Acronyms in healthcare - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The following is a partial list of acronyms commonly used in health care. The terms listed are used within the health care

Health care

Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...

systems of various countries.

A

A&E Accident and Emergency Department
AAAHC Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care
Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care
The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care , founded in 1979, is an American organisation which accredits ambulatory health care organizations, including ambulatory surgery centers, office-based surgery centers, endoscopy centers, and college student health centers, as well as managed...
AAHSA American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging
AAMA American Association of Medical Assistants
AAMC American Association of Medical Colleges
AAO-HNS American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
AAPC American Academy of Professional Coders
AAPCC Adjusted Average per Capita Cost
AAPS American Association of Physicians and Surgeons
AAPI American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin
American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin
The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin is a professional association for Indian American physicians.The association is based in Chicago and was founded in 1984...
ABMT Autologous Bone Marrow Transplant
Bone marrow transplant
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the transplantation of multipotent hematopoietic stem cell or blood, usually derived from bone marrow, peripheral blood stem cells, or umbilical cord blood...
ACA Affordable Care Act of 2010
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law is the principal health care reform legislation of the 111th United States Congress...
ACF Administration for Children and Families
Administration for Children and Families
The Administration for Children and Families is a division of the United States Department of Health and Human Services . It is headed by the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families. It has a $58.8 billion budget for 65 programs that target children, youth and families...
ACHE American College of Healthcare Executives
American College of Healthcare Executives
The American College of Healthcare Executives is an international professional association of healthcare executives Its central offices are located at 1 N. Franklin Street in Chicago, Illinois, USA. ACHE is one of the healthcare industry's top professional associations...
ACIIP Association of Clinical IVR and IWR Professionals
ACO Accountable care organization
Accountable care organization
An accountable care organization is a type of payment and delivery reform model that seeks to tie provider reimbursements to quality metrics and reductions in the total cost of care for an assigned population of patients. A group of coordinated health care providers form an ACO, which then...
ACOG American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists , formerly the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, is a professional association of medical doctors specializing in obstetrics and gynecology in the United States. It has a membership of over 55,000 and represents 90 percent...
ACS American Cancer Society
American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is the "nationwide community-based voluntary health organization" dedicated, in their own words, "to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and...
ACS American College of Surgeons
American College of Surgeons
The American College of Surgeons is an educational association of surgeons created in 1913 to improve the quality of care for the surgical patient by setting high standards for surgical education and practice.-Membership:...
ADA American Dietetic Association
American Dietetic Association
The American Dietetic Association is the United States' largest organization of food and nutrition professionals, with nearly 72,000 members. The American Dietetic Association is officially changing its name to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The announcement was made Saturday, September...
ADA American Dental Association
American Dental Association
The American Dental Association is an American professional association established in 1859 which has more than 155,000 members. Based in Chicago, the ADA is the world's largest and oldest national dental association and promotes good oral health to the public while representing the dental...
ADA American Diabetes Association
American Diabetes Association
The American Diabetes Association is a United States-based association working to fight the consequences of diabetes, and to help those affected by diabetes...
ADA Americans with Disabilities Act
ADHD Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a developmental disorder. It is primarily characterized by "the co-existence of attentional problems and hyperactivity, with each behavior occurring infrequently alone" and symptoms starting before seven years of age.ADHD is the most commonly studied and...
ADL Activities of Daily Living
ADR Adverse Drug Reaction
Adverse drug reaction
An adverse drug reaction is an expression that describes harm associated with the use of given medications at a normal dosage. ADRs may occur following a single dose or prolonged administration of a drug or result from the combination of two or more drugs...
ADSA American Dental Society of Anesthesiology
American Dental Society of Anesthesiology
The American Dental Society of Anesthesiology is an American professional association established in 1953 and based in Chicago.-Mission:...
ADT Admission, Discharge, Transfer
AEP Accredited Exercise Physiologist
AFDC Aid to Families with Dependent Children
Aid to Families with Dependent Children
Aid to Families with Dependent Children was a federal assistance program in effect from 1935 to 1996, which was administered by the United States Department of Health and Human Services...
AF Atrial Fibrillation
AFMA African Medical Association
AHA American Hospital Association
American Hospital Association
The American Hospital Association is an organization that promotes the quality provision of health care by hospitals and health care networks through such efforts as promoting effective public policy and providing information related to health care and health administration to health care...
AHA American Heart Association
American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is a non-profit organization in the United States that fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and deaths caused by cardiovascular disease and stroke. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas...
AHCA American Health Care Association
American Health Care Association
The American Health Care Association is non-profit federation of affiliated state health organizations, together representing more than 10,000 non-profit and for-profit assisted living, nursing facility, developmentally-disabled, and subacute care providers that care for more than 1.5 million...
AHDI Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity
AHEC Area Health Education Center
AHIMA American Health Information Management Association
American Health Information Management Association
-References:* -External links:* * * * * *...
AHIP America's Health Insurance Plans
AHRQ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is a part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, which supports research designed to improve the outcomes and quality of health care, reduce its costs, address patient safety and medical errors, and broaden access to effective...
AIDS acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
AIN Assistant In Nursing
AMA American Medical Association
American Medical Association
The American Medical Association , founded in 1847 and incorporated in 1897, is the largest association of medical doctors and medical students in the United States.-Scope and operations:...
AMANET African Malaria Network Trust
AMGA American Medical Group Association
American Medical Group Association
The American Medical Group Association is a national trade association representing medical groups and other organized systems of health care, including some of the nation’s largest integrated healthcare delivery systems...
AMIA American Medical Informatics Association
American Medical Informatics Association
AMIA, formerly known as the American Medical Informatics Association, is an American non-profit organization dedicated to the development and application of biomedical and health informatics in the support of patient care, teaching, research, and health care administration.- History :AMIA is the...
ANA American Nurses Association
American Nurses Association
The American Nurses Association is a professional organization to advance and protect the profession of nursing. It started in 1896 as the Nurses Associated Alumnae and was renamed the American Nurses Association in 1911...
AOA American Optometric Association
American Optometric Association
The American Optometric Association represents optometrists nationally in the USA. It consists of State Optometric Associations, which are made up of local optometric societies.-AOA mission:...
AOA American Osteopathic Association
American Osteopathic Association
The American Osteopathic Association is the representative member organization for the over 78,000 osteopathic medical physicians in the United States...
AOTA American Occupational Therapy Association
American Occupational Therapy Association
The American Occupational Therapy Association is the national professional association established in 1917 to represent the interests and concerns of occupational therapy practitioners and students and improve the quality of occupational therapy services...
APA Administrative Procedures Act
APA American Psychiatric Association
American Psychiatric Association
The American Psychiatric Association is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the most influential worldwide. Its some 38,000 members are mainly American but some are international...
APA American Pharmaceutical Association
APA American Psychological Association
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States. It is the world's largest association of psychologists with around 154,000 members including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. The APA...
APC Ambulatory Payment Classification
APC (Ambulatory Payment Classification)
APCs or Ambulatory Payment Classifications are the United States government's method of paying for facility outpatient services for the Medicare program...
APDRG All Patient Diagnosis Related Groups
APHA American Public Health Association
American Public Health Association
The American Public Health Association is Washington, D.C.-based professional organization for public health professionals in the United States. Founded in 1872 by Dr. Stephen Smith, APHA has more than 30,000 members worldwide...
APHA American Protestant Hospital Association
APTA American Physical Therapy Association
American Physical Therapy Association
A Historical PerspectivePhysical therapists formed their first professional association in 1921, called the American Women's Physical Therapeutic Association. Led by President Mary McMillan, an executive committee of elected officers governed the Association, which included 274 charter members...
ASA American Society of Anesthesiology
ASC Ambulatory Surgery Center
ASCP American Society for Clinical Pathology
American Society for Clinical Pathology
The American Society for Clinical Pathology is a professional association based in Chicago, Illinois encompassing 130,000 pathologists and laboratory professionals....
ASHICE Reporting patient's condition – Age Sex History Injury/Illness Consciousness ETA
ASHRM American Society for Healthcare Risk Management
ASO Administrative Service Organization
AST Aspartate Aminotransferase
ASTHO Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
AWP Average Wholesale
Wholesale
Wholesaling, jobbing, or distributing is defined as the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers, to industrial, commercial, institutional, or other professional business users, or to other wholesalers and related subordinated services...

