| Care chain | The flow of work through a hospital consisting of the services for patients provided by various medical specialties and functions, within and across departments.
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| Decoupling points | Stages in the process where waiting takes place, either before or after the procedure is performed.
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| Diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) | Homogeneous units of hospital activity for planning and costing surgeries—essentially a bill of labor and materials.
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| Health care operations management | The design, management, and improvement of the systems that create and deliver health care services.
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| Hospital | A facility whose staff provides services relating to observation, diagnosis, and treatment to cure or lessen the suffering of patients.
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