Current Ghanaian laws prohibit abortion services except in the limited cases of rape, incest, or if a woman suffers from a life-threatening physical injury or illness that would place the woman in danger of death unless an abortion is performed.
A formal process by which a recognized body, usually a non-governmental institution, assesses and recognizes that a healthcare organisation meets applicable, pre-determined standards.
An ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme) inhibitor is a type of medicine used to treat heart attacks, heart failure, or a decreased function of the left side of your heart. ACE inhibitors can help reduce the risk of death from a heart attack if taken within 24 hours of the first symptoms of a heart attack. Continued use may help prevent heart failure.
ACE inhibitors work by stopping the production of a hormone that narrows blood vessels. This helps reduce the pressure in your heart and lower blood pressure. If you have a heart attack, you should get a prescription for ACE inhibitors before you leave the hospital.
The treatment of a disease or illness, or following an accident or trauma, which is brief but severe. Acute care is often carried out within a specialist unit in a hospital or within an emergency department, ambulatory care clinic, or other short-term stay facility. This type of care is often only required for a short period of time.
Commonly referred to as a heart attack. Occurs when arteries leading to the heart become blocked and stop blood flow to the heart. The affected part of the heart does not get oxygen and other nutrients. Without immediate treatment, the affected area dies or is permanently damaged.
The percentage of doses of a drug taken correctly, as prescribed, for the required period of time, adherence is a combination of compliance and persistence, ie, the correct self-administration of treatment for the study period or treatment duration. The patient makes an informed decision about treatment and agrees this with the physician.
Five groups into which customers can be placed according to the time it takes them to adopt a new product or service. The five categories are:
Innovators – those who are the first to adopt a new product or service
Early adopters – those who adopt a new product or service after the innovators have already adopted it
Early majority – those who adopt just before the 'average' person
Late majority – those who eventually adopt through economic necessity or social pressure
Laggards – those who are last to adopt a new product or service
An adverse event involving medication use.
An injury due to a medical treatment.
An adverse reaction (also known as an adverse effect) is an undesired or harmful effect occurring after taking a medication or receiving surgery. Onset may be sudden or develop over time. If this reaction is minor, it may be referred to as a side effect.
Adverse effects are sometimes referred to as "iatrogenic" because they are generated by a physician or treatment. Occasionally adverse effects occur when starting, increasing or discontinuing a treatment. Using a drug or other medical intervention which is contraindicated may also increase the possibility of adverse effects. Adverse effects commonly cause medical complications of a disease or procedure and negatively affect its prognosis.
A paid-for space in media intended to persuade the audience (users/readers/viewers/consumers) to purchase or consume (or in the case of healthcare professionals, prescribe) a particular product or service. Laws in many countries prevent the advertising of prescription medicines direct to consumers(DTC).
Research conducted to improve the effectiveness of advertising. It may focus on a specific ad or campaign, or may be directed at a more general understanding of how advertising works or how consumers use and interpret the information in advertising. There are a variety of research approaches, including psychological, sociological, economic, and other perspectives.
Paid-for content which is designed to have the same appearance as an editorial piece to give the impression that it is part of the editorial content rather than an advert. Readers will be able to identify the piece as 'promotional' or as 'advertorial'. Major advertisers deliberately style their placements to appear as the editorial (non-advertisement) content of a newspaper or magazine.
The active support of a cause or course of action. Advocacy Advertising is generally used in supporting a certain cause, opinion, or a matter of public significance or concern. Advocacy Ads are specific advertisements used generally political campaigns. These advertisements stem from the power of soft money, which funds various campaign strategies. "Soft" money is a financial contribution to for example, a political party, to fund and build the party generically.
Organisations and groups that actively support participants and their families with valuable resources, including self-empowerment and survival tools. Advocacy Advertising is generally used in supporting a certain cause, opinion, or a matter of public significance or concern. Advocacy Ads are specific advertisements used generally political campaigns. These advertisements stem from the power of soft money, which funds various campaign strategies.