Price
AYUSH Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy
AYUSH
The Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy is a part of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare of the Government of India....

B

BAN Bachelor of Arts in Nursing
BBA Balanced Budget Act of 1997
Balanced Budget Act of 1997
The Balanced Budget Act of 1997, , was signed into law on August 5, 1997. It was an omnibus legislative package enacted using the budget reconciliation process and designed to balance the federal budget by 2002....
BBRA Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999
Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999
The Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 is a federal law of the United States, enacted in 1999. The BBRA was first introduced into the House as H.R. 3075 on October 14, 1999 by Rep. William M. Thomas with 75 cosponsors...
BCA Blue Cross Association
BCBSA Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association
The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association is a federation of 39 separate health insurance organizations and companies in the United States. Combined, they directly or indirectly provide health insurance to over 100 million Americans. The history of Blue Cross dates back to 1929, while the history of...
BCMA Bar Code Medication Administration
BFHI Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative
Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative
The Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative , also known as “Baby Friendly Initiative” , is a worldwide programme of the World Health Organization and UNICEF, launched in 1991 following the adoption of the Innocenti Declaration on breastfeeding promotion in 1990...
BHCS Baylor Health Care System, Dallas, TX
BI-RADS Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System Atlas
BP Blood Pressure
BPM Beats Per Minute
BPHC Bureau of Primary Health Care
Bureau of Primary Health Care
The Bureau of Primary Health Care is a part of the Health Resources and Services Administration , of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. For more than four decades, HRSA has helped fund, staff and support a national network of health clinics serving millions of people who...
BPOC Bar Code Enabled Point of Care
BRFSS Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System is a United States health survey that looks at behavioral risk factors. It is run by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and conducted by the individual state health departments. The survey is administered by telephone and is the world's...

C

CABG Coronary artery bypass grafting
Coronary artery bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease...
CAD Coronary Artery Disease
CAH Critical Access Hospital
CAHPS Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems
CAM Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Alternative medicine
Alternative medicine is any healing practice, "that does not fall within the realm of conventional medicine." It is based on historical or cultural traditions, rather than on scientific evidence....
CAP College of American Pathologists
College of American Pathologists
The College of American Pathologists , is a medical society serving more than 17,000 physician members and the laboratory community throughout the world....

