Glossary

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Vertical Integration

Organization of production whereby one business entity controls or owns all stages of the production and distribution of goods or services. In health care, vertical integration can take many forms, but, generally implies that physicians, hospitals and health plans have combined their organizations or processes in some manner to increase efficiencies, increase competitive strength or to improve quality of care. Integrated delivery systems or healthcare networks are generally vertically integrated. Also see IDS, AHP, horizontal integration.

Vital Statistics

Statistics relating to births (natality), deaths (mortality), marriages, health, and disease (morbidity). Vital statistics for the United States are published by the National Center for Health Statistics. Vital statistics can be obtained from CDC, state health departments, county health departments and other agencies. A individual patient’s vital statistics in a health care setting may also refer simply to blood pressure, temperature, height and weight, etc.

Volume and Intensity of Services

The quantity of health care services per enrollee, taking into account both the number and the complexity of the services provided.

Volume Performance Standard System (VPSS)

The VPS provides a mechanism to adjust fee updates for the Medicare Fee Schedule based on how annual increases in actual expenditures compare with previously determined performance standard rates of increase.

Volume Performance Standards (VPS)

A mechanism to adjust updates to fee-for-service payment rates based on actual aggregate.

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