Glossary

Dialysis is a treatment that cleans your blood when your kidneys don’t work. It gets rid of harmful wastes and extra salt and fluids that build up in your body. It also helps control blood pressure and helps your body keep the right amount of fluids. Dialysis treatments help you feel better and live longer, but they are not a cure for permanent kidney failure (See hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis.).

A hospital unit that is approved to furnish the full spectrum of diagnostic, therapeutic, and rehabilitative services required for the care of the ESRD dialysis patients (including inpatient dialysis) furnished directly or under arrangement.

A unit (hospital based or freestanding) which is approved to furnish dialysis services directly to ESRD patients.

A portion of the dialysis patient treatment area which accommodates the equipment necessary to provide a hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis treatment. This station must have sufficient area to house a chair or bed, the dialysis equipment, and emergency equipment if needed. Provision for privacy is ordinarily supplied by drapes or screens.

A drug given to pregnant women from the early 1940s until 1971 to help with common problems during pregnancy. The drug has been linked to cancer of the cervix or vagina in women whose mother took the drug while pregnant.

A standard for communicating images, such as x-rays, in a digitized form. This standard could become part of the HIPAA claim attachments standards.

Under HIPAA, this is the direct entry of data that is immediately transmitted into a health plan's computer.

For Social Security purposes, the inability to engage in substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment that can be expected to result in death or to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months. Special rules apply for workers aged 55 or older whose disability is based on blindness. The law generally requires that a person be disabled continuously for 5 months before he or she can qualify for a disabled worker cash benefit. An additional 24 months is necessary to qualify under Medicare.

See "Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI)."

An individual under age 65 who has been entitled to disability benefits under Title II of the Social Security Act or the Railroad Retirement system for at least 2 years and who is enrolled in the SMI program.