Draw time

  • Eindhoven’s triangle

  • Electroencephalogram (EEG)

  • Electrolyte balance

  • Electrolyte panel (lytes)

  • Estimated creatinine clearance

  • Fluid balance

  • Glasgow Coma Score (GCS)

  • Glomerular filtration rate (GFR)

  • Health evaluation (Apache–II) scoring system

  • Height (Ht)

  • Hematocrit (hct)

  • Hemoglobin (Hb)

  • Hemoglobin A1C or Glycohemoglobin (HbA1C)

  • Hemoglobin and Hematocrit (H&H)

  • High/Low interpretation

  • High-density lipoprotein (HDL)

  • High-Density lipoprotein cholesterol test (HDL-C)

  • Intake and output (I&O)

  • Intelligence quotient (IQ)

  • International normalized ratio (INR)

  • Laboratory alert

  • Last menstrual period (LMP)

  • Lipid profile

  • Liver (hepatic) function tests (LFT)

  • Mean arterial pressure (MAP)

  • Metabolic acidosis

  • Metabolic alkalosis

  • Microalbumin

  • Normal body temperature (37°C)

  • Normal body temperature (98.6°F)

  • Normal range

  • Organ-system failure (OSF) scoring system

  • Pain score

  • Partial thromboplastin time (PTT)

  • Prothrombin time (PT)

  • Pulmonary function test (PFT)

  • Pulse (P)

  • Pupils equal, round, and reactive to light and accommodation (PERRLA)

  • QRS wave

  • Range of motion (ROM)

  • Respiratory acidosis

  • Respiratory alkalosis

  • Result time

  • Rhesus factor blood group (Rh)

  • Saturation of peripheral oxygen (SpO2)

  • Simplified acute physiology score (SAPS) scoring system

  • Spirometry

  • Therapeutic intervention scoring system (TISS) scoring system

  • Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)

  • Thyroxine (T4)

  • Urinalysis (UA)

  • Urine culture

  • Vital signs (VS)

  • Weight (WT)

  • Within normal limits (wnl)

Physiology

A subfield of biology that deals with the normal functions of living organisms and their parts. Physiologists focus on how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that are required to maintain a living system.

  • Absolute refractory period

  • Absorption

  • Acclimation

  • Accommodation

  • Action potential

  • Activation

  • Active transport

  • Adaptation

  • Aerobic

  • Alimentary

  • Ambient

  • Amplification

  • Anoxia

  • Antagonist

  • Arteriovenous

  • Balance

  • Bowel movement (BM)

  • Catabolism

  • Circadian rhythm

  • Compartment

  • Compliance

  • Contraction

  • Dead on arrival (DOA)

  • Differentiation

  • Diffusion

  • Digestion

  • Dose response curve

  • Equilibrium

  • Evoked

  • Excretion

  • Exsanguinate

  • Fibrillation

  • Gustatory

  • Habituation

  • Homeostasis

  • Ingestion

  • Inhibition

  • Leak

  • Live

  • Long-term memory

  • Mechanism

  • Mental status

  • Metabolism

  • Metabolite

  • Micturition

  • Motility

  • Phase

  • Plasticity

  • Prandial

  • Receptor

  • Recurrent

  • Reflex

  • Refractory period

  • Regulate

  • Respiration

  • Retro grade

  • Secretion

  • Short-term memory

  • Steady-state

  • Stimulus

  • Stimulus response

  • Supramaximal

  • Systole

  • Threshold

  • Transport

  • Upregulation

  • Ventilate

  • Ventilation

Probability Distribution

A mathematical description of a particular phenomenon in terms of the probabilities of events. Examples of such phenomena include the measurement of naturally or man-made events, the results of an experiment, or a survey. A probability distribution is defined in terms of an underlying sample space, which is the set of all possible outcomes of the phenomenon being observed. The sample space may be the set of real numbers or a higher-dimensional vector space, or it may be a list of nonnumerical values (e.g., the sample space of a coin flip would be heads or tails).

  • Bernoulli distribution

  • Bimodal distribution

  • Binomial distribution

  • Exponential distribution

  • Gaussian distribution

  • Kurtosis

  • Log-normal distribution

  • Normal distribution

  • Poisson distribution

  • Power law distribution

  • Skewed

  • Skewness

  • Uniform distribution

Professional Organization

Most often a nonprofit organization with the goal of furthering the mission of a particular profession, maintaining control, or oversight of the legitimate practice of those in the profession and their privileged and powerful position as a controlling body, promoting the interests of those individuals engaged in that profession, and safeguarding the public’s interest in the field. Many professional organizations are involved in the development and monitoring of professional and academic educational programs, and updating the skills of its membership. Often the organization is responsible for overseeing or promoting professional certification within their field to indicate that a person possesses the required qualifications to practice safely and effectively in their specific subject area. Finally, many professional organizations act as learned societies for the academic disciplines underlying their professions.

