It is always good to get a listing of the currently accepted medical abbreviations from you employer. Doctors and Nursing are prone to use them with frequencies as they are always in a rush. However, as Patient Access Representatives, Medical Insurance Clerks, Hospital Registrars, etc. We should always type them out when entering in Diagnosis on Admission Forms and Billing Sheets. It makes the coding go a little quicker and it is just the proper thing to do.

Some of the abbreviations below may not pertain to admissions but are part of our daily routine and we should know what they mean. We have started a Patient Access Definitions page on our How To Be An Insurance Clerk website, check it out! And, of course, this listing is by no means complete. So, if you have some in your area that are not listed here and would like to share them please email me at: jolene.macfadden@medicalofficeclerk.info and we will add them to the list.

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AAA – Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
afib – Atrial Fibrillation
AMS – Altered Mental Status
A/R – Accounts Receivable (What patients/insurance owe)
Auth – Authorizations (Permission from Insurance Companies to treat patients)
Auto – Automobile Accident (Who is going to pay or why patient is being treated)
CAD – Coronary Artery Disease
COPD – Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
CVA – Cerebral Vascular Accident (Stroke)
DRG – Diagnosis Related Group (Payments based on Admission & Discharge Diagnosis)
EOB – Explanation Of Benefits
ER – Emergency Room
ESLD – End Stage Liver Disease
ESRD – End Stage Renal Disease
HMO – Health Maintenance Organization (type of insurance)
INPT – Inpatient
Mcaid – Medicaid (state medical insurance)
Mcare – Medicare (federal medical insurance)
MVA – Motor Vehicle Accident
MVC – Motor Vehicle Collision
OON – Out of Network (referring to patient benefits)
OOP – Out of Pocket (amount patients must pay)
PIP – Personal Injury Protection (Automobile coverage)
POE – Place of Employment
PPO – Preferred Provider Organization (type of insurance)
PPS – Prospective Payment System (Reimbursement Rates for Medicare)
pt – Patient or Physical Therapy depending on the context
qid – four times a day
TIA – Transient Ischemic Attack
tid – twice a day
RVR – Rapid Ventricular Response
w/ – with
WC – Workers Compensation

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