News / Profession

The New Health Care Lexicon

Dynamic Chiropractic Staff

As our world changes, so does our language. This column presents definitions of terms that are part of the new health care reform lexicon.

HMO vs. PPO

Health-Maintenance Organization (HMO). A prepaid health plan in which doctors are paid a fixed fee to treat patients covered by the plan (see capitation). HMOs may employ physicians as salaried staff members or they may contract with a specific physician group (a closed panel) or with any physician in a community who can accept capitation (an open panel).

Preferred-Provider Organization (PPO). An organization that contracts with "preferred" physicians who agree to provide health care to subscribers for a discounted fee. Some PPOs require doctors to put part of their discounted fee into a risk pool. They get all or part of this money back if their charges don't exceed an annual limit.

------------------------ These definitions are reprinted with permission from the glossary of Revolution -- The New Health Care Takes Shape, authored by noted health-care futurist Russell C. Coile Jr. The published is Whittle Direct Books, 1993.
January 1996
print pdf
Trending
News / Profession
Remembering Dr. Warren Hammer - A Pioneer in Soft-Tissue Care
Remembering Dr. Warren Hammer - A Pioneer in Soft-Tissue Care

For chiropractors practicing today, Dr. Warren Hammer’s legacy is particularly visible in several areas that have become familiar components of modern musculoskeletal care: his early work with the Graston Technique and instrument-assisted soft-tissue mobilization; his extensive writing and teaching on functional soft-tissue examination and treatment; his role in bringing fascial manipulation to U.S. clinicians; and his decades spent educating chiropractors and other health professionals.

Dynamic Chiropractic Staff
Education & Seminars
Chiropractic Colleges in Crisis
Chiropractic Colleges in Crisis

Financial pressure, enrollment declines and institutional challenges are emerging at several U.S. chiropractic colleges. Life Chiropractic College West's and Life University's struggles may be the most talked about but appear to be part of a larger story. And with recent USDE requirements threatening to hamstring federal student financing for DC degree programs, chiropractic education is facing questions for which it has no immediate answers.

 |  Digital Exclusive
Dynamic Chiropractic Staff
Your Practice / Business
Are You Meeting the Chiropractic Standard of Care?
Are You Meeting the Chiropractic Standard of Care?

The term standard of care is a legal term and a medical concept. There is no single, universally recognized standard of care document or authoritative reference. The medical concept defines what practitioners should do in practice. The legal term used determines whether a practitioner failed to meet that expectation. This article examines the standard of care for the doctor of chiropractic.

 |  Digital Exclusive
Mark Balderston, DC, FPSC