INTERNAL INFORMATION ONLY – NOT FOR EXTERNAL SHARING

‍

Algorithm/Algorithmic

a process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer.

‍

Application Programming Interface (API)

Is a set of protocols, routines, and tools for building software and applications. An API defines the way that different software components should interact, and APIs allow for communication between different systems.

‍

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Is the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think and learn like humans. This can include tasks such as understanding natural language, recognizing objects and sounds, making decisions, and solving problems. There are different types of AI, including rule-based systems, decision tree systems, and machine learning systems that use algorithms to learn from data.

‍

Biometric

Relating to or involving the application of statistical analysis to biological data.

‍

Biometric Screening

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the biometric testing definition is: “the measurement of physical characteristics such as height, weight, body mass index, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, blood glucose, and aerobic fitness tests that can be taken at the worksite and used as part of a workplace health assessment to benchmark and evaluate changes in employee health status over time.”

At a biometric exam, a number of health indicators will be tested, including blood pressure, glucose (blood sugar) levels, lipids (cholesterol, LDL, triglycerides, HDL), waist circumference, and body mass index. Height and weight will also be recorded. The reason for biometric testing is to display your health and alert you to any changes in your status.

A biometric screening is a clinical screening that’s done to measure certain physical characteristics. It can be used to assess your:

• height
• weight
• body mass index (BMI)
• blood pressure
• blood cholesterol
• blood sugar

The goal of a biometric screening is to give a snapshot of your health and alert you to any changes in your health status.

‍

Blood Lipids

Blood lipids are fats in the blood and include cholesterol and triglycerides. Cholesterol is a fatty substance produced by the liver and carried by the blood to supply material for cell walls and hormones.

‍

Blood Pressure

Blood pressure is the pressure of circulating blood against the walls of blood vessels. Most of this pressure results from the heart pumping blood through the circulatory system. When used without qualification, the term "blood pressure" refers to the pressure in the large arteries.

‍

Body Mass Index (BMI) 

Is a measure of body fat based on an individual's weight and height. It is commonly used to determine whether a person is underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese. BMI is calculated by dividing a person's weight in kilograms by the square of their height in meters (kg/m²).

‍

Clinical Study

A type of research study that tests how well new medical approaches work in people. These studies test new methods of screening, prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of a disease. Also called a clinical trial. (source: https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/clinical-study).

‍

Comorbidity

In medicine, comorbidity - is the presence of one or more additional conditions often co-occurring (that is, concomitant or concurrent) with a primary condition. Comorbidity describes the effect of all other conditions an individual patient might have other than the primary condition of interest, and can be physiological or psychological. In the context of mental health, comorbidity often refers to disorders that are often coexistent with each other, such as depression and anxiety disorders. The concept of multimorbidity is related to comorbidity but presents a different meaning and approach.

The term "comorbid" has three definitions:

1. to indicate a medical condition existing simultaneously but independently with another condition in a patient.
2. to indicate a medical condition in a patient that causes, is caused by, or is otherwise related to another condition in the same patient.
3. to indicate two or more medical conditions existing simultaneously regardless of their causal relationship.

‍

Computer Vision

Computer vision is an interdisciplinary scientific field that deals with how computers can gain high-level understanding from digital images or videos. From the perspective of engineering, it seeks to understand and automate tasks that the human visual system can do.

‍

Continuum of Care

In medicine, describes the delivery of health care over a period of time. In patients with a disease, this covers all phases of illness from diagnosis to the end of life.

In healthcare, the continuum of care is now being used to describe how healthcare providers follow a patient from preventive care, through medical incidents, rehabilitation, and maintenance. Depending on the patient, this might involve the use of acute care hospitals, ambulatory care, or long-term care facilities.

‍

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Is a type of software that helps businesses manage interactions with customers, clients, and sales prospects. CRM systems are designed to store and organize customer data, track customer interactions and sales, and automate various sales and marketing processes.

‍

Derived vs Driven

In this explanation we'll use biometric-driven and biometric-derived to clarify the difference.

Biometric-driven refers to the use of biometrics to control or drive a specific process or outcome. For example, using fingerprints to unlock a phone or to log into a computer is a biometric-driven process.

Biometric-derived, on the other hand, refers to the use of biometrics to extract information or insights. An example of this would be using facial recognition to extract an individual's emotional state.

‍

Development Team (Dev Team)

Is a group of individuals who are responsible for the development, design, and implementation of software, applications, or technology systems. A typical dev team includes software developers, engineers, programmers, and designers who work together to create, test, and maintain software applications, systems, and websites.

