Category: O

One of the medical specialties for which residency programs have been approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). A physician (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO)) who has been trained in and practices osteopathy. By contrast, a Doctor of Medicine (MD) practices allopathy.  

The international organization of 26 of the industrialized, free market-economy, democratic countries of Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, founded after World War II. Representatives meet to exchange information and attempt to coordinate their policies in order to achieve the highest possible economic growth. The OECD Secretariat gathers statistical and policy information, processes…

The obtaining of human organs from donors for trans¬ plantation into other humans who need them. The procedure involving the assessment of potential donors, the examination, extraction, storage, and allocation of organs for transplantation.  

A command of a court (judge) that a certain action be taken or not taken. A court order may be made before or during a lawsuit; a final order is issued once the case has been formally decided.  

Doctor’s order. A directive from a physician to a nurse or other individual as to drugs, treatments, examinations, and other care to be given to a patient.  

The profession of filling prescriptions for spectacles and contact lenses, fitting glasses, and dispensing spectacles and other ophthalmic devices.  

The agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) consisting of general and special staff offices that support the Assistant Secretary for Health and the Surgeon General. These two plan and direct the activities of the Public Health Service (PHS). In May of 1995, an initiative to reengineer the way the DHHS operates…

A Congressional investigative body whose duties have to do with assessing the merits and applications of technology.  

The agency in the federal executive branch which prepares and monitors the budget.  

One component of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) of the Public Health Service (PHS), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). OHTA evaluates, on request from the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), the risks, benefits, and clinical effectiveness of new or unestablished medical technologies that are being considered for coverage under…