  • American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)

  • American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)

  • American Cancer Society (ACS)

  • American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

  • American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI)

  • American College of Radiology (ACR)

  • American Dental Association (ADA)

  • American Diabetes Association (ADA)

  • American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA)

  • American Heart Association (AHA)

  • American Hospital Association (AHA)

  • American Lung Association (ALA)

  • American Medical Association (AMA)

  • American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA)

  • American Nurses Association (ANA)

  • American Psychiatric Association (APA)

  • American Psychological Association (APA)

  • American Public Health Association (APHA)

  • Association for Retarded Citizens (ARC)

  • Association of Medical Directors of Information Systems (AMDIS)

  • Canadian Medical Association (CMA)

  • College of American Pathology (CAP)

  • College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME)

  • Computer-Based Patient Record Institute (CPRI)

  • Electronic Health Record Association (EHRA)

  • Health Information Management and Systems Society (HIMSS)

  • Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS)

  • Independent Practice Association (IPA)

  • Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)

  • Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP)

  • Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)

  • Institute of Medicine (IOM)

  • International Academy of Health Sciences informatics (IAHSI)

  • International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA)

  • Medical Group Management Association (MGMA)

  • Medinfo

  • Mothers Against Medical Error (MAME)

  • National Academy of Engineering (NAE)

  • National Academy of Medicine (NAM) [formerly, Institute of Medicine (IOM)]

  • National Academy of Science (NAS)

  • National Alliance for Health Information Technology (NAHIT)

  • National eHealth Transition Authority (NeHTA)

  • National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA)

  • Object Management Group (OMG)

  • Professional Standards Review Organization (PSRO)

  • Radiological Society of North American (RSNA)

  • Visiting Nurse Association (VNA)

  • Workgroup (WG)

Programming Language

A formal computer language that includes a controlled vocabulary and set of grammatical rules designed to instruct a computer how to perform specific tasks. Programming languages are used to create programs to control the behavior of a machine or to express algorithms. The description of a programming language is usually split into two components: syntax (form) and semantics (meaning).

  • Assembly language

  • C Sharp (C#)

  • C++

  • Cache

  • Common Business-Oriented Language (COBOL)

  • Fortran—FORmula TRANslation

  • Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

  • Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP)

  • Java

  • JavaScript

  • Job Control Language (JCL)

  • LISP (LISt Processor)

  • Machine language

  • Markup language

  • Massachusette’s General Hospital (MGH) Utility Multi-Programming System (MUMPS)

  • Mathematical Markup Language (MathML)

  • MicroArray and Gene Expression Markup Language (MAGE-ML)

  • Object Constraint Language (OCL)

  • Ontology Web Language (OWL)

  • Perl

  • Python

  • R programming language

  • Ruby on Rails

  • Structured Query Language (SQL)

  • Swift

  • Symbolic programming language

Quality Management

A business philosophy, focused on customer satisfaction that leads to a set of actions or system to manage the activities and tasks needed to maintain a desired level of consistency or even excellence within a product, process, service, or business. It has four main components: quality planning, quality assurance, quality control, and quality improvement. Quality management is focused not only on product and service quality, but also on the means to achieve it.

  • Access and equity for patient populations

  • Apples-to-apples comparison

  • Automated measure submission to CMS

  • Average length of stay (ALOS)

  • Benchmark

  • Case mix adjustment

  • Case Mix Index (CMI)

  • Case-rate

  • Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI)

  • Central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI)

  • Charlson comorbidity index

  • Clinical performance measures

  • Clinical quality measure

  • Continuous quality improvement (CQI)

  • Cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA)

  • Customer focus

  • Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control (DMAIC)

  • Effective

  • Efficiency

  • Efficient

  • Electronic Clinical Quality Measure (eCQM) (eMeasure)

  • Engagement of people

  • Episode of care

  • Equitable

  • Evidence-based decision-making

  • Expanded quality assurance (XQA)

  • Experience rating

  • Fraud, waste, and abuse (FWA)

  • Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS)

  • Healthcare-acquired infection (HAI)

  • Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Quality Indicators (HCUP QIs)

  • Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS)

  • Health-related quality of life (HRQL)

  • Hospital acquired infection (HAI)

  • Inpatient quality reporting

  • Instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs)

  • Leadership

  • Lean management

  • Length of stay (LOS)

  • Level of care criteria

  • Medical Outcomes Study 36 Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36)

  • Metrics

  • Morbidity

  • Mortality

  • National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF)

  • National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG)

  • Pareto principle

  • Patient safety indicator (PSI)

  • Patient-centered

  • Pay for Performance (P4P)

  • Peer Review Organization (PRO)

  • Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI)

  • Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS)

  • Process approach

  • Producer price index (PPI)

  • Quality assurance (QA)

  • Quality control (QC)

  • Quality improvement (QI)

  • Quality improvement strategy

  • Quality management system

  • Quality measurement (management) dashboard

  • Quality of Care

  • Quality planning

  • Quality Reporting Data Architecture

  • Rapid-cycle improvement

  • Relationship management

  • Reporting period

  • Root-cause analysis (RCA)

  • Safe

  • Severity of illness

  • Six Sigma

  • Surgical Quality Alliance (SQA)

  • System improvement

  • Timely

  • Total quality improvement/management (TQI/TQM)

  • Value of a statistical life (VSL)

  • Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP)

  • Zero defects (ZD)

Screening Test

Laboratory or radiology tests used to identify individuals within a population who are at an increased risk for a clinical condition (e.g., high cholesterol levels) or disease (e.g., mammogram for breast cancer) before they have signs, symptoms, or even realize they may be at risk so that preventive measures can be taken. They are most valuable when they are used to screen for diseases that are both serious and treatable, so that there is a benefit to detecting the disease before symptoms begin at their most treatable stages. Good screening tests should be highly sensitive, or able to accurately identify those individuals who might have a given disease. A positive screening test often requires further testing with a more specific test or one that is better able to correctly exclude those individuals who do not have the given disease or to confirm a diagnosis.

  • Autism screening

  • Behavioral assessments

  • Blood pressure screening

  • Body mass index (BMI) measurements

  • Cervical dysplasia screening

  • Depression screening

  • Developmental screening

  • Dyslipidemia screening

  • Fluoride chemoprevention supplements

  • Gonorrhea preventive medication

  • Hearing screening

  • Hematocrit or hemoglobin screening

  • Hemoglobinopathies

  • Hepatitis B screening

  • Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening

  • Human papillomavirus screening test (Pap smear)

  • Hypothyroidism screening

  • Lead screening

  • Obesity screening and counseling

  • Oral health risk assessment

  • Phenylketonuria (PKU) screening

  • Sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention, counseling, and screening

  • Sickle cell screening

  • Tuberculin testing

  • Vision screening

Standard

A standard, or well-accepted, uniform set of terms, concepts, procedures, structures, or capabilities, that have been carefully defined and agreed upon by a respected organization, is necessary to allow computers to transfer data, information, or knowledge from one device or application to another.

  • American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII)

  • Arden syntax

  • Association

  • Clinical Context Object Workgroup (CCOW)

  • Clinical Document Architecture (CDA)

  • Common data elements

  • Common Industry Format (CIF)

  • Conformance Statement

  • Consolidated Clinical Document Architecture (C-CDA)

  • Continuity of Care Document (CCD)

  • Continuity of Care Record (CCR)

  • Cross-Enterprise Document Sharing (XDS)

  • Curly braces problem

  • Data interchange standard

  • Data standards

  • De jure standard

  • Defacto standard

  • Digital European cordless telephone (DECT)

  • Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM)

  • Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • Direct protocol

  • Domain Name System (DNS)

  • Draft Standard for Trial Use (DSTU)

  • Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI)

  • Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code (EBCDIC)

  • eXtensible Mark-up Language (XML)

  • Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR)

  • Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS)

  • File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

  • Formal standard

  • Graphics Interchange Format (GIF)

  • Guideline Interchange Format (GLIF)

  • Hypertext transfer protocol (http)

  • Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS)

  • Infobutton

  • Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)

  • Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE)

  • International Standard Book Number (ISBN)

  • Internet address (IP address)

  • Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP)

  • Internet Mail Access Protocol (IMAP)

  • Internet Protocol (IP)

  • Internet standards

  • Interoperability standards

  • Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG)

  • Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)

  • Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC)

  • Message

  • Messaging standards

  • Multipurpose Internet mail extensions (MIME)

  • Network Time Protocol (NTP)

  • Open System Interconnection (OSI)

  • Patient identifier (unique, national)

  • Portable Document Format (PDF)

  • Portable Operating System Interface Exchange (POSIX)

  • Post office protocol (POP)

  • Privacy enhanced mail (PEM) protocol

  • Protocol for metadata harvesting

  • Reference Information Model (RIM)

  • Resource description framework

  • RS-232

  • Secure file transfer protocol (SFTP)

  • Secure Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S-MIME)

  • Security Assertion markup Language (SAML)

  • Simple mail transport protocol (SMTP)

  • Standard development process

  • Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML)

  • Standard international (SI) system of units

  • Standard Protocol and RDF Query Language (SPARQL)

  • Structured Mark-up Language (SML)

  • Technology Readiness Levels (TRL)

  • Transaction standards

  • Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)

  • Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP) (TCP/IP)

  • Unicode

  • Unified Medical Language System (UMLS)

  • XDR and XDM for Direct Messaging specification

  • XML format

  • XML Paper Specification (XPS)

  • Z-segment (HL-7 v2.x)

Standards Organization

A standards organization’s [also referred to as a standards body, standards developing organization (SDO), or standards setting organization (SSO)] primary activities include developing, coordinating, promulgating, revising, amending, reissuing, interpreting, or otherwise producing technical standards. The resulting standards are intended to address the needs of a group of affected adopters (e.g., product or service developers, purchasers, and users). Most standards are voluntary in that they are offered for adoption by groups or industry without being mandated in law. Some standards become mandatory when they are adopted by regulators as legal requirements in particular domains.

