Provider (physician, clinic, group) who submits an insurance claim for reimbursement for services rendered to a patient.

Company that charges a fee for billing patients, collecting on accounts, and submitting insurance claims to insurance plans for physicians and/or suppliers.

Professional practitioner who carries out claims completion, coding, and billing responsibilities in accordance with legal state and federal regulations and third-party payer guidelines. He or she may or may not perform managerial and supervisory functions; also known as an insurance claims processor, medical biller, or reimbursement specialist. Also see medical insurance billing specialist .

Drugs or vaccines made from a live product and used medically to diagnose, prevent, or treat a medical condition (e.g., flu, pneumonia injection).

Personal identification based on a physical characteristic and used for security purposes such as a fingerprint. Sometimes a personal identification number (PIN) may be used with the fingerprint sample to gain access to a computer or other system.

Original record maintained by a governmental entity including states, counties, parishes, cities, and/or boroughs that documents an individual’s birth.

1. Male who genetically fathered a child. 2. Identifies the male who is biologically the parent of an adoptee. Also known as biological father . See biological father .

1. Female who genetically births a child. 2. Identifies the female who gave birth to an adoptee. Also known as biological mother, natural mother , or real mother . See biological mother .

Legal state statute to determine coordination of benefits for primary and secondary carriers of dependent children covered under both parents’ insurance plans. The health plan of the parent whose birthday (month and day, not year) falls earlier in the calendar year pays first, and the plan of the other person covering the dependent is the secondary payer. If both policyholders are born on the same day, the policy that has been in force the longest is the primary policy. Birth year has no relevance in this situation. Also called birthday rule .