, Community Action Program, or Community Access Program
Community Access Program
The Community Access Program is an initiative of the Government of Canada which aims to provide Canadians with affordable public access to the Internet and the skills they need to use it effectively. The program is administered by Industry Canada as part of their youth initiative.-History of...
CARF Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities
CAT Computerized Axial Tomography
Computed tomography
X-ray computed tomography or Computer tomography , is a medical imaging method employing tomography created by computer processing...
CBO Congressional Budget Office
Congressional Budget Office
The Congressional Budget Office is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government that provides economic data to Congress....
CCA Cost Consequence Analysis
CCBTI Certified Cognitive Behavioral Training Instructor
CCHIT Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology
Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology
The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology is an independent, 5013 nonprofit organization with the public mission of accelerating the adoption of robust, interoperable health information technology...
CCHP Consumer Choice Health Plan
CCM Certified Case Manager
CCRN Critical Care Registered Nurse
CCU Coronary Care Unit
Coronary care unit
A coronary care unit is a hospital ward specialized in the care of patients with heart attacks, unstable angina, Cardiac dysrhythmia and various other cardiac conditions that require continuous monitoring and treatment.-Characteristics:...
CCU Critical Care Unit
Intensive Care Unit
thumb|220px|ICU roomAn intensive-care unit , critical-care unit , intensive-therapy unit/intensive-treatment unit is a specialized department in a hospital that provides intensive-care medicine...
CDA Clinical Document Architecture
Clinical Document Architecture
The HL7 Clinical Document Architecture is an XML-based markup standard intended to specify the encoding, structure and semantics of clinical documents for exchange.CDA is part of the HL7 version 3 standard...
CDif Clostridium Difficule
Clostridium difficile
Clostridium difficile , also known as "CDF/cdf", or "C...
CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services headquartered in Druid Hills, unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, in Greater Atlanta...
CDM Charge Description Master
CDR Clinical Data Repository
Clinical Data Repository
A Clinical Data Repository is a real time database that consolidates data from a variety of clinical sources to present a unified view of a single patient. It is optimized to allow clinicians to retrieve data for a single patient rather than to identify a population of patients with common...
CDR Chronic Disease Register
CDU Clinical Decisions Unit
CERTs Centers for Education and Research on Therapeutics
CEO Campaign to End Obesity
CHAMPUS Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services
TRICARE
TRICARE, formerly known as the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services , is a health care program of the United States Department of Defense Military Health System. TRICARE provides civilian health benefits for military personnel, military retirees, and their dependents,...
CHAMPVA Civilian Health and Medical Program - Veterans Administration
Veterans Health Administration
The Veterans Health Administration is the component of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs led by the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health that implements the medical assistance program of the VA through the administration and operation of numerous VA outpatient clinics,...
CHC Community Health Center
Community health center
A health center or community health center is a clinic staffed by a group of general practitioners and nurses.Community health centers in the U.S...
CHER Community Health Education & Resources
CHHA Certified Home Health Agency
CHIME College of Health Information Management Executives
College of Healthcare Information Management Executives
The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives is the professional organization for chief information officers and other senior healthcare IT leaders...
CHF Congestive Heart Failure
CHI Consolidated Health Informatics
CHMIS Community Health Management Information System
CHS Certified in Healthcare Security
CHW Community health worker
Community health worker
Community health workers are members of a community who are chosen by community members or organizations to provide basic health and medical care to their community...
CICU Cardiac Intensive Care Unit
CIS Clinical information system
Hospital information system
There are various titles and acronyms which all declare similar approaches to managing the information flow and storage in hospital routine services, as*Hospital Information System , or*Healthcare Information System, or...
CLIA Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments Act
Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments
Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 are United States federal regulatory standards that apply to all clinical laboratory testing performed on humans in the United States, except clinical trials and basic research.-CLIA Program:...
CMA Cost Minimization Analysis
Cost-minimization analysis
Cost-minimization is a tool used in pharmacoeconomics and is applied when comparing multiple drugs of equal efficacy and equal tolerabilityTherapeutic equivalence must be referenced by the author conducting the study and should have been done prior to the cost-minimization work...
CME Continuing Medical Education
Continuing medical education
Continuing medical education refers to a specific form of continuing education that helps those in the medical field maintain competence and learn about new and developing areas of their field. These activities may take place as live events, written publications, online programs, audio, video, or...
CMHC Community Mental Health Center
Community mental health service
Community mental health services , also known as Community Mental Health Teams in the United Kingdom, support or treat people with mental disorders in a domiciliary setting, instead of a psychiatric hospital . The array of community mental health services vary depending on the country in which...
CMO Career Medical Officer
CMO Chief Medical Officer
Chief Medical Officer
There are four Chief Medical Officers in the United Kingdom who are appointed to advise their respective governments on health related matters: Her Majesty's Government, the Northern Ireland Executive, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Assembly Government...
CMP Competitive Medical Plan
CMS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services , previously known as the Health Care Financing Administration , is a federal agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services that administers the Medicare program and works in partnership with state governments to administer...
CMT Certified Medical Transcriptionist
CN Clinical Nurse
CNA Certified Nursing Assistant
CNC Clinical Nurse Consultant
CNS Central Nervous System
Central nervous system
The central nervous system is the part of the nervous system that integrates the information that it receives from, and coordinates the activity of, all parts of the bodies of bilaterian animals—that is, all multicellular animals except sponges and radially symmetric animals such as jellyfish...
COB Coordination of Benefits
COBRA Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act
COG Council of Governments
Council of Governments
Councils of governments are regional bodies that exist throughout the United States. They are also sometimes called regional councils, regional commissions, regional planning commissions, planning district commissions, and development districts...
COI Cost of Illness Analysis
COLA Cost of Living Allowance
Cost of Living Allowance
Cost of Living Allowance is a United States military entitlement given to military servicemen and women living in high cost areas or stationed overseas...
COMPASS Community Participation for Action in the Social Sector (Nigeria)
CON Certificate of Need
Certificate of Need
A Certificate of Need , in the United States, is a legal document required in many state and some federal jurisdictions before proposed acquisitions, expansions, or creations of facilities are allowed. CONs are issued by a federal or state regulatory agency with authority over an area to affirm...
CONQUEST Computerized Needs-Oriented Quality Measurement Evaluation System
COPC Community Oriented Primary Care
COPD Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease , also known as chronic obstructive lung disease , chronic obstructive airway disease , chronic airflow limitation and chronic obstructive respiratory disease , is the co-occurrence of chronic bronchitis and emphysema, a pair of commonly co-existing diseases...
COTH Council of Teaching Hospitals
CPA Certified Public Accountant
Certified Public Accountant
Certified Public Accountant is the statutory title of qualified accountants in the United States who have passed the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination and have met additional state education and experience requirements for certification as a CPA...
CPHA Commission on Professional and Hospital Activities
CPI Consumer Price Index
Consumer price index
A consumer price index measures changes in the price level of consumer goods and services purchased by households. The CPI, in the United States is defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as "a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of...
CPOE Computerized Physician Order Entry
CPOE Computerized Prescription Order Entry
CPR Customary, Prevailing, and Reasonable
CPR Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is an emergency procedure which is performed in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spontaneous blood circulation and breathing in a person in cardiac arrest. It is indicated in those who are unresponsive...
CPT-4 Current Procedural Terminology
Current Procedural Terminology
The Current Procedural Terminology code set is maintained by the American Medical Association through the CPT Editorial Panel. The CPT code set describes medical, surgical, and diagnostic services and is designed to communicate uniform information about medical services and procedures among...

