Glossary
Capital expenditure: Expenditure on large‑scale fixed assets
Community health services: Non‑residential health services that establishments offer to patients/clients in an integrated and coordinated manner in a community setting, or the coordination of health services elsewhere in the community.
Health administration: Activities related to the formulation and administration of government and non‑government health policy, and in the setting and enforcement of standards for health personnel and health services.
Health research: Research done at tertiary institutions, in private non‑profit organisations, and in government facilities that has a health socioeconomic objective.
Hospital services: Services provided to a patient receiving admitted patient services or non-admitted patient services in a hospital, but excluding non-admitted dental services, community health services, patient transport services, public health activities and health research done within the hospital. Can include services provided off site, such as dialysis or hospital in the home.
OECD: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade.
Other health practitioner services: Services that health practitioners (other than doctors and dentists) provide. These include practice nurses, chiropractors, optometrists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, audiologists, dieticians, podiatrists, homeopaths, naturopaths, practitioners of Chinese medicine and other forms of traditional medicine.
Out-of-pocket costs: Total costs incurred by individuals for health-care services over and above any refunds from the MBS, the PBS and private health insurance funds (see co-payment).
Over-the-counter medicines: Medicinal preparations that are not prescription medicines and are primarily bought from pharmacies and supermarkets.
Patient transport services: Expenditure by organisations primarily engaged in providing transportation of patients by ground or air, along with health (or medical) care.
Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS): National, government-funded scheme that subsidises the cost of a wide variety of pharmaceutical drugs (see Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme).
Private hospital: A privately owned and operated institution, catering for patients who are treated by a doctor of their own choice. Patients are charged fees for accommodation and other services provided by the hospital and relevant medical and paramedical practitioners.
Public hospital: A hospital controlled by a state or territory health authority. In Australia public hospitals offer free diagnostic services, treatment, care and accommodation to all Australians who need them. Public hospitals include some denominational hospitals that are privately owned. Defence force hospitals are not included in the scope of public hospitals.
Public health activities: The core types of activities done or funded by the key jurisdictional health departments that deal with issues related to populations, rather than individuals.
Referred medical services: Non‑hospital medical services that are not classified as primary health care.
Unreferred medical services: A medical service provided to a person by, or under the supervision of, a medical practitioner, being a service that has not been referred to that practitioner by another medical practitioner or person with referring rights.