Glossar

Colonoscopy is the endoscopic examination of the large intestine.

In the health survey, complementary medicine comprises acupuncture treatments, traditional Chinese medicine, homeopathy, as well as herbalism or herbal medicine.

Compulsory insured are all employees from the age of 15 years until they receive a full retirement pension, who work for an employer in Liechtenstein. Persons insured by a compulsory daily sickness allowance insurance receive on basis of a medical certificate, which states at least a 50% inability to work, a sickness allowance after the second day off work - if no other waiting period was agreed on. The sickness allowance covers in case of full disability at least 80% of the wage on which retirement contributions are based on.

Compulsory insured are persons who have their residence or gainful occupation in Liechtenstein, with the exception of inward commuters. The following services are covered by the compulsory health care insurance:  Examinations, treatments and care activities which are provided by practicing physicians, chiropractors or other health care professionals on basis of a medical prescription, including all drugs, medical devices and analyses which were pre-scribed by a practicing physician;  Inpatient or outpatient examinations, treatments and care activities provided in health care facilities. In case of inpatient hospital care, expenditures for meals and lodging are included;  Contributions for prescribed spa treatments;  Patient transports provided by a patient transportation company given the fact that such a transport is medically indicated;  Contributions to costs beyond regular daily living costs, in combination with home-based health care, as far as this is recommended by a practicing physician and otherwise an inpatient treatment in a hospital or another care institution would be necessary.

Compulsory health insurance schemes are social insurance schemes whose membership is specified as compulsory by law. Compulsory health insurance schemes guarantee access to health care. Only those compulsory insurances that cover medical services (health and accident insurance) are taken into account for health expenditure, i.e. pension insurance is not relevant.

A confidence interval is an interval that indicates the precision of the point estimate of a parameter such as a mean value or a percentage. The confidence interval is the range which, when repeated infinitely - in this case, the sample survey - includes the true location of the parameter with a certain frequency. The confidence level of 95% was chosen for the present study. This means that with a probability of at least 95%, the confidence intervals calculated for the Liechtenstein Health Survey contain the true value of the population under investigation.

The confidence level indicates the probability that the point estimate of a statistical parameter (e.g. a percentage) from a sample survey is also correct for the population. For the evaluation of the Liechtenstein Health Survey, a confidence level of 95% was chosen.

Consultations are regular and emergency visits to a doctor, both by day and night. Consultations by phone and the inclusion of a specialist are also included. House calls by doctors are not considered consultations. The tariff heading “increased expenditure of time” is billed in conjunction with a normal consultation and is thus not considered a consultation in its own right.

Insured adults (20 years and older) are required to pay a cost sharing amount for expenditures covered by the compulsory health care insurance. On the one hand side, they need to pay a fixed yearly amount and on the other hand side, they need to pay a share of all costs which go beyond the yearly contribution. Insured persons younger than 20 years are exempted from cost sharing contributions. Since 1st January 2017: Since the revision of the Health Insurance Act (LGBl. 2016, No 2) on 1st January 2017, insured adults pay - in the case of legal cost sharing - a fixed annual amount of CHF 500 as well as a deductible of 20% up to a maximum of CHF 900 before reaching retirement age, and of 10% up to a maximum of CHF 450 after reaching retirement age. The premium can be reduced by choosing a voluntarily higher cost sharing up to a fixed amount of a maximum of CHF 4000. Before 1st January 2017: Insured persons pay a fixed annual amount of CHF 200 and a deductible of 10% of the costs exceeding the annual contribution, up to a maximum of CHF 600. For insured persons of regular retirement age, the cost sharing is reduced by half.

Curative health care are services during which the principal intent is to relieve symptoms or to reduce the severity of an illness or injury, or to protect against its exacerbation or complication that could threaten life or normal function.

Day clinic health care offers services in a health care facility for patients who require medical treatment or other medical care due to a previous diagnosis. The patients are discharged from the facility on the same day. While the data on day clinic health care with respect to the health infrastructure are available for Liechtenstein, the corresponding health care expenditures cannot be reported separately. They are included in outpatient health care expenditures.

Deductibles are a type of cost sharing with a fixed annual sum of at least CHF 200 for insured adults respectively CHF 100 for insured persons at retirement in age (regular annual deductible). Health care insurance companies can offer an additional higher annual deductible, if at the same time premiums are adequately reduced (variable annual deductible).

The classic division into the three branches of the economy - agriculture, industry and services - results from the following summary of NOGA sections or NOGA departments. NOGA 2008: - Sector 1 (agriculture): Section A (or divisions 01-03) - Sector 2 (industry): Sections B-F (or divisions 05-43) - Sector 3 (services): Sections G-U (or divisions 45-99)

Excision is the medical term for the surgical removal of tissue from the body. E.g. breast wide local excision: Partial removal of the breast.

The insurance type „extended compulsory health care insurance) covers the free choice of outpatient service providers with assumption of costs up to the maximum extended compulsory health care insurance tariff.

Spitex refers to non-stationary health care and nursing not based in a hospital or care home.