Within online marketing or advertising, visitors or customers are brought to a website by following a referral from an affiliate website. This affiliate website is often paid on a per referral basis. Affiliate marketing is often used in conjunction with other online marketing methods such as search engine optimisation, paid search marketing, display advertising and email marketing. Affiliate Marketing also makes reference to a marketing practice wherein a business will reward its affiliates (most commonly with cash or gifts) for each visitor or customer that has resulted from an affiliate's own marketing strategies. Affiliate marketing remains popular with affiliates because of the wide variety of choice and very reasonable payout rates.
Marketing targeted at individuals sharing common interests that predispose them towards a product, eg, a company marketing a calcium antagonist through a specialist cardiology journal. Also, a campaign jointly sponsored by a number of disparate organisations that are non-competitive but have a common interest. Most commonly Affinity Marketing occurs when industry owners recognise they can effect equity locked in their brand and customer bases, by advertising products and services which they don’t normally sell. A broader spectrum of commodities usually benefits each industry member marketing wise.
Practice used within software testing to establish and monitor the potential success of a new product. Alpha testing relates to the internal testing by customers, online visitors or an independent test team for in-house preliminary software, before the next stage of beta testing. Beta testing is a reference to the external form of user acceptance testing within the marketplace. Beta versions of software may be released to the open public to necessitate a higher feedback rate, but are more commonly limited to a restricted group of people to trial the software for faults.
Sometimes known as 'fringe media', ambient media describes advertising that occurs in a non-standard medium, eg, advertising that appears on hot air balloons, theatre tickets, cricket pitches, even pay slips or is projected onto buildings. Not usually seen in pharmaceutical marketing except for corporate campaigns.
Medical services provided on an outpatient (non-hospitalized) basis. Services may include diagnosis, treatment, surgery, and rehabilitation.
Now called a Diagnostic and Treatment Centre (DTC), this is where patient care does not involve an over-night stay in hospital and usually involves diagnosis and treatment on the same day.
The Ansoff Growth matrix is a tool that helps businesses decide their product and market growth strategy. It maps product/market strategies – eg, market penetration, product development, market development and diversification – on a matrix showing new versus existing products along one axis and new versus existing markets along the other.
In clinical trials, one group of participants (an arm of the trial) receives one treatment (drug) while another arm receives a different treatment or placebo. Most randomised trials have two arms, but some have three or even more.
Acetylsalicylic acid; a medicine commonly used to relieve pain and reduce inflammation; used at the first signs of heart attack to prevent blood clots.
Asset-led marketing uses product strengths such as the name and brand image to market both new and existing products. Marketing decisions are based on the needs of the consumer and the assets of the product.
Showing no signs of a disease or infection.
AIDA is a model of communication that describes the step-by-step process of persuading a customer to purchase (recommend or prescribe) a product.
Body which monitors changes in customer attitudes, awareness and usage/adoption of a brand or group of products. Usage of (AAU) studies allow marketers to assess levels and trends in customer knowledge, perceptions, assumptions, aims, and actions. Occasionally, the results of these studies are referred to as "tracking" information as they are applied to track long-term behaviour in customer's actions.
A two-dimensional technique in which the respondent determines the two most important characteristics of a product. Attitudinal scaling is most commonly applied to characteristics such as price and quality. The purpose of Attitudinal scaling is to understand better the participant's attitude towards the product or service.
The examination of the marketing plan. The marketing plan is researched before and during implementation. Internal and external influences are evaluated allowing for adjustment.
A buying decision model.
Secondary information relating to a marketing campaign. Secondary research is data that previously exists as it has been accumulated for other purposes. Background information is research of data in the public domain and often collated from established outside sources. Secondary research is more cost efficient compared to primary research, however seldom offers conclusive information that exactly satisfies the requirements of the researcher.
Environmental influences on a customer’s buying decisions. Frequently associated in conjunction with Consumer behaviour. This studies when, why, how, and where buyers do or do not buy a product. A Customer Behaviour study uses a mixture of psychology, sociology, social anthropology and economics.