  • American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

  • American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)

  • Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium (CDISC)

  • Conseil European pour la recherche nucleaire (CERN)

  • European Committee on Standardization (CEN)

  • Health Informatics Standards Board (HISB)

  • Health Level Seven (HL-7 or HL7)

  • Health on the Net Foundation (HON)

  • International Conference on Harmonization

  • International Health Terminology Standards Development Organization (IHTSDO)

  • International Standards Organization (ISO)

  • Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)

  • National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)

  • National Information Standards Organization (NISO)

  • National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST)

  • National Quality Forum (NQF)

  • Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Authorized Testing Body (ONC-ATB)

  • SNOMED International

  • Standard development organizations (SDOs)

  • Workgroup on Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI)

  • World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

Statistical Test

A mathematical method designed to help make a quantitative decision about differences between two or more groups of measurements or processes. The intent is to determine whether there is enough evidence (e.g., a large enough difference between the measurements or processes in each group while taking into consideration potential inaccuracies in the measurements) to “reject” a conjecture or hypothesis about the measurement or process. The conjecture is called the null hypothesis (i.e., there is no difference between the two groups).

  • Analysis of variance (ANOVA)

  • Area under the curve (AUC)

  • Bonferroni correction

  • Case-mix normalization

  • Chi-square test

  • Coefficient of variation

  • Correlation

  • Correlation coefficient

  • Cronbach’s alpha

  • Goodness of fit

  • Kappa value

  • Kruskal–Wallis one-way analysis of variance

  • Least squares fitting

  • Likelihood ratio

  • Logistic regression

  • Mann–Whitney test

  • Mean average precision (MAP)

  • Mean square error

  • Measures of concordance

  • Measures of discordance

  • Nonparametric test

  • p-Value

  • Paired comparison

  • Parametric test

  • Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve

  • r-Squared

  • Stasis statistical test

  • Statistical Process Control (SPC)

  • Student’s t-test

  • Survivorship bias

  • Wilcoxon statistic

  • z-Score

  • z-Test

Statistics

The science concerned with the collection, analysis, interpretation, presentation, and organization of data. One of its main functions is to help scientists measure, control, and communicate uncertainty so as to help them learn (i.e., to separate fact from chance) from their data. Statistical methods can be used to help solve a wide variety of scientific, social and business problems.

  • 80/20 rule

  • A priori probability

  • Absolute risk

  • Accuracy

  • Aggregate

  • Allocation bias

  • Anomalous

  • Artifact

  • Baseline measurement

  • Belief network

  • Categorical data

  • Causal factor

  • Centrality

  • Chance

  • Clinical subgroup

  • Clinically relevant population

  • Cluster

  • Clustering

  • Composite estimation

  • Conditional event

  • Conditional independence

  • Conditional probability

  • Confidence interval

  • Confidence limits

  • Contingency table

  • Cross validation

  • Cumulative scaling

  • Curve fitting

  • Curvilinear

  • Data interpretation

  • Data normalization

  • Decile

  • Degrees of freedom

  • Delta

  • Density coefficients

  • Dependent variable

  • Derived parameter

  • Descriptive variable

  • Effect size

  • Error bars

  • Error function

  • Estimator (biased, unbiased)

  • Expected value

  • External validity

  • False negative

  • False negative rate (FNR)

  • False positive

  • False positive rate (FPR)

  • Frequency

  • Frequency-amplitude domain

  • Generalizability

  • Group

  • Guttman scaling

  • Hypothesis testing

  • Independent

  • Independent variable

  • Internal validity

  • Interobserver variation

  • Interrater reliability

  • Likert scale

  • Mean

  • Median

  • Metropolitan statistical area (MSA)

  • Mode

  • Model

  • Modeling

  • Modeling uncertainty

  • Negative predictive value

  • Nonsignificant (NS)

