Acronyms Defined - Healthcare Terms You Should Know
One of the biggest ways that consumers can help develop a new system of health care in this country is by remaining well educated about the different programs and concepts that are currently under development. Here are some of the most popular acronyms that you should be familiar with.
HHS: This acronym stands for The Department of Health and Human Services, which is the most important agency in the United States government that is responsible for providing public health education and access to health care services for those that might be unable to pay for them on their own.
NIST: This acronym stands for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which is a non-regulatory federal agency maintained inside the U.S. Department of Commerce. It is the responsibility of this agency to advance standards of measurement, science, and technology.
ONCHIT: This acronym stands for The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. This office is charged with the task of developing systems for hospitals and doctors to make better use of information technology in their record keeping and diagnoses.
CCHIT: This acronym stands for the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology. This commission is responsible for developing a certification process whereby software and technology manufactures can create information technology systems for health care that fulfill all ARRA requirements.
HITECH: This acronym stands for the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act which was passed in 2009.
CMS: This acronym stands for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which is a federal agency that manages and administers Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program.
EHR: This acronym stands for Electronic Health Record, which is a digital replacement for current paper medical histories.
ONC: This acronym stands for the Office of the National Coordinator, which is responsible for encouraging all health care providers to adopt electronic record keeping systems.
AHA: This acronym stands for the American Heart Association, an organization that educates and informs people about issues related to heart health.
MGMA: This acronym stands for Medical Group Management Association, which gives health care administration professionals advice on promoting their careers.
HIMSS: This acronym stands for the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, an American non-profit organization dedicated to increasing knowledge of health information systems.
OCR: This acronym stands for the Office of Civil Rights, which works to protect patient rights to nondiscrimination and privacy of their medical records.
CPOE: This acronym stands for computerized physician/provider order entry. This term is used to refer to systems that allow medical professionals to electronically record patient information.
eCW: This stands for electronic Clinical Works, a company responsible for developing electronic record keeping systems for the health care industry.
NEHEN: This stands for the New England Healthcare Exchange Network, one of the country’s leading examples of fully integrated electronic medical records on a regional level.
