Second level of the appeal process for an individual applying for SSDI or SSI. This is a hearing before an administrative law judge who had no part in the initial or reconsideration disability determination.

In the Medicare program, this is Level 2, an independent determination related to insurance claims in which a party has appealed a review decision within 6 months of the date of notice of the decision; the hearing is rendered by a hearing officer assigned by the contractor. For Level 2, there is no requirement regarding the amount of money in controversy.

Frequency with which the heart beats, calculated by counting the number of QRS complexes or ventricular beats in one minute.

Measures from encounter data as opposed to having the plans generate Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS) measures. HEDIS is a collection of performance measures and their definitions produced by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). Also see Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS) .

Measure of red blood cell volume in an individual’s blood.

Branch of internal medicine concerned with the scientific study of blood and blood-forming tissues and with the treatment of diseases and disorders of the blood.

Surgical removal of one side (right or left) of the vertebral lamina. This is the posterior bony covering of the nerves.

Simultaneous hemodialysis and hemofiltration, which involves the removal of large volumes of fluid and fluid replacement to maintain hemodynamic stability. It requires the use of ultra pure dialysate or intravenous fluid for volume replacement. Also called high-flux hemodiafiltration and double high-flux hemodiafiltration .

1. Method of dialysis in which blood from a patient’s body is circulated through an external device or machine and then returned to the patient’s bloodstream. Such an artificial kidney machine is usually designed to remove fluids and metabolic end products from the bloodstream by placing the blood in contact with a semipermeable membrane, which is bathed on one side by an appropriate chemical solution, referred to as dialysate . 2. Treatment usually done in a dialysis facility but can be done at home with the proper training and supplies. HD uses a special filter called a dialyzer or artificial kidney to clean the blood. The filter connects to a machine. During treatment, the blood flows through tubes into the filter to clean out wastes and extra fluids. Then the newly cleaned blood flows through another set of tubes and back into the body.