• A known value or quantity against which an unknown is compared with measured or assessed
• Information gathered at the beginning of a study from which variations found in the study are measured
• The initial time point in a clinical trial, just before a participant starts to receive the experimental treatment, which is being tested. Safety and efficacy of a drug are often determined by monitoring changes from the baseline values.
A digital marketing term used to refer to the technology employed to target users with advertisements based on previous browsing behaviour and sequencing. Behavioural targeting allows advertisers and publishers to maximise the potential success of their online objective, using collected data on web-browsing patterns.
The most up-to-date patient care interventions, scientifically proven to result in the best patient outcomes and minimize patients’ risk of death or complications.
Medicine used to lower blood pressure, treat chest pain and heart failure, and help prevent a heart attack. Beta blockers relieve the stress on the heart by slowing the heart rate and reducing the force with which the heart muscles contract to pump blood.
When a point of view prevents impartial judgment on issues relating to the subject of that point of view. In clinical studies, bias is controlled by blinding and randomisation. In statistics, there are several elements of bias - 'selection bias', for example, is when particular individuals or groups take part in a research project (a focus group etc), purely because they have a key interest in the topic - this may lead to a predetermined bias, resulting in biased data or samples.
Term used to described top-tier pharmaceutical companies worldwide in terms of revenue and market influence. For the most part they are concerned with development and production of small-molecules and/or synthetic drugs, both prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) preparations.
The business opportunities that a company has formally targeted and is organised to capture.
In Communication, blanket coverage is that which is not targeted but is covered by all channels. In marketing and sales, this non-selective strategy may applied in advertising and distribution in order to gauge at a later date, successful key demographics - which may then be used to develop more selective coverage.
A clinical trial is "blind" if participants are unaware of whether they are in the experimental or control arm of the study; also referred to as masked.
A product portfolio evaluation tool developed by the Boston Consulting Group, the matrix categorises products into one of four classifications based on market growth and market share. The four classifications are:
• Cash cow – low growth, high market share
• Star – high growth, high market share
• Problem child – high growth, low market share
• Dog – low growth, low market share
A group activity/method of problem solving, which allows people to generate ideas and concepts, raise questions and pose solutions. The best ideas rarely come from only one mind and this approach allows pooling of the collective talent of the team.
The set of physical attributes of a product or service, together with the beliefs and expectations surrounding it – a unique combination which the name or logo of the product or service should be emotive. Successful branding is usually a reflection of a company's identity or philosophy - when this is the case stronger relationships with customers are commonly forged. When a brand is established well, customer or client loyalty can be a key advantage in marketing and economic growth.
The process by which a company develops new products to be marketed under an existing, well-known brand name.
These new products are commonly referred to as spin-offs. By offering an increased number of products under the umbrella of one brand name, businesses increase their product awareness and profitability depending on the success of the spin-offs.
The consumer's perception of a brand or product. A successful Brand Image for a customer or client, is one which is naturally or instantly recalled when asked for. The term brand image, grew in popularity as evidence surfaced that the emotions and images associated with a brand were key in buying influences, though brand recognition, recall and brand identity.
The process by which marketers attempt to optimise the marketing mix for a specific brand. Brand management is the complete management of all that is involved with a brand, from ideals to manufacturing to marketing, from customer recall to brand development. In brief, brand management is conceptualising the brand, positioning the brand and delivering the brand.
Mapping the relative position of competing brands based on mapping of customer perceptions of the brands.
Brand Mapping is commonly used to visually convey the competitive data of brands across various areas. The information is usually collected using simple multicoded grid questions or semantic rating scales (typically 5 or 10 point scales). Also called perceptual maps, position maps and space maps.
A drug sold by a drug company under a specific name or trademark and that is protected by a patent. Brand name drugs may be available by prescription or over the counter.
Collection of attributes giving a brand a recognisable unique quality. May be the result of marketing action or can simply be a result of market perception.
Reassuring current beliefs or attitudes towards a brand. This is often a common advertising objective.
Reinforcing a brand is commonly explored by creating more or greater brand awareness. Marketers study and expand buyer's established brand recall and recognition, with the aim to improving the strength, favorability, and uniqueness of their customer's brand associations.
