Chapter 2: Key Terms (MEDA 100)

Accountable Care Organization (ACO)

A group of health care providers that voluntarily organize in order to provide coordinated and high-quality care to their Medicare patients

Acupunture

Treatment to relieve pain and disease by puncturing the skin with thin needles at specific points

Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)

Complementary medicine complements or is used with traditional or mainstream medicine

Alternative medicine is used in place of traditional or mainstream medicine

Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)

A type of managed care operation that is typically set up as a for-profit corporation with salaried employees

Homeopathy

A healing modality that uses diluted doses of certain substances to create an “energy imprint” in the body to bring about a cure

Independent Provider Association (IPA)

Independent network of physicians in private practice who contract with the association to treat patients for an agreed-upon fee

Integrative Medicine

Brings together two or more treatment modalities so they function as a harmonious whole, as seen in alternative forms of health care

Managed care Operation (MCO)

Any health care setting or delivery system that is designed to reduce the cost of care while still providing access to care

Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH)

A model of care that responds to each patient’s unique needs through: coordinating physicians available for care; providing comprehensive care at all stages of life; practicing culturally sensitive, integrated and coordinate care while focusing on quality and safety; and enhancing patients’ access to care

Preferred Provider Organization (PPO)

Organization of providers who network together to offer discounts to purchasers of health care insurance