‍

Digital Health

Digital health is a discipline that includes digital care programs, and technologies with health, healthcare, living, and society to enhance the efficiency of healthcare delivery and to make medicine more personalized and precise.

According to the FDA,   the broad scope of digital health includes categories such as mobile health   (mHealth), health information technology (IT), wearable devices, telehealth and telemedicine, and personalized medicine.

‍

Digital-Health-as-a-Service (DHaaS)

Refers to the delivery of healthcare-related services and information through digital technologies, such as telemedicine, remote monitoring, and electronic health records (EHRs). These services are designed to improve patient outcomes, reduce costs, and increase access to healthcare for individuals who may have limited mobility or live in remote areas. Examples of digital health services include virtual consultations with doctors, remote monitoring of vital signs, and online access to medical records and test results.

‍

Digital Therapeutics (DTx)

Digital therapeutics, a subset of digital health, are evidence-based therapeutic interventions driven by high-quality software programs to prevent, manage, or treat a   medical disorder or disease. The treatment relies on behavioral and lifestyle changes usually spurred by a collection of digital impetuses. Because of the digital nature of the methodology, data can be collected and analyzed as both a progress report and a preventative measure (source).

‍

Digital Twin

A digital twin is a virtual representation of an object or system that spans its lifecycle, is updated from real-time data, and uses simulation, machine learning, and reasoning to help decision-making.

In plain English, this just means creating a highly complex virtual model that is the exact counterpart (or twin) of a physical thing. The ‘thing’ could be a car, a building, a bridge, or a jet engine. Connected sensors on the physical asset collect data that can be mapped onto the virtual model. Anyone looking at the digital twin can now see crucial information about how the physical thing is doing out there in the real world (source).

‍

eHealth

Is a term used to describe the use of digital technology to support and promote health and healthcare. It encompasses a wide range of applications and services, including electronic health records (EHRs), telemedicine, health information exchange (HIE), mobile health (mHealth), and health information systems. eHealth solutions can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare delivery, increase access to healthcare for patients, and enable patients to better manage their own health.

‍

Electronic Health Record (EHR)

An electronic health record is the systematized collection of patient and population electronically stored health information in a digital format. These records can be shared across different health care settings.

‍

Electronic Medical Record (EMR)

Electronic medical records (EMRs) are a digital version of the paper charts in the clinician's office. An EMR contains the medical and treatment history of the patients in one practice. EMRs have advantages over paper records.

‍

Epidemiology Analytics

Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution, patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evidence-based practice by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive healthcare.

‍

Framingham /Risk Score

The Framingham Risk Score is a sex-specific algorithm used to estimate the 10-year cardiovascular risk of an individual. The Framingham Risk Score was first developed based on data obtained from the Framingham Heart Study, to estimate the 10-year risk of developing coronary heart disease.^[1] In order to assess the 10-year cardiovascular disease risk, cerebrovascular events, peripheral artery disease and heart failure were subsequently added as disease outcomes for the 2008 Framingham Risk Score, on top of coronary heart disease.^[2]

‍

Health Information Exchange (HIE)

Health information exchange, or HIE, provides the capability to electronically move clinical information among disparate healthcare information systems and maintain the meaning of the information being exchanged. The goal of health information exchange is to facilitate access to and retrieval of clinical data to provide safe, timely, efficient, effective and equitable patient-centered care. HIE can also be used by public health authorities to assist in the analysis of the health of populations.

‍

Internet of Medical Things (IoMT)

Collection of medical devices and applications that connect to healthcare IT systems through online computer networks .

‍

Interoperability

The ability of computer systems or software to exchange and make use of information.

‍

Interoperability in Healthcare

It is the ability of different information systems, devices and applications (systems) to access, exchange, integrate and cooperatively use data in a coordinated manner, within and across organizational, regional and national boundaries, to provide timely and seamless portability of information and optimize the health of individuals and populations globally.

Health data exchange architectures, application interfaces and standards enable data to be accessed and shared appropriately and securely across the complete spectrum of care, within all applicable settings and with relevant stakeholders, including the individual.

‍

Machine Learning

Is a branch of artificial intelligence (AI) and computer science which focuses on the use of data and algorithms to imitate the way that humans learn, gradually improving its accuracy. Machine learning algorithms are typically created using frameworks that accelerate solution development. Algorithms build a model based on sample data, known as training data, in order to make predictions or decisions without being explicitly programmed to do so.  