The marketing strategy employed when a brand has reached maturity and profits begin to decline. Approaches to revitalisation may include one or all of market expansion, product modification or brand repositioning.
A brand revitalisation programme involves approaches to reclaim lost avenues of brand equity. It also seeks to identify and establish new sources of brand equity. Examining changes in the marketing environment, competitors' strategies, consumer behaviour, evolutions of cultures and many other factors can help determine brand erosion and aid brand development.
A plan to map out the systemic development of a brand to ensure it performs to meet agreed objectives. The plan should be rooted in the brand’s vision and driven by the principles of differentiation and sustained appeal. Brand strategy should influence the total operation of a business unit/team to ensure consistent brand behaviours and experiences.
Brand value is the additional money a business can make from its product or products, as a direct consequence of the brand name it has, in comparison to its own, or rival company's similar products.
In prescription drug advertising, a true statement of information relating to the side effects, contraindications and effectiveness of the drug.
A voluntary professional association established to look after the professional and personal needs of doctors in all branches of medicine across the UK.
The BMA does not control, maintain nor certify doctors, this being the duty of the General Medical Council. In 2011 the association’s headquarters were located in BMA House, Tavistock Square, London. Additionally, the Association has national offices in Cardiff, Belfast, and Edinburgh, a European office in Brussels and a number of offices in English regions. The BMA has a range of committees and is acknowledged by National Health Service as sole negotiators for doctors. The aim for the BMA is "to promote the medical and allied sciences, and to maintain the honour and interests of the medical profession".
A national reference providing guidance on prescribing, dispensing and administering medicines in Britain.
The British National Formulary (BNF) is a medical and pharmaceutical reference book containing a broad range of information and recommendations on prescribing and pharmacology, accompanied by detailed facts about medicines available on the National Health Service (NHS) and some that are not - although a symbol clearly references these drugs in the BNF.
The professional association for pharmacologists in the UK. Formed in Oxford, UK in 1931, the society's objective is to further educate within Pharmacology in addition to organising events catering for the world's most significant pharmacologists.
A strategic document outlining the cash flow, forecasts and direction of a company. A business plan is an approved statement of a collection of business objectives and goals, attainability, and the strategy for achieving those goals. It may also include background data upon the organisation, company, business or individual attempting to target those goals.
A collaborative process that assesses, plans, implements, evaluates, and coordinates options and services to ensure cost-effective case based on the needs of particular clients.
Healthcare facilities specially equipped for and specializing in difficult, complex, and expensive tertiary care procedures, such as kidney or other organ transplants, cataract surgery, or coronary artery bypass surgery.
A process by which an authorized body, either a governmental or non-governmental organization, evaluates and recognizes either an individual or an organization as meeting pre-determined requirements or criteria.
An integrated care approach to managing illness which includes screenings, check-ups, monitoring and coordinating treatment, and patient education. It can improve your quality of life while reducing your health care costs if you have a chronic disease by preventing or minimizing the effects of a disease.
Measures representing processes of care and patient outcomes widely accepted as important to quality care, consistently and accurately tracked in order to determine quality performance in a given clinical area, such as heart attack, pneumonia, or hip and knee replacement.
A patient care management tool that organizes, sequences, and times the major interventions of nursing staff, physicians, and other departments for a particular case type.
The degree of accomplishment of desired health objectives by a clinician or healthcare organisation.
A subtype of quality measure that is a mechanism for assessing the degree to which a provider competently and safely delivers clinical services that are appropriate for the patient in the optimal time period.
A set of systematically developed statements, usually based on scientific evidence, to assist practitioners and patient decision making about appropriate healthcare for specific clinical circumstances.
Also referred to as a “near miss,” an event or situation that could have, but did not produce patient injury; however, only because of chance.
Incidence of medical problems associated with a particular procedure or illness.
Congestive heart failure, or heart failure, is a condition in which the heart can't pump enough blood to the body's other organs. The "failing" heart keeps working but not as efficiently as it should.