, Forth Edition
CQuIPS Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety
CRNA Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist
Nurse anesthetist
A nurse anesthetist is a nurse who specializes in the administration of anesthesia.In the United States, a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist is an advanced practice registered nurse who has acquired graduate-level education and board certification in anesthesia...
CRVS California Relative Value Studies
CT Computerized Tomographic (scanners)
Computed tomography
X-ray computed tomography or Computer tomography , is a medical imaging method employing tomography created by computer processing...
CCRAS Central Council for Research in Ayurveda and Siddha

D

DD Developmental Disability
Developmental disability
Developmental disability is a term used in the United States and Canada to describe lifelong disabilities attributable to mental or physical impairments, manifested prior to age 18. It is not synonymous with "developmental delay" which is often a consequence of a temporary illness or trauma during...
DDS Doctor of Dental Surgery
Doctor of Dental Surgery
There are a number of first professional degrees in dentistry offered by schools in various countries around the world. These include the following:* Doctor of Dental Surgery * Doctor of Dental Medicine * Bachelor of Dentistry...
DEA Drug Enforcement Agency
DDM Doctor of Dental Medicine
DHHS Department of Health and Human Services
DME Durable Medical Equipment
Durable medical equipment
Durable medical equipment is a term of art used to describe any medical equipment used in the home to aid in a better quality of living. It is a benefit included in most insurances. In some cases certain Medicare benefits, that is, whether Medicare may pay for the item...
DMO Disease Management Organization
DO Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine
DOA Dead On Arrival
DON Director Of Nursing
Director of nursing
A director of nursing is a registered nurse who supervises the care of all the patients at a health care facility. The director of nursing has special training beyond that of any clinical nurse for the position that pertains to health care management, and in some places, a director of nursing must...
DOS Date Of Service
DR ABC Primary Survey – Danger Response Airway Breathing Circulation
DRG Diagnosis Related Group
DSH Disproportionate Share Hospital
Disproportionate share hospital
The United States government provides special funding to hospitals who treat significant populations of indigent patients through the Disproportionate Share Hospital programs...
DSM-IV Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is published by the American Psychiatric Association and provides a common language and standard criteria for the classification of mental disorders...
DTC Direct to Consumer
DUR Drug Utilization Review
DVM Doctor of Veterinary Medicine

E

EBM Evidence-Based Medicine
Evidence-based medicine
Evidence-based medicine or evidence-based practice aims to apply the best available evidence gained from the scientific method to clinical decision making. It seeks to assess the strength of evidence of the risks and benefits of treatments and diagnostic tests...
ECF Extended Care Facility
ECG Electrocardiogram
Electrocardiogram
Electrocardiography is a transthoracic interpretation of the electrical activity of the heart over a period of time, as detected by electrodes attached to the outer surface of the skin and recorded by a device external to the body...
ED Emergency Department
Emergency department
An emergency department , also known as accident & emergency , emergency room , emergency ward , or casualty department is a medical treatment facility specialising in acute care of patients who present without prior appointment, either by their own means or by ambulance...
EDI Electronic Data Interchange
Electronic Data Interchange
Electronic data interchange is the structured transmission of data between organizations by electronic means. It is used to transfer electronic documents or business data from one computer system to another computer system, i.e...
EDON Executive Director Of Nursing
EEG Electroencephalogram
Electroencephalography
Electroencephalography is the recording of electrical activity along the scalp. EEG measures voltage fluctuations resulting from ionic current flows within the neurons of the brain...
EEN Endorsed Enrolled Nurse
EHR Electronic health record
Electronic Health Record
An electronic health record is an evolving concept defined as a systematic collection of electronic health information about individual patients or populations...
EKG Electrocardiogram
Electrocardiogram
Electrocardiography is a transthoracic interpretation of the electrical activity of the heart over a period of time, as detected by electrodes attached to the outer surface of the skin and recorded by a device external to the body...
ELS Emergency Life Support
EMG Electromyogram
Electromyography
Electromyography is a technique for evaluating and recording the electrical activity produced by skeletal muscles. EMG is performed using an instrument called an electromyograph, to produce a record called an electromyogram. An electromyograph detects the electrical potential generated by muscle...
EMR Electronic medical record
Electronic medical record
An electronic medical record is a computerized medical record created in an organization that delivers care, such as a hospital or physician's office...
EMS Emergency Medical Services
Emergency medical services
Emergency medical services are a type of emergency service dedicated to providing out-of-hospital acute medical care and/or transport to definitive care, to patients with illnesses and injuries which the patient, or the medical practitioner, believes constitutes a medical emergency...
EMT Emergency Medical Technician
Emergency medical technician
Emergency Medical Technician or Ambulance Technician are terms used in some countries to denote a healthcare provider of emergency medical services...
EMTALA Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act
Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act
The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act is a U.S. Act of Congress passed in 1986 as part of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act . It requires hospitals to provide care to anyone needing emergency healthcare treatment regardless of citizenship, legal status or ability to...
ENT Ear, Nose and Throat
EPA Exclusive Provider Arrangement
EPA Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
EPC Evidence-Based Practice Center
EPO Exclusive provider organization
Preferred provider organization
In health insurance in the United States, a preferred provider organization is a managed care organization of medical doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers who have covenanted with an insurer or a third-party administrator to provide health care at reduced...
EPSDT Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment Program
ER Emergency Room
ERCP Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography
Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography
Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography is a technique that combines the use of endoscopy and fluoroscopy to diagnose and treat certain problems of the biliary or pancreatic ductal systems...
ERISA Employee Retirement Income Security Act
Employee Retirement Income Security Act
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 is an American federal statute that establishes minimum standards for pension plans in private industry and provides for extensive rules on the federal income tax effects of transactions associated with employee benefit plans...
ESI Employer-sponsored Insurance
ESRD End Stage Renal Disease
End stage renal disease
End stage renal disease may refer to:* End-stage renal disease, also known as chronic kidney disease , specifically the fifth stage of CKD...
ET Expenditure Target
ETA Estimated Time of Arrival

