diagnosis
[di″ag-no´sis] 1. determination of the nature of a cause of a disease.
2. a concise technical description of the cause, nature, or manifestations of a condition, situation, or problem. adj., adj diagnos´tic.
clinical diagnosis diagnosis based on signs, symptoms, and laboratory findings during life.
differential diagnosis the determination of which one of several diseases may be producing the symptoms.
medical diagnosis diagnosis based on information from sources such as findings from a physical examination, interview with the patient or family or both, medical history of the patient and family, and clinical findings as reported by laboratory tests and radiologic studies.
nursing diagnosis see nursing diagnosis.
physical diagnosis diagnosis based on information obtained by inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation.
diagnosis-Related Groups (DRG) a system of classification or grouping of patients according to medical diagnosis for purposes of paying hospitalization costs. In 1983, amendments to Social Security contained a prospective payment plan for most Medicare inpatient services in the United States. The payment plan was intended to control rising health care costs by paying a fixed amount per patient. The program of DRG reimbursement was based on the premise that similar medical diagnoses would generate similar costs for hospitalization. Therefore, all patients admitted for a surgical procedure such as hernia repair would be charged the same amount regardless of actual cost to the hospital. If a patient's hospital bill should total less than the amount paid by Medicare, the hospital is allowed to keep the difference. If, however, a patient's bill is more than that reimbursed by Medicare for a specific diagnosis, the hospital must absorb the difference in cost. See also appendix of Diagnosis-Related Groups.
Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.