The mechanisms ensuring that the patient and clinicians have access to, and take into consideration, all required information on the patient's conditions and treatments to ensure that the patient receives appropriate healthcare services.
Benefits that help pay for the cost of visits to a dentist for basic or preventive services, like teeth cleaning, X-rays, and fillings.
Coverage for family members of the policyholder, such as spouses, children, or partners.
A list of prescription drugs covered by a prescription drug plan or another insurance plan offering prescription drug benefits. Also called a formulary.
Equipment and supplies ordered by a health care provider for everyday or extended use. May include: oxygen equipment, wheelchairs, crutches or blood testing strips for diabetics.
The degree to which care is provided in the correct manner, given the current state of knowledge, to achieve the desired or projected outcome(s) for the patient.
Care that is planned in advanced opposed to emergency treatment. Elective care entails planned specialist medical care or surgery, generally following a referral from a primary or community health professional such as an OPD Doctor.
An illness, injury, symptom or condition so serious that a reasonable person would seek care right away to avoid severe harm.
Emergency services you get in an emergency room.
Evaluation of an emergency medical condition and treatment to keep the condition from getting worse.
Ensuring patients with high-risk conditions are treated at hospitals with characteristics shown to be associated with better outcomes. Those characteristics include a combination of outcome, process, and volume criteria.
The wise and careful use of the best available scientific research and practices with proven effectiveness in daily medical decision making, including individual clinical practice decisions, by well-trained, experienced clinicians. Evidence-based medicine that is best-practice integrates best research evidence with clinical expertise and patient values.
Health care services that our Care Now Pay Later service doesn’t pay for or cover.
A list of prescription drugs covered by a prescription drug plan or another insurance plan offering prescription drug benefits. Also called a drug list.
A prescription drug that has the same active-ingredient formula as a brand-name drug. Generic drugs usually cost less than brand-name drugs. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rates these drugs to be as safe and effective as brand-name drugs.
Ghana Medical Association promotes the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health. It is the largest association of physicians and medical students in Ghana.
Health care services that help you keep, learn, or improve skills and functioning for daily living. Examples include therapy for a child who isn't walking or talking at the expected age. These services may include physical and occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, and other services for people with disabilities in a variety of inpatient and/or outpatient settings.
A contract that requires your health insurer to pay some or all of your health care costs in exchange for a premium.
Our service is not a private health insurance scheme.
The effect on health status from performance (or non-performance) of one or more processes or activities carried out by healthcare providers. Health outcomes include morbidity and mortality; physical, social, and mental functioning; nutritional status; etc.
Also known as acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Occurs when arteries leading to the heart become blocked and stop blood flow to the heart. The affected part of the heart does not get oxygen and other nutrients. Without immediate treatment, the affected area dies or is permanently damaged.
Health care services a person receives at home.
Services to provide comfort and support for persons in the last stages of a terminal illness and their families.
Care in a hospital that usually doesn’t require an overnight stay.
Care in a hospital that requires admission as an inpatient and usually requires an overnight stay. An overnight stay for observation could be outpatient care.
We generally consider your household to be you, your spouse if you’re married, and your dependents.
Inadequate oxygen supply in the arterial blood. It is common in patients with pneumonia and is treated by giving supplemental oxygen.
Refers to the identification of occurrences that could have led, or did lead, to an undesirable outcome. Reports usually come from personnel directly involved in the incident or events leading up to it (e.g., the nurse, pharmacist, or physician caring for a patient when a medication error occurred).
A person who has been admitted to a hospital or other health facility for a period of at least 24 hours.
Health care that you get when you're admitted as an inpatient to a health care facility, like a hospital or skilled nursing facility.
Health Coverage that is offered to an employee (and often his or her family) by an employer.
A measure of how efficiently the heart is pumping.
A process by which a governmental authority grants permission to an individual practitioner or healthcare organization to operate or to engage in an occupation or profession.
Services that include medical and non-medical care provided to people who are unable to perform basic activities of daily living such as dressing or bathing. Long-term supports and services can be provided at home, in the community, in assisted living or in nursing homes. Individuals may need long-term supports and services at any age.
