Medical Terms and Their Abbreviations

Term	Abbreviation	Meaning
Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act	HIPAA	A set of regulations for the health industry, particularly emphasizing privacy of patient information and data sharing
In-network	INN	A provider is contracted with the specific insurance provider used by the patient
Out of network	OON	The provider does not work with the specific insurance agency
Non-covered charge	N/C	Healthcare service is not covered by the insurance
Applied to deductible	ATD	Funds owed to the provider by the patient based on the agreed insurance policy
Explanation of benefits	EOB	Explanation of the insurance policy including covered charges, payment methods, patient responsibilities and deductibles
Adverse drug reaction	ADR	Unintended and harmful events that are the outcome of an action of a drug
Acute renal failure	AFR	Kidneys unable to filter waste from blood
Headache	HA	Also known as cephalgia, condition of pain in the head and sometimes neck
Pulmonary embolism	PE	Type of blood clot in lungs
Myocardial infarction	MI	Technical term for heart attack
Basic metabolic panel	BMP	Electrolytes, glucose, and creatinine
Blood pressure	BP	One of the vital signs recorded during physical exam and often treated
Chemotherapy	CT	A common treatment for cancer
Discontinue/discharge	D/C or DC	When a patient is discharged from the hospital at the recommendation of a provider

A list such as the one above can be potentially highly beneficial to new medical coders. Most importantly it will increase effectiveness and accuracy by providing a quick cheat sheet that can be referenced to when one is not sure about a certain term and abbreviation. Rather than attempting to remember (and potentially being wrong) or looking up, this chart will offer the right term at a quick glance. Coding accuracy is incredibly important, not only for the financial aspect, for the hospital to receive insurance reimbursement, it also contributes to the patients further treatment and safety, as their health history is essentially told by codes. Diagnosis specificity can positively impact patient care while also necessary to follow quality care standards (Signature Performance, 2016).

Reference

Signiature Performance. (2016). Why accuracy matters in medical coding. Web.

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