  • Nonsampling error

  • Nonstationary signals

  • Normalization

  • Normalize

  • Null hypothesis

  • Null values

  • Odds

  • Odds likelihood form

  • Odds ratio

  • Odds ratio form

  • Outcome measure

  • Outcome variable

  • Parzen windowing method

  • Percentile

  • Polynomial curve fitting

  • Pool

  • Pooled data

  • Population segmentation

  • Positive predictive value

  • Posterior probability

  • Posttest probability

  • Predictive model

  • Predictive value

  • Pretest probability

  • Prevalence

  • Prior probability

  • Probabilistic relationship

  • Probability

  • Quartile

  • Random error

  • Range

  • Ratio adjustment

  • Regression to the mean

  • Relative risk

  • Reliability

  • Reliability estimate

  • Sampling error

  • Sampling variance

  • Scalogram analysis

  • Scoring

  • Sensitivity

  • Sensitivity analysis

  • Sensitivity calculation

  • Severity classification

  • Significance level

  • Significance testing

  • Specific

  • Specificity

  • Standard deviation

  • Standard error

  • Standard error of the mean

  • Stationary signals

  • Statistical error

  • Stochastic

  • Strata (State Stratification)

  • Synthetic estimates

  • Systematic error

  • Time-amplitude domain

  • Transition matrix

  • Transition probabilities

  • True negative

  • True negative rate (TNR)

  • True negative result

  • True positive rate

  • True positive rate (TPR)

  • True positive result

  • Type 1 error

  • Type 2 error

  • Uncertainty

  • Uniform

  • Validation data set

  • Validity

  • Validity check

  • Value of information

  • Variable

  • Variance

  • White noise

  • Yield optimization

  • Z-transform

Study Design

The process by which experiments, trials of different interventions, or observational studies are designed, developed, and implemented. The goal of a study is to either help the researcher better understand the issue under examination or to assess the safety, efficacy, or mechanism of action of an investigational product, medication, or device. There are many different types of study designs.

  • Adverse selection

  • Anonymous reporting

  • Assignment

  • Before-after study

  • Biased selection

  • Boot-strapping

  • Case Mix

  • Case severity

  • Case-control

  • Citation analysis

  • Clinical equipoise

  • Clinical trial

  • Cognitive interviewing

  • Cognitive task analysis

  • Cognitive walk through

  • Cohort study

  • Comorbidity

  • Comparison-based approach

  • Conceptual model

  • Conjoint analysis

  • Control group

  • Convenience sample

  • Cost-effectiveness analysis

  • Critical experiment

  • Crucial experiment

  • Decision facilitation approach

  • Delphi method

  • Demonstration study

  • Descriptive study

  • Deterministic

  • Discourse

  • Distributed research network (DRN)

  • Double-blind study

  • Effective sample size

  • Effectiveness

  • Efficacious

  • Efficacy

  • Emergent property

  • Ethnographic study

  • Experiment

  • Experimental design

  • Favorable selection

  • Focus group

  • Formal systems analysis

  • Gold standard

  • Hawthorne effect

  • Healthcare outcomes

  • Heuristic evaluation

  • Hindsight bias

  • Historical controls

  • Historically controlled study

  • Homophily

  • Human subjects

  • Hypothesis

  • In silico

  • In situ

  • In vitro

  • Log analysis

  • Measurement study

  • Member checking

  • Metaanalysis

  • Modified Delphi method

  • Monte Carlo simulation

  • Multistage probability sample

  • Naturalistic

  • Number needed to treat

  • Nyquist frequency

  • Oral history interview

  • Orienting issues

  • Orienting questions

  • Outcomes

  • Panel survey

  • Participatory action research (PAR)

  • Pattern analysis

  • Placebo

  • Placebo effect

  • Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) cycle

  • Primary sampling unit (PSU)

  • Prospective study

  • Protocol

  • Purposive sampling

  • Qualitative data analysis

  • Qualitative methods

  • Qualitative model

  • Quantitative data analysis

  • Quantitative methods

  • Random allocation

  • Randomization

  • Randomized clinical trial (RCT)

  • Randomly

  • Rapid assessment process (RAP)

  • Reductionist approach

  • Representativeness

  • Research protocol

  • Retrospective chart review

  • Retrospective study

  • Sample attrition rate

  • Sample size

  • Sample size calculation

  • Sampling

  • Screening

  • Segmentation

  • Selection bias

  • Selectivity

  • Semistructured interviews

  • Simulation

  • Site visit

  • Snowball survey technique

  • Structured interview

  • Study population

  • Study protocol

  • Subject

  • Surveillance methods

  • Survey

  • Test data set

  • Think aloud protocol

  • Time and motion study

  • Time-motion analysis

  • Triangulation

  • Unstructured interview

  • Usability inspection

  • Word cloud analysis

  • Work sampling study

Surgical Procedure

A medical procedure involving an incision with instruments. Such procedures are generally performed to repair damage or arrest disease in a living body. Most surgical procedures are performed under sterile conditions, to reduce the threat of infection, with some type of anesthesia that blocks the patient’s pain receptors.