F

FACCT The Foundation for Accountability
FACS Fellow, American College of Surgeons
FAH Federation of American Hospitals
Federation of American Hospitals
The Federation of American Hospitals is a trade association for investor-owned hospitals in the United States. It is based in Washington D.C. It is currently headed by "Chip" Kahn.-See also:*List of industry trade groups in the United States...
FAHIMA Fellow of the American Health Information Management Association
American Health Information Management Association
-References:* -External links:* * * * * *...
FDA Food and Drug Administration
Food and Drug Administration
The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...
FEHBP Federal Employees Health Benefits Program
FFDCA Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
The United States Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act , is a set of laws passed by Congress in 1938 giving authority to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to oversee the safety of food, drugs, and cosmetics. A principal author of this law was Royal S. Copeland, a three-term U.S. Senator from...
FIC Family of International Classifications, World Health Organization
FICA Federal Insurance Contributions Act
FIPH Fellow International Public Health, honoris
FMAP Federal Medical Assistance Percentages
Federal Medical Assistance Percentages
Federal Medical Assistance Percentages are the percentage rates used to determine the matching funds rate allocated annually to certain medical and social service programs in the United States of America. FMAP eligible programs are joint federal-state partnerships between the federal government of...
FMG Foreign Medical Graduate
FMLA Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993
The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 is a United States federal law requiring covered employers to provide employees job-protected unpaid leave for qualified medical and family reasons. These reasons include personal or family illness, military service, family military leave, pregnancy,...
FNP Family Nurse Practitioner
FPL Federal poverty level
FTC Federal Trade Commission
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act...
FQHC Federally Qualified Health Center
Federally Qualified Health Center
A Federally Qualified Health Center is a reimbursement designation in the United States, referring to several health programs funded under the Health Center Consolidation Act...
FY Fiscal Year
FSA Flexible Spending Account
Flexible spending account
A flexible spending account , also known as a flexible spending arrangement, is one of a number of tax-advantaged financial accounts that can be set up through a cafeteria plan of an employer in the United States...
FHTFetal Heart Tones

G

GAO Government Accountability Office
Government Accountability Office
The Government Accountability Office is the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the United States Congress. It is located in the legislative branch of the United States government.-History:...
GDP Gross Domestic Product
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
GHAA Group Health Association of America
GME Graduate Medical Education
GOS General Ophthalmic Services
GP General Practitioner
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...

H

HAART Highly active antiretroviral therapy
Antiretroviral drug
Antiretroviral drugs are medications for the treatment of infection by retroviruses, primarily HIV. When several such drugs, typically three or four, are taken in combination, the approach is known as Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy, or HAART...
HCBS Home and Community Based Services
HCFAP Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program
Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program
The Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program , is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping healthcare organizations maintain the highest standards in patient care and comply with ever-changing government regulations and a constantly evolving healthcare environment.Headquartered in...
HCPCS Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System
Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System
The Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System is a set of health care procedure codes based on the American Medical Association's Current Procedural Terminology .-History:...
HCUP Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project
Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP)
The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project is a family of health care databases and related software tools and products developed through a Federal-State-Industry partnership and sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality .-General Information:' provides access to health care...
HCQ Healthcare Quality
HDHP High-deductible Health Plan
HEDIS Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set
HH Home Health
Home care
Home Care, , is health care or supportive care provided in the patient's home by healthcare professionals Home Care, (also referred to as domiciliary care or social care), is health care or supportive care provided in the patient's home by healthcare professionals Home Care, (also referred to as...
HIE Health Information Exchange
HIFA Health Insurance Flexibility and Accountability
HIM Health Information management
Health Information Management
Health information management is the practice of maintenance and care of health records by traditional and electronic means in hospitals, physician's office clinics, health departments, health insurance companies, and other facilities that provide health care or maintenance of health records...
HIMSS Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society
Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality, safety, cost-effectiveness, and access to healthcare through the best use of information technology and management systems. Originally founded in 1961 as the Hospital...
HIPAA Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 was enacted by the U.S. Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996. It was originally sponsored by Sen. Edward Kennedy and Sen. Nancy Kassebaum . Title I of HIPAA protects health insurance coverage for workers and their...
HIPC Health Insurance Purchasing Cooperative
HIPDB Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank
HIPPS Health information prospective payment system
HISPC Health Information Security and Privacy Collaboration
HIS Health Information System
Health informatics
.Health informatics is a discipline at the intersection of information science, computer science, and health care...
HIT Health Information Technology
Health information technology
Health information technology provides the umbrella framework to describe the comprehensive management of health information across computerized systems and its secure exchange between consumers, providers, government and quality entities, and insurers...
HITECH Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act
HITSP Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel
Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel
The American National Standards Institute Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel was created in 2005 as part of efforts by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology to promote interoperability in health care by harmonizing health information technology...
HAV, HBV, HCV Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A is an acute infectious disease of the liver caused by the hepatitis A virus , an RNA virus, usually spread the fecal-oral route; transmitted person-to-person by ingestion of contaminated food or water or through direct contact with an infectious person...

, B, C
Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is an infectious disease primarily affecting the liver, caused by the hepatitis C virus . The infection is often asymptomatic, but chronic infection can lead to scarring of the liver and ultimately to cirrhosis, which is generally apparent after many years...

, respectively.
HIV Human immunodeficiency virus
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
HL7 Health Level 7
Health Level 7
Health Level Seven , is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization involved in development of international healthcare informatics interoperability standards...
HME Home Medical Equipment
Home medical equipment
This article discusses the definitions and types of home medical equipment , also known as durable medical equipment , prosthetics and orthotics .- HME / DMEPOS :...
HMO Health Maintenance Organization
Health maintenance organization
A health maintenance organization is an organization that provides managed care for health insurance contracts in the United States as a liaison with health care providers...
HMSA Health Manpower Shortage Area
HOPPS Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System
HPI History of Present Illness
HPSAs Health Professional Shortage Areas
HRQL Health Related Quality of Life
HRA Health Risk Assessment
HRA Health Reimbursement Account
HRH Human resources for health
Health Human Resources
Health human resources — also known as “human resources for health” or “health workforce” — is defined as “all people engaged in actions whose primary intent is to enhance health”, according to the World Health Organization's World Health Report 2006. Human resources for health are identified as...
HRHIS Human resources for health information system
HRHIS
A “Human Resource for Health Information System” — also known within the health care sector as “human resource information system” — is a system for collecting, processing, managing and disseminating data and information on human resource for health...
HRSA Health Resources and Services Administration
Health Resources and Services Administration
The Health Resources and Services Administration , is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services located in Rockville, Maryland...
HSA Health Savings Account
Health savings account
A health savings account is a tax-advantaged medical savings account available to taxpayers in the United States who are enrolled in a high-deductible health plan . The funds contributed to an account are not subject to federal income tax at the time of deposit. Unlike a flexible spending account...
HSA Health Service Area
HSA Health Systems Agency
HSE Health Service Executive
Health Service Executive
The Health Service Executive is responsible for the provision of healthcare providing health and personal social services for everyone living in Ireland, with public funds. The Executive was established by the Health Act, 2004 and came into official operation on January 1, 2005...
HTA Health Technology Assessment
Health technology assessment
Health Technology Assessment is a multi-disciplinary field of policy analysis that examines the medical, economic, social and ethical implications of the incremental value, diffusion and use of a medical technology in health care....

