Handbook of Healthcare Analytics

Glossary of Terms

Academic medical center

A medical center consisting of medical schools, faculty practice plans, and teaching hospitals. (Chapter 1)

Access to care

The attainment of timely and appropriate health care by patients. (Chapter 5)

Activities of daily living (ADL)

Activities such as bathing, clothing, transfer, toilet use, feeding and walking, which reflect the patient's ability to heal. (Chapter 12)

Adverse events

Injuries caused by medical management and resulting in a measurable disability. (Chapter 5)

Adverse selection

An agency issue that arises before two parties enter into a contractual arrangement, when one party has better information about himself than the other party does. (Chapter 15)

Ambulatory care

Health services that are provided on an outpatient basis and without the need to admit patients to an inpatient facility. Ambulatory care is provided in a variety of settings, including, but not limited to, the offices of healthcare providers, hospital outpatient departments, outpatient surgical centers, diagnosis clinics, labs, dialysis clinics, and (freestanding) emergency departments. (Chapter 10)

Ambulatory surgery center

Non‐hospital facilities that exclusively provide surgical services that do not require patients to be admitted for hospital stays. (Chapter 4)

Asymmetric information

A situation in which one party has an informational advantage over the other party. (Chapter 15)

Boutique medicine

A type of business ...