  • Ablation

  • Adenoidectomy

  • Amputation

  • Angioplasty

  • Arthroplasty

  • Atherectomy

  • Biopsy (Bx)

  • Biopsy of bronchus

  • Breast biopsy

  • Broken bone repair

  • Caesarean section (C-section)

  • Cardiac catheterization

  • Cataract removal

  • Cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal)

  • Circumcision

  • Colonoscopy

  • Colposcopy

  • Common bile duct exploration

  • Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG)

  • Cryosurgery

  • Cystoscopy

  • Debridement of wound, infection, or burn

  • Decompression peripheral nerve

  • Diagnostic dilatation and curettage (D&C)

  • Endoscopic surgery

  • Endoscopy

  • Endoscopy of the urinary tract

  • Esophageal dilatation

  • Excise

  • Excision of cervix and uterus

  • Excision of semilunar cartilage of knee

  • Femoral hernia repair

  • Gastroscopy

  • Hand surgery

  • Hemilaminectomy

  • Hysterectomy

  • Image-guided surgery

  • Implants

  • Incision and drainage, skin and subcutaneous tissue (I&D)

  • Inguinal hernia repair

  • Joint replacement

  • Knee cartilage replacement therapy

  • Laminectomy

  • Laparoscopy

  • Laryngoscopy

  • Laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK)

  • Ligate

  • Lobotomy

  • Lumpectomy of breast

  • Myringotomy (ear tube surgery)

  • Neovaginoplasty

  • Partial excision bone

  • Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA)

  • Radiosurgery

  • Sigmoidoscopy

  • Stent procedure

  • Stereotactic surgery

  • Suture

  • Tonsillectomy

  • Total knee replacement (TKR)

  • Transurethral removal urinary obstruction

  • Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy

  • Ureteral catheterization

  • Vaginoplasty

  • Xenotransplantation

System Implementation

The clinical information system implementation process encompasses analyzing requirements, designing new workflows, purchasing hardware and software, installing, configuring, customizing, testing, and training users on both the hardware and software required to make something happen. The word “deployment” is often used as a synonym.

  • Acceptance testing

  • Adopt, implement, upgrade (certified EHR Technology)

  • Analysis phase

  • Big Bang

  • Broad and shallow

  • Build phase

  • Competency testing

  • Conformance testing

  • Data conversion

  • Data migration

  • Debriefing

  • Decommissioning systems

  • Deployment

  • Design phase

  • Document-centric information exchange

  • Empirical testing

  • End-user testing

  • Foundational interoperability

  • Functional testing

  • Functionally comparable data models

  • Historical data

  • Implementation

  • Implementation phase

  • Integrating data

  • Integration assessment

  • Integration testing

  • Interfacing data

  • Interoperability

  • Late adopter

  • Late majority

  • Legacy system

  • Luddite

  • Maintenance phase

  • Narrow and deep

  • Nudge

  • Optimization phase

  • Phased implementation

  • Phased installation

  • Postmortem

  • Regression testing

  • Semantic interoperability

  • Specification phase

  • Synchronizing content

  • Syntactic interoperability

  • System review form

  • System testing

  • Systems requirement planning

  • Technical characteristics

  • Test patient

  • Test script

  • Testing

  • Testing phase

  • Train the trainer

  • Transparency

  • Trialability

  • Unit testing

  • User rights and responsibilities

  • Zztest

Terminology

The field of study concerned with the systematic development, management, and interrelationships of specific terms and their use to define, label, and describe items, events, actions, and people, for example. These terms can consist of single words, compound words, or multiword expressions that in specific contexts are given specific meanings. Within a specific context or domain, the definition of these terms may deviate from the meanings the same words have in other contexts, domains, or even in everyday language.

  • Abstraction

  • Antonym

  • Canonical form

  • Child relationship

  • Clinical modifications

  • Coding scheme

  • Component-of relationship

  • Controlled terminology

  • Deprecated term

  • Eponym

  • Global unique identifiers (GUIDs)

  • Is-a relationship

  • Isomorphic data exchange

  • Kind-of relationship

  • Language

  • Lingua franca

  • Measured-by relationship

  • Measures relationship

  • Multiaxial terminology

  • Nomenclature

  • Nonsemantic concept identifiers

  • Not Otherwise Classified (NOC)

  • Ontology

  • Parent

  • Part-of relationship

  • Polyhierarchy

  • Polysemy

  • Postcoordination

  • Pragmatics

  • Precoordination

  • Relationship

  • Semantic relationship

  • Semantics

  • Sibling

  • Standardize coding and classification

  • Sublanguage

  • Synonymy

  • Syntactic

  • Syntax

  • Taxonomy

  • Terminology authority

  • Terminology services

  • Thesaurus

  • Translation

  • Treated-by relationship

  • Treats relationship

  • Typology

  • Vocabulary

  • Work domain ontology (WDO)

Theory

An idea or coherent group of tested propositions, commonly regarded as correct, that are subject to further experimentation before they can be formally accepted as fact, or proven to be true. Theories are often used to provide the basis for an explanation of specific phenomena or the prediction of future phenomena.

