| adherence | The degree to which an individual follows a recommended health-related or illness-related recommendation.
|
 |
|
|
| creative nonadherence | The modification or supplementation of a prescribed treatment regimen on the basis of privately held theories about the disorder or its treatment.
|
|
|
|
| double-blind experiment | An experimental procedure in which neither the researcher nor the patient knows whether the patient received the real treatment or the placebo until precoded records indicating which patient received which are consulted; designed to reduce the possibility that expectations for success will increase evidence for success.
|
|
|
|
| health maintenance organization (HMO) | An organizational arrangement for receiving health care services, by which an individual pays a standard monthly rate and then uses services as needed at no additional or at greatly reduced cost.
|
|
|
|
| holistic health | A philosophy characterized by the belief that health is a positive state that is actively achieved; usually associated with certain nontraditional health practices.
|
|
|
|
| managed care | A health care arrangement in which an employer or employee pays a predetermined monthly fee to a health care or insurance agency that entitles the employee to use medical services at no additional (or a greatly reduced) cost.
|
|
|
|
| nonadherence | The failure to comply fully with treatment recommendations for modification of a health habit or an illness state.
|
|
|
|
| nurse-practitioners | Nurses who, in addition to their training in traditional nursing, receive special training in primary care so they may provide routine medical care for patients.
|
|
|
|
| physicians' assistants | Graduates of 2-year programs who perform routine health care functions, teach patients about their treatment regimens, and record medical information.
|
|
|
|
| placebo | A medical treatment that produces an effect in a patient because of its therapeutic intent and not its nature.
|
|
|
|
| placebo effect | The medically beneficial impact of an inert treatment.
|
|
|
|
| private, fee-for-service care | The condition under which patients privately contract with physicians for services and pay them for services rendered.
|