You cannot use our services to pay for long-term care.
Health care services or supplies needed to diagnose or treat an illness, injury, condition, disease or its symptoms and that meet accepted standards of medicine.
A formal process of obtaining a complete and accurate list of each patient's current home medications – including name, dosage, frequency, and route – and comparing the physician's admission, transfer, and/or discharge orders to that list. Discrepancies are brought to the attention of the prescriber and, if appropriate, changes are made to the orders. Any resulting changes in orders are documented.
The state of being diseased; ratio of persons who are diseased to those who are well in a given community.
The number of deaths occurring per the number of units in the population at risk for the occurrence (e.g., per 100,000 population); death rate.
An infection acquired during hospitalization.
A test to measure the amount of oxygen in the blood. The assessment may include an arterial blood gas (ABG) or pulse oximetry. Pneumonia patients may experience poor blood oxygenation when air spaces in the lungs fill with fluid.
Freedom from accidental or preventable injuries produced by medical care.
A payment structure in which different health care providers who are treating you for the same or related conditions are paid an overall sum for taking care of your condition rather than being paid for each individual treatment, test, or procedure. In doing so, providers are rewarded for coordinating care, preventing complications and errors, and reducing unnecessary or duplicative tests and treatments.
Health care services a licensed medical physician (Medical Doctor) provides or coordinates.
Any condition (either physical or mental) including a disability for which medical advice, diagnosis, care, or treatment was recommended or received within the 6-month period ending on your enrollment date in a health insurance plan. Genetic information, without a diagnosis of a disease or a condition, cannot be treated as a pre-existing condition. Pregnancy cannot be considered a pre-existing condition and newborns, newly adopted children and children placed for adoption who are enrolled within 30 days cannot be subject to pre-existing condition exclusions.
The amount you pay for your health insurance every month.
CARE NOW PAY LATER is not a private health insurance scheme, hence NO PREMIUMS.
Drugs and medications that, by law, require a prescription.
Activities to prevent illness such as routine check-ups, immunizations, patient counseling, and screenings.
Routine health care that includes screenings, check-ups, and patient counselling to prevent illnesses, disease, or other health problems.
Health services that cover a range of prevention, wellness, and treatment for common illnesses. Primary care providers include doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. They often maintain long-term relationships with you and advise and treat you on a range of health related issues. They may also coordinate your care with specialists.
A physician (Medical Doctor) who directly provides or coordinates a range of health care services for a patient.
A physician (Medical Doctor), nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist or physician assistant, as allowed under Ghanaian law, who provides, coordinates or helps a patient access a range of health care services.
A field that seeks to improve lives and the health of communities through the prevention and treatment of disease and the promotion of healthy behaviours such as healthy eating and exercise.
Surgery and follow-up treatment needed to correct or improve a part of the body because of birth defects, accidents, injuries or medical conditions.
Services from licensed nurses in your own home or in a nursing home. Skilled care services are from technicians and therapists in your own home or in a nursing home.
Skilled nursing care and rehabilitation services provided on a continuous, daily basis in a skilled nursing facility. Examples of skilled nursing facility care include physical therapy or intravenous injections that can only be given by a registered nurse or doctor.
A system that distributes financial benefits to retired or disabled people, their spouses, and their dependent children based on their reported earnings. While you work, you may pay taxes into the Social Security system. When you retire or become disabled, you, your spouse, and your dependent children may get monthly benefits that are based on your reported earnings. Your survivors may be able to collect Social Security benefits if you die.
The health care and related needs of children who have chronic physical, developmental, behavioral or emotional conditions. Such needs are of a type or amount beyond that required by children generally.
A physician specialist focuses on a specific area of medicine or a group of patients to diagnose, manage, prevent or treat certain types of symptoms and conditions. A non-physician specialist is a provider who has more training in a specific area of health care.
Care for an illness, injury or condition serious enough that a reasonable person would seek care right away, but not so severe it requires emergency room care.