  • Actor–network theory (ANT)

  • AORTIS (Aggregate, Organize, Reduce, Transform, Interpret, Synthesize) model of clinical summarization

  • Bayes’ theorem

  • Blackboard architecture

  • Centering theory

  • Chaos

  • Complex adaptive systems (CAS)

  • Complexity theory

  • Computability

  • Data, information, knowledge, wisdom

  • DeLone and McLean model of information systems

  • DeMorgen’s theorem

  • Dempster–Shafer theory

  • Distributional semantics

  • Empiricism

  • First law of informatics—do not reuse data

  • Fundamental theorem of informatics

  • Gartner Hype Cycle

  • Grounded theory

  • Health record banking model

  • Holism

  • Intuitionist-pluralist

  • Just-in-time information model

  • Logical positivist

  • Negligence theory

  • Nyquist theorem

  • Occam’s razor

  • Paradigm

  • Principle

  • Prochaska’s Stages of Change

  • Publish and subscribe model

  • Roger’s diffusion of innovation theory

  • Shannon’s information theory

  • Sociotechnical model of safe and effective health information technology implementation and use

  • Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) model

  • Technology acceptance model (TAM)

  • Teleological

  • Theory of planned behavior

  • Trellis architecture

  • TURF (task, user, representation, and function)

  • Turing test

  • Unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT)

  • Zipf’s law

Unified Medical Language System Vocabulary

The UMLS, or Unified Medical Language System, is one of the crowning achievements of the US National Library of Medicine (NLM). It consists of a set of files and software that brings together many health and biomedical vocabularies and standards to enable interoperability between computer systems. The UMLS has been used to facilitate linking health information, medical terms, drug names, and billing codes to create or enhance applications, such as electronic health records, patient classification tools, clinical dictionaries, and medical language translators.

  • Alcohol and Other Drug Thesaurus

  • Alternative Billing Concepts

  • Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System

  • Authorized Osteopathic Thesaurus

  • Beth Israel Vocabulary

  • BioCarta online maps of molecular pathways

  • Biomedical Research Integrated Domain Group Model

  • Cancer Research Center of Hawaii Nutrition Terminology

  • Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program—Simple Disease Classification

  • Canonical Clinical Problem Statement System

  • Clinical Care Classification

  • Clinical Classifications Software

  • Clinical Element Model (CEM)

  • Clinical Terms Version 3 (CTV3) (Read Codes)

  • Code on Dental Procedures and Nomenclature

  • Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events

  • Concept Unique Identifier (CUI)

  • Consumer Health Vocabulary

  • COSTAR

  • COSTART

  • CRISP Thesaurus

  • Current Dental Terminology (CDT)

  • Current Procedural Terminology (CPT)

  • Definition

  • Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-V)

  • Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth edition (DSM-IV)

  • Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third edition (DSM-III-R)

  • Diseases Database

  • FDA National Drug Code Directory

  • FDA National Drug File

  • FDB MedKnowledge (formerly NDDF Plus)

  • Foundational Model of Anatomy Ontology

  • Gene Ontology

  • Gold Standard Drug Database

  • HCPCS Version of Current Dental Terminology (CDT)

  • Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS)

  • HL7 Vocabulary

  • Home Health Care Classification

  • HUGO Gene Nomenclature

  • International Classification for Nursing Practice (ICNP)

  • International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM)

  • International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM)

  • International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF)

  • International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health for Children and Youth

  • International Classification of Primary Care

  • International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems

  • Jackson Laboratories Mouse Terminology

  • KEGG Pathway Database

  • Korean Standard Classification of Disease

  • Library of Congress Subject Headings

  • Master Drug Data Base

  • MEDCIN

  • Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities Terminology (MedDRA)

  • Medical Entities Dictionary

  • Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)

  • Medical vocabularies

  • MedlinePlus Health Topics

  • Micromedex RED BOOK

  • Multum MediSource Lexicon

  • NANDA nursing diagnoses: definitions & classification

  • National Cancer Institute (NCI) Developmental Therapeutics Program

  • National Cancer Institute (NCI) Dictionary of Cancer Terms

  • National Cancer Institute (NCI) Division of Cancer Prevention Program

  • National Cancer Institute (NCI) SEER ICD Neoplasm Code Mappings

  • National Cancer Institute (NCI) Thesaurus

  • National Cancer Institute Nature Pathway Interaction Database

  • National Center Biomedical Information (NCBI) Taxonomy

  • National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP)