I

IADL Instrumental Activities of Daily Living
IBNR Incurred But Not Reported
ICD International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems
ICD-9-CM International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modifications
ICD-10-CM International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modifications
ICD-10
The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision is a medical classification list for the coding of diseases, signs and symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances, and external causes of injury or diseases, as maintained by the...
ICD-10-PCS International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Procedure Coding System
ICD-10
The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision is a medical classification list for the coding of diseases, signs and symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances, and external causes of injury or diseases, as maintained by the...
ICDA International Classification of Diseases, Adopted
ICF International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health
International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health
International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, also known as ICF, is a classification of the health components of functioning and disability....
ICF Intermediate Care Facility
ICN International Council of Nurses
International Council of Nurses
The International Council of Nurses is a federation of more than 130 national nurses associations. It was founded in 1899 and was the first international organization for health care professionals...
ICNP International Classification for Nursing Practice
ICU Intensive Care Unit
Intensive Care Unit
thumb|220px|ICU roomAn intensive-care unit , critical-care unit , intensive-therapy unit/intensive-treatment unit is a specialized department in a hospital that provides intensive-care medicine...
ICF/MR Intermediate Care Facility for the Mentally Retarded
ICPC International Classification of Primary Care
International Classification of Primary Care
The International Classification of Primary Care is a classification method for primary care encounters. It allows for the classification of the patient’s reason for encounter , the problems/diagnosis managed, primary or general health care interventions, and the ordering of the data of the...
IDA Indian Dental Association
Indian Dental Association
Indian Dental Association is the national association of dental professionals in India. Founded in 1945, IDA aims both at the continuing education programs of working dentists as well as creating awareness among the Indian citizenry of the need of dental care....
IDN Integrated Delivery Network
IDS Integrated Delivery System
Integrated delivery system
An integrated delivery system is a network of health care organizations under a parent holding company. Some IDS have an HMO component, while others are a network of physicians only, or of physicians and hospitals. Thus, the term is used broadly to define an organization that provides a continuum...
IHI Institute for Healthcare Improvement
IMG International Medical Graduate
International medical graduate
An International Medical Graduate or "IMGs", earlier known as a Foreign Medical Graduate or "FMGs", is a term used to describe a physician who has graduated from a medical school outside of the country in which he or she intends to practice...
IMO Irish Medical Organisation
Irish Medical Organisation
The Irish Medical Organisation is a Professional association for Doctors in the Republic of Ireland which also acts as a Trade Union representing doctors in negotiations with the Irish government....
INHS Inland Northwest Health Services
IOM Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of the Sciences
IPA Independent Practice Association
Independent practice association
An independent practice association is an association of independent physicians, or other organization that contracts with independent physicians, and provides services to managed care organizations on a negotiated per capita rate, flat retainer fee, or negotiated fee-for-service basis...
IPE Interprofessional Education
Interprofessional education
Interprofessional education refers to occasions when students from two or more professions in health and social care learn together during all or part of their professional training with the object of cultivating collaborative practice for providing client- or patient-centered health...
IPHF International Public Health Forum
IRM Information Resource Management
ISN Integrated Services Network

J

JAMA Journal of the American Medical Association
Journal of the American Medical Association
The Journal of the American Medical Association is a weekly, peer-reviewed, medical journal, published by the American Medical Association. Beginning in July 2011, the editor in chief will be Howard C. Bauchner, vice chairman of pediatrics at Boston University’s School of Medicine, replacing ...
JCAHO Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
JIPHF Journal of International Public Health Forum

L

LDH Lactic dehydrogenase
LIS Low Income Subsidy or Laboratory Information System
Laboratory information system
A lab information system is a class of software that receives, processes, and stores information generated by medical laboratory processes. These systems often must interface with instruments and other information systems such as hospital information systems...
LMT Licensed Massage Therapist
LOS Length of Stay
Length of stay
Length of stay is a term commonly used to measure the duration of a single episode of hospitalization. Inpatient days are calculated by subtracting day of admission from day of discharge. However, persons entering and leaving a hospital on the same day have a length of stay of one...
LPN Licensed Practical Nurse
Licensed Practical Nurse
Licensed practical nurse is the term used in much of the United States and most Canadian provinces to refer to a nurse who cares for "people who are sick, injured, convalescent, or disabled under the direction of registered nurses and physicians. The term licensed vocational nurses is used in...
LSC Life Safety Code
LSIT Life Sciences Information Technology
LTC Long Term Care
Long-term care
Long-term care is a variety of services which help meet both the medical and non-medical need of people with a chronic illness or disability who cannot care for themselves for long periods of time....
LUPA Low Utilization Payment Adjustment
LVN Licensed Vocational Nurse
LVRS Lung volume reduction surgery
LWBS Left without being seen
Left without being seen
Left Without Being Seen is a healthcare term often used by emergency departments to designate a patient encounter that ended with the patient leaving the healthcare setting before the patient could be seen by a certified physician. Often the inclusion of this phrase in a medical record is the...