‍

Payor-Agnostic Healthcare

Where the care provided is not affected by the payer (source).

‍

Personalized Medicine

Personalized medicine, also referred to as precision medicine, is a medical model that separates people into different groups—with medical decisions, practices, interventions and/or products being tailored to the individual patient based on their predicted response or risk of disease.

‍

Population Health

Is a field of public health that focuses on improving the health of entire populations, rather than just individual patients. It takes into account a wide range of social, economic, and environmental factors that can impact health outcomes, such as housing, education, income, and access to healthcare.

‍

Primary Care

Is the first point of contact for individuals seeking healthcare. It is a branch of medicine that focuses on the provision of comprehensive, accessible, and continuous health care for individuals, families and communities. Primary care providers (PCPs) typically include general practitioners (GPs) or family physicians, as well as nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

‍

Remedial

giving or intended as a remedy or cure.

‍

Right-Care Pathways

A care pathway is a plan for patient care that is comprehensive and integrated, meaning it covers patient care from beginning to end. A good care pathway includes: An explicit statement of the goals and key elements of care.

‍

Risk-Stratification

Risk stratification enables providers to identify the right level of care and services for distinct subgroups of patients. It is the process of assigning a risk status to patients, then using this information to direct care and improve overall health outcomes.

Risk stratification is the process of categorizing individuals or populations into groups based on their level of risk for a specific health outcome or condition. This can be done based on various factors, such as age, gender, lifestyle habits, medical history, and genetic predisposition. Risk stratification is often used in healthcare to identify individuals who are at higher risk of developing a particular health condition or experiencing negative health outcomes, so that they can receive targeted prevention or intervention measures. For example, a person with a family history of heart disease may be considered to be at higher risk for developing heart disease themselves, and may be offered lifestyle modification or medication to reduce their risk. Risk stratification can also be used to identify individuals who are at lower risk for certain health outcomes, so that they can be directed towards less intensive or less costly interventions. By identifying and addressing risks at an early stage, risk stratification can help prevent or delay the onset of certain health conditions and improve overall health outcomes.

‍

Subclinical

Relating to or denoting a disease which is not severe enough to present definite or readily observable symptoms. In diagnosis, where some criteria are met but not enough to achieve clinical status.

An illness that stays "below the surface" of clinical detection. A subclinical disease has no or minimally recognizable clinical findings. It is distinct from a clinical disease, which has signs and symptoms that can be more easily recognized.

‍

Telemedicine

The use of information and digital technology by health professionals to diagnose and treat patients in remote areas.

Only includes remote clinical services.

‍

Telehealth

The use of information and communication technologies to access health care services remotely and manage health care.

Offers non-clinical services, like administrative meetings, medical education and provider training in addition to clinical services.  

‍

Therapeutic / Non-Therapeutic

adjective: relating to the healing of disease.

noun: the branch of medicine concerned with the treatment of disease and the action of remedial agents.

or, a treatment, therapy or drug.

‍

Therapeutic Goods

Therapeutic goods can comprise a broad range of things, such as bandages, pregnancy testing kits, herbal remedies, tissue grafts and paracetamol. They generally fall under three main categories:

• Medicines - including prescription, over-the-counter and complementary medicines, such as paracetamol and echinacea
• Biologicals - something made from or containing human cells or tissues, such as human stem cells or skin
• Medical devices - including instruments, implants and appliances, such as pacemakers and sterile bandages

The TGA also regulates what are known as other therapeutic goods (OTGs), which include items such as tampons and disinfectants.

What makes goods therapeutic? Therapeutic goods are broadly defined as products for use in humans in connection with:

• preventing, diagnosing, curing or alleviating a disease, ailment, defect or injury
• influencing, inhibiting or modifying a physiological process
• testing the susceptibility of persons to a disease or ailment
• influencing, controlling or preventing conception
• testing for pregnancy.

(source)

‍

Triple-Aim of Health

Developed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) The IHI Triple Aim is a framework developed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement that describes an approach to optimizing health system performance. It is IHI’s belief that new designs must be developed to simultaneously pursue three dimensions, which we call the “Triple Aim”:

• Improving the patient experience of care (including quality and satisfaction);
• Improving the health of populations; and
• Reducing the per capita cost of health care.

‍

Value-Based Care

Value-based healthcare is a healthcare delivery model in which providers, including hospitals and physicians, are paid based on patient health outcomes. Under value-based care agreements, providers are rewarded for helping patients improve their health, reduce the effects and incidence of chronic disease, and live healthier lives in an evidence-based way. (source)