Preventive medicine

Services provided to prevent the occurrence of illness, injury, and disease such as vaccine immunizations, antiseptic measures, regular exercise, routine physical examinations, and screening programs for detection of signs of disorders.

Previous

In the medical field, this relates to a patient who has had prior hospitalization, medical services, or surgery. This information is in a system that is used to check claims before approval is given to the provider of the service.

Pricer

1. Individual who reviews services, procedures, diagnoses, fee schedules, and other data and establishes the amount for a medical service or supply. Also called repricer. 2. Software package in an insurance claims processing system, specific to certain benefits, which analyzes specific data and determines the amount for a medical service or supply. Subsequently, other criteria are applied to establish the actual allowance or payment amount. It is most often used under prospective payment systems.

Primary care

1. First time a patient seeks medical care from a provider. 2. Basic health care attention when a patient first contacts someone to care for simpler and more common illnesses and injuries. Primary care can be provided by a family practitioner, pediatrician, or internist and health professionals such as nurse practitioners or physician assistants.