  • National Drug Codes (NDC)

  • National Drug File Reference Terminology (NDF-RT)

  • NeuroNames Brain Hierarchy

  • North American Nursing Diagnosis Association Taxonomy (NANDA)

  • Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC)

  • Nursing Outcomes Classification (NOC)

  • Omaha system

  • Online Congenital Multiple Anomaly/Mental Retardation Syndromes

  • Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM)

  • Patient Care Data Set

  • Perioperative Nursing Data Set

  • Pharmacy Practice Activity Classification

  • Physician Data Query

  • Physicians’ Current Procedural Terminology, Spanish Translation

  • Read codes

  • Read thesaurus, American English Equivalents

  • Read thesaurus, Synthesized Terms

  • Registry Nomenclature Information System

  • RxNorm Vocabulary

  • SNOMED Clinical Terms, Spanish Language Edition

  • Source of Payment Typology

  • Specialist lexicon

  • Standard Product Nomenclature

  • Systemized nomenclature of medicine (SNOMED)

  • Systemized nomenclature of medicine clinical terminology (SNOMED-CT)

  • Systemized Nomenclature of Pathology (SNOP)

  • Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms

  • Traditional Korean Medical Terms

  • US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

  • U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

  • UltraSTAR

  • UMDNS: product category thesaurus

  • UMLS Metathesaurus

  • Unified Code for Units of Measure (UCUM)

  • University of Washington Digital Anatomist

  • USP Model Guidelines

  • VA National Drug File

  • Vaccines Administered

  • Veterans Health Administration National Drug File

  • Veterinary Extension to SNOMED CT

  • World Health Organization (WHO) Adverse Reaction Terminology

  • Zebrafish Model Organism Database

Workflow

A predefined, coordinated, and repeatable pattern of activities facilitated by the systematic organization of physical, human, or information resources into processes that can transform materials, provide services, or process information. It is often depicted as a sequence of operations that one or more agents (i.e., people or computer programs) carry out to accomplish a specific task or set of tasks.

  • Actors

  • ADCVAANDIML (Admit, Diagnosis, Condition, Vital signs, Allergies, Activity, Nursing, Diet, IV fluids, Medications, Labs/procedures)

  • Admission

  • Advance care planning

  • Against medical advice (AMA)

  • Agents

  • Ambulatory Setting

  • Appointment

  • Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN)

  • Capacity

  • Care pathway

  • Care plan

  • Care process

  • Change of shift/report

  • Clinical event

  • Clinical feedback

  • Clinical integration

  • Clinical pathway

  • Clinical process

  • Clinical process model

  • Clinical scenario

  • Clone a note

  • Compromised care process

  • Computer-based clinical protocol

  • Consent (informed or patient)

  • Continuity of care

  • Continuum of care

  • Data workflow

  • Diagnosis (Dx)

  • Diagnostic hypothesis

  • Diagnostic process

  • Direct data entry (DDE)

  • Direct patient care

  • Disaster drill

  • Discharge (DC)

  • Duplication in, duplication out (DIDO)

  • Electronic communication

  • Emergency department/room on divert

  • Encounter

  • External hospital transfer

  • Group visit

  • Healthcare team

  • Identical, related, and similar (IRS)

  • Immediate access

  • Indirect care

  • Individual instruction

  • Information reconciliation

  • Interdisciplinary care

  • Internal hospital transfer

  • Mapping physical locations

  • Medical record

  • Medication reconciliation

  • Messenger

  • Multidisciplinary care

  • Multitasking

  • Nursing care plan

  • Nursing intervention

  • Observation

  • Patient chart

  • Patient experience

  • Patient record

  • Patient triage

  • Patient-centered medical home (PCMH)

  • Personal care

  • Physical artifacts

  • Point of service

  • Practice parameter

  • Precede–proceed

  • Primary care

  • Process

  • Process modeling

  • Prognosis

  • Queuing

  • Register

  • Report generation

  • Request for appointment

  • Rounding

  • Rounds

  • Scribe

  • Secondary care

  • Shift

  • Sign

  • Standard of care

  • Stat

  • Structured encounter form

  • Summary care record

  • Surveillance

  • Sweep

  • Systems analysis

  • Task

  • To be determined (TBD)

  • Transcription

  • Transitions of care

  • Treatment plan

  • Turn around document

  • Unit dose dispensing

  • Unit dosing

  • User acceptance testing (UAT)

  • Work breakdown structure (WBS)

  • Work-arounds

  • Workflow analysis

  • Workflow elements model (WEM)

  • Workflow model

  • Working diagnosis

Articles from Clinical Informatics Literacy are provided here courtesy of Elsevier

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