Every industry has a shorthand code for its prominent and frequently referenced terminology. Healthcare is no exception. In fact, for the outsider, the healthcare profession is loaded with arcane and difficult to decipher and understand insider jargon.

I have to admit that my own first visit to a healthcare website resulted in a struggle to comprehend meaning. For example, an ad for an upcoming webinar talked about including a national RAC program, contract extensions for what the SMRC was up to, new contract awards for MACs. And not to be outdone, the same site talked about ZPIC’s without defining them.

It takes a little study, but anyone can master the meaning behind them. Keep this list of healthcare acronyms and definitions handy as a guide. You may know all or most of them but there is a good chance new people to the home healthcare field may not have the foggiest idea what many of them mean.

ACA — Affordable Care Act
ALJ — Administrative Law Judge
AMBA — American Medical Billing Association
BNAF — Budget Neutrality Adjustment Factor
BOC — Board of Certification/Accreditation
CHRS — Certified Healthcare Reimbursement Specialist
CEU — Continuing Education Unit
CHIP — Children’s Health Insurance Program
CMM — Certified Medical Manager
CMS — Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
COPD — Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
CPC — Commission on Paraoptometric Certification
CRT — Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy
CSR — Cost Sharing Reduction
DEMPOS — Durable Medical Goods, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies
DME — Durable Medical Equipment
DOS — Date of Service
EAA — Environmental Accessibility Act
FCA — False Claims Act
FFM — Federally Facilitated-Marketplace
FFS — Fee for Service
GHS — General Health Status
GMH — General Mental Health
HCBS — Home and Community Based Services
HCPCS — Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System
HIPAA — Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
HME — Home Medical Equipment
ICD-10 — Coding system for billing
IRFs — Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities
LCD — Local Coverage Determination
LOX — Liquid Oxygen
MAB — Medical Association of Billers
MAC — Medicare Administrative Contractor
MAPD — Medicare Advantage Prescription Drugs
MHS — Medicare Health Support Act
MLN — Medicare Learning Network
MMA — Medicare Modernization Act
MMC — Medicare Managed Care
MMI — Medicare Management Institute
MSA — Metropolitan Statistical Area
NCCDP — National Center for Certified Dementia Practitioners
NCCT — National Center for Competency Testing
O2 — Oxygen
OIG — Office of Inspector General
OT — Occupational Therapy
PCE — Personal Care Expenditure
PERS — Personal Assistance Service
PMD — Power Mobility Device
PRBB — Provider Reimbursement Review Board
PT — Physical Therapy
RAC — Recovery Audit Contractor
SCHIP — State Children’s Health Insurance Program
SHOP — Small Business Health Options Program
SLP — Speech language Pathologists
SMRC — Supplemental Medical Review Contractor
V & V — Verification & Validation
VNA — Visiting Nurse Association
ZPIC — Zone Program Integrity Contractor