M

MA Medical Assistant; Medicare Advantage
MAAC Maximum Allowable Actual Charge
MAF Medical Assistance Facility
MAP Medical Audit Program
MAPD Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plan
MCAT Medical College Admission Test
Medical College Admission Test
The Medical College Admission Test is a computer-based standardized examination for prospective medical students in the United States and Canada. It is designed to assess problem solving, critical thinking, written analysis, and writing skills in addition to knowledge of scientific concepts and...
MCH Maternal and Child Health Program
MCI Medical Council of India
MCO Managed Care Organization
MD Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
MEDLARS Medical Literature and Analysis Retrieval System
MedPAC Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission is an independent US federal body. MedPAC was established by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 . Its primary role is to advise the US Congress on issues affecting the administration of the Medicare program...
MEPS Medical Expenditure Panel Survey
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey
The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey is a family of surveys intended to provide nationally-representative estimates of health expenditure, utilization, payment sources, health status, and health insurance coverage among the noninstitutionalized, nonmilitary population of the United States...
MET Multiple Employer Trust
MEWA Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement
MDH Medicare-dependent Hospital
MHC Managed Health Care
MHA Master's in Health Care Administration
MI Myocardial Infarction
MLR Medical Loss Ratio
MLT Medical Laboratory Technician
MMIS Medicaid Management Information System
MMRA Metropolitan Medical Response System
MRHFP Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program
MRI Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Magnetic resonance imaging
Magnetic resonance imaging , nuclear magnetic resonance imaging , or magnetic resonance tomography is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to visualize detailed internal structures...
MRSA Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus infections
MSA Medical Savings Account or Metropolitan Statistical Area
MSN Master of Science in Nursing
Master of Science in Nursing
A Master of Science in Nursing is an advanced-level postgraduate degree for registered nurses and is considered an entry-level degree for nurse educators and managers. The degree also may prepare a nurse to seek a career as a nurse administrator, health policy expert, or clinical nurse leader...
MT Medical Technologist
MUA/MUPs Medically Underserved Areas/Populations

N

NACo National Association of Counties
NACCHO National Association of County and City Health Officials
National Association of County and City Health Officials
The National Association of County and City Health Officials is the national U.S. organization representing local health departments...
NASHP National Academy for State Health Policy
NASMD National Association of State Medicaid Directors
NCD Non-communicable disease
Non-communicable disease
A non-communicable disease, or NCD, is a medical condition or disease which is non-infectious. NCDs are diseases of long duration and generally slow progression. They include heart disease, stroke, cancer, asthma, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease, cataracts, and...
NCHS National Center for Health Statistics
NCQA National Committee for Quality Assurance
NDC National Drug Code
NEJM New England Journal of Medicine
New England Journal of Medicine
The New England Journal of Medicine is an English-language peer-reviewed medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. It describes itself as the oldest continuously published medical journal in the world.-History:...

(standard PubMed abbreviation is N Engl J Med)
NGA National Governors Association
NGC National Guidelines Clearinghouse
NHIN National Health Information Network
NHS National Health Service
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
NHSC National Health Savings Corps
NICU Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
NIH National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
NIMH National Institute of Mental Health
National Institute of Mental Health
The National Institute of Mental Health is one of 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health...
NIOSH National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health
NKDA No Known Drug Allergies
NLM National Library of Medicine
United States National Library of Medicine
The United States National Library of Medicine , operated by the United States federal government, is the world's largest medical library. Located in Bethesda, Maryland, the NLM is a division of the National Institutes of Health...
NMA Nigerian Medical Association
NMF Nigerian Medical Forum
NP Nurse Practitioner
NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
NPS National Pharmaceutical Stockpile
NRHA National Rural Health Association
NUM Nurse Unit Manager

O

OAA Old Age Assistance
OASDHI Old Age Survivors, Disability, and Health Insurance Program
OBRA Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993
The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 was federal law that was enacted by the 103rd United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. It has also been referred to, unofficially, as the Deficit Reduction Act of 1993...
OD Overdose or the right eye (from the Latin)
ODS Organized Delivery System
OMB Office of Management and Budget
OPD Outpatient Department
OPHP Office of Public Health Preparedness
OS The left eye (from the Latin)
OSHA Occupational Health and Safety Administration

P

PA Physician Assistant
PACU Post Anesthesia Care Unit *
Post anesthesia care unit
A post-anesthesia care unit, often abbreviated PACU and sometimes referred to as post-anesthesia recovery or PAR, is a vital part of hospitals, ambulatory care centers, and other medical facilities...
PAHO Pan American Health Organization
PBM Pharmacy Benefits Manager
PCA Personal Care Assistant
Personal Care Assistant
A Personal Care Assistant - variously known under alternate names such as caregiver, personal care attendant, patient care assistant, personal support worker and home care aide - is a paid, employed person who helps persons who are disabled or chronically ill with their activities of daily living ...
PCCM Primary Care Case Management
PCP Primary Care Physician
PCT NHS Primary Care Trust
NHS Primary Care Trust
An NHS primary care trust is a type of NHS trust, part of the National Health Service in England. PCTs commission primary, community and secondary care from providers. Until 31 may2011 they also provided community services directly. Collectively PCT are responsible for spending around 80% of the...
PDI Professional Development Institute
PDP Prescription Drug Plan
PDQS Partnership Defined Quality of Service *
PHC Primary health care
Primary health care
Primary health care, often abbreviated as “PHC”, has been defined as "essential health care based on practical, scientifically sound and socially acceptable methods and technology made universally accessible to individuals and families in the community through their full participation and at a cost...
PHI Protected Health Information
Protected health information
Protected health information , under the US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act , is any information about health status, provision of health care, or payment for health care that can be linked to a specific individual...
PHO Physician-Hospital Organization
PHS Public Health Service
United States Public Health Service
The Public Health Service Act of 1944 structured the United States Public Health Service as the primary division of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare , which later became the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The PHS comprises all Agency Divisions of Health and...
PIAPHP Partners in Information Access for Public Health Professionals
PICC Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter *
Peripherally inserted central catheter
A peripherally inserted central catheter is a form of intravenous access that can be used for a prolonged period of time...
PICU Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
POC Point of Care
POS Place of Service
PMPM Per Member Per Month
PMP Per Million Population
PPA Preferred Provider Arrangement
PPO Preferred Provider Organization
Preferred provider organization
In health insurance in the United States, a preferred provider organization is a managed care organization of medical doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers who have covenanted with an insurer or a third-party administrator to provide health care at reduced...
PPS Prospective Payment System
Prospective payment system
A prospective payment system is a means of determining insurance payments based on predetermined prices, commonly from Medicare. Payments are typically based on codes provided on the insurance claim.Examples of these codes include:...
PSN Provider Sponsored Network
PSO Provider Sponsored Organization

