Short Procedure Unit. A unit of a hospital organized for the delivery of ambulatory surgical, diagnostic or medical services. Social Determinants of Health (SDOH)— Conditions in the environments in which people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes, which can lead to inequities and risks. Special Needs Unit — A special dedicated unit within the PH-MCO and the EAP broker’s organizational structure established to deal with issues related to Members with Special Needs. Start Date — The first date on which the PH-MCO is operationally responsible and financially liable for the provision of Medically Necessary services to Members. Step Therapy — A type of Prior Authorization requirement, sometimes referred to as a fail first requirement, intended as a cost savings that begins drug therapy with the most cost-effective drug therapy, and progresses to other more costly therapies determined to be Medically Necessary. Stop-Loss Protection — Coverage designed to limit the amount of financial loss experienced by a Health Care Provider. Subcapitation — A fixed per capita amount that is paid by the PH-MCO to a Network Provider for each Member identified as being in their capitation group, whether or not the Member received medical services. Subcontract — A contract between the PH-MCO and an individual, business, university, governmental entity, or nonprofit organization to perform part or all of the PH-MCO’s responsibilities under this Agreement. Exempt from this definition are salaried employees, utility agreements and Provider Agreements, which are not considered Subcontracts for the purpose of this Agreement and, unless otherwise specified herein, are not subject to the provisions governing Subcontracts. Subcontractor — An individual or entity that has a contract a PH-MCO that relates directly or indirectly to the performance of the PH-MCO’s obligation under its contract with the Department. A network provider is not a Subcontractor by virtue of the network Provider Agreement with the MCO, PIHP, or PAHP. Sustained Improvement — Improvement in performance documented through continued measurement of quality indicators after the performance project, study, or quality initiative is complete.
Short Procedure Unit. A unit of a hospital organized for the delivery of ambulatory surgical, diagnostic or medical services. Social Determinants of Health — The conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age. They are the factors mostly responsible for health inequities – the unfair and avoidable differences in health status seen within and between different geographic locations. There are five major determinant areas: • Economic stability (poverty, employment, food security, housing stability, transportation); • Education (high school graduation, enrollment in higher education, language and literacy); • Social and community context (social cohesion, discrimination, incarceration); • Health and health care (accessibility and health literacy); and • Neighborhood and built environment (food deserts, quality of housing, safety). These factors can impact population health outcomes by establishing a negative social and physical environment and deepening the inequities that certain populations face.
