i
English-Spanish
Managed Care
Glossary of Terms
First Edition
Developed by
The Cultural and Linguistic Services
Department
2004
iv
Introduction
The rapid changes that occur in health
care–particularly in managed care settings
–create many challenges and opportunities
that result in innovative ways of commu-
nicating with a linguistically diverse patient
population. Many managed care health
plans are charged with the translation of
materials in many languages. In addition,
there is a shortage of trained translators to
help bridge this gap.
Many health care organizations hire
bilingual employees to assist in communi-
cating needs and issues to members. The
intent of this glossary is to improve com-
munication–both spoken and written–to
our Spanish speaking members. As we
move to print this glossary, we know that
367,121–or 45%–of our members prefer
the Spanish language when communicating
with us.
Introduction . . . . . . . . . .iii
Acknowledgments . . . . .vii
A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
F . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
H . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
J . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
K . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
L . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65
O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
P . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71
Q . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
R . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83
T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93
U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97
V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99
W . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100
X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
Y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
Z . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
iii
Table of Contents
v
The Cultural and Linguistic Services
Department has received many cal