Q

QALY Quality-Adjusted Life Year
QAPI Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement Program
QARI Quality Assurance Reform Initiative
QD Each day, usually in prescriptions.
QIO Quality Improvement Organization
Quality improvement organizations
Quality Improvement Organizations monitor the appropriateness, effectiveness, and quality of care provided to Medicare beneficiaries. They are private contractor extensions of the federal government that work under the auspices of the U.S...
QISMC Quality Improvement System for Managed Care
QuICQuality Interagency Coordination Task Force

R

RAN Rural Area Computer Network
RAP Request for Anticipated Payment
RBRVS Resource-Based Relative Value Scale
RCT Randomized Clinical Trial or Randomized Controlled Trial
RD Registered Dietician
RFE Reason For Encounter
RHC Rural Health Clinic
RICE Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation (Alternatively) Rest, Immobilize, Cool, Elevate
RIS Radiology Information System
RRC Rural Referral Centers
RUG Resource Utilization Groups
RWJF Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is the United States' largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health care; it is based in Princeton, New Jersey. The foundation's mission is to improve the health and health care of all Americans...
RN Registered Nurse
Registered nurse
A registered nurse is a nurse who has graduated from a nursing program at a university or college and has passed a national licensing exam. A registered nurse helps individuals, families, and groups to achieve health and prevent disease...
RMO Resident Medical Officer
RHIT Registered Health Information Technician
RHIA Registered Health Information Administrator
RHIO Regional Health Information Organization
Regional Health Information Organization
A Regional Health Information Organization is a multistakeholder organization expected to be responsible for motivating and causing integration and information exchange among stakeholders that region's revamped healthcare system...

S

SAMPLE Signs/Symptoms, Allergies, Medications, Past history, Last meal, Events leading up to (First aid secondary survey questions)
SAMSHA Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is charged with improving the quality and availability of prevention, treatment, and rehabilitative services in order to reduce illness, death, disability, and cost to...
SBA Skilled Birth Attendant
Birth attendant
A birth attendant, also known as “skilled birth attendant” , is a midwife, physician, obstetrician, nurse, or other health care professional who provides basic and emergency health care services to women and their newborns during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period...
SCH Sole Community Hospitals
SCHIP State Children's Health Insurance Program
State Children's Health Insurance Program
The State Children's Health Insurance Program – later known more simply as the Children's Health Insurance Program – is a program administered by the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides matching funds to states for health insurance to families with children...
SEP Special Enrollment Period
SDMC Statistical and Data Management Center
SFDA State Food and Drug Administration
SGR Sustainable Growth Rate
Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate
The Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate is a method currently used by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in the United States to control spending by Medicare on physician services...
SHEA State Health Expenditure Account
SJA St John Ambulance
SOB Shortness of Breath
SNF Skilled Nursing Facility
SNIP Strategic National Implementation Process
SNP Special Needs Plan
Special Needs Plan
A Special Needs Plan is a category of Medicare Advantage plan designed to attract and enroll Medicare beneficiaries who fall into a certain special needs demographic. There are two types of SNPs. The exclusive SNP enrolls only those beneficiaries who fall into the special needs demographic. The...
SSF Sjögren's Syndrome Foundation
SSI Supplemental Security Income
Supplemental Security Income
Supplemental Security Income is a United States government program that provides stipends to low-income people who are either aged , blind, or disabled. Although administered by the Social Security Administration, SSI is funded from the U.S. Treasury general funds, not the Social Security trust fund...
SSRI Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor
Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors or serotonin-specific reuptake inhibitor are a class of compounds typically used as antidepressants in the treatment of depression, anxiety disorders, and some personality disorders. The efficacy of SSRIs is disputed...

T

TANF Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families is one of the United States of America's federal assistance programs. It began on July 2, 1997, and succeeded the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program, providing cash assistance to indigent American families with dependent children through the...
TCD Transcranial Doppler
Transcranial doppler
Transcranial Doppler is a test that measures the velocity of blood flow through the brain's blood vessels. Used to help in the diagnosis of emboli, stenosis, vasospasm from a subarachnoid hemorrhage , and other problems, this relatively quick and inexpensive test is growing in popularity in the...
TPA Third Party Administrator or tissue plasminogen activator
Third party administrator
A Third Party Administrator is an organization that processes insurance claims or certain aspects of employee benefit plans for a separate entity. This can be viewed as "outsourcing" the administration of the claims processing, since the TPA is performing a task traditionally handled by the...
TTHS Tiny, Tiny Head Syndrome
Tx Treatment
Treatment
Treatment may refer to:* Treatment, therapy used to remedy a health problem* Treatment, a process or intervention in the design of experiments* Treatment group, a collection of items or individuals given the same treatment in an experiment* Water treatment...

U

UAP Unlicensed assistive personnel
Unlicensed assistive personnel
Unlicensed assistive personnel is an umbrella term to describe a job class of paraprofessionals who assist individuals with physical disabilities, mental impairments, and other health care needs with their activities of daily living and provide bedside care — including basic nursing...
UCH UnitingCare Health
UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund
United Nations Children's Fund
United Nations Children's Fund was created by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946, to provide emergency food and healthcare to children in countries that had been devastated by World War II...
USAID United States Agency for International Development
United States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development is the United States federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. President John F. Kennedy created USAID in 1961 by executive order to implement development assistance programs in the areas...
USP U.S. Pharmacopeia
URAC Utilization Review Accreditation Commission

W

WHO World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
WHRN Whole Health Resource Network
WISN Workload Indicators of Staffing Needs
WRAIR Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
This article is about the U.S. Army medical research institute . Otherwise, see Walter Reed .The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research is the largest biomedical research facility administered by the U.S. Department of Defense...

External links

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