Acronyms: Starting the Year on the Same Page (STYOTSP)

January 2019

Acronyms have taken center stage in social media postings.  LOL, OMG and BRB are commonly used in our texts and other informal messages.  In our more formal writings, we still follow the long-standing rule to write out the full name of an acronym the first time we use it in a piece.  This practice has become increasingly important as the number of acronyms has increased so substantially over the past years.  This is especially true in Payment and Practice Management.  In fact, one of the most common acronyms we use even includes an embedded acronym: the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) where CHIP is the Childrens’ Health Insurance Program.

Acronyms do serve a purpose.  They allow us to communicate more quickly and efficiently.  They may even provide some insight into the level of expertise someone has in a given topic.  For instance, how much confidence do you have in the privacy or security advice you get from someone who makes consistent references to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act as “HIPPA” rather than “HIPAA”?

However, have acronyms become so over-used that they impede communication?  Consider these examples (a key to the meaning for each is at the end of this article):

• The CF is part of the MPFS along with RVUs for work, PE and PLI.
• PI used to be ACI and before that it was MU.
• Are you a MIPS EC or are you in an APM?
• The MBI has replaced the HICN.
• MACRA created the QPP.
• Required elements on an 837P claim include DOS, POS, DX, and NPI.
• Should I use a QCDR or a QR or my EHR to report my MIPS activities?
• How does CMS use HCCs?
• The NCCI includes PTPs and MUEs.
• Have you confirmed information on file in PECOS and the NPPES?
• HARP accounts will replace EIDM accounts for QPP related issues.

Acronym use has become so prevalent that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)[1] provides a look up tool for acronyms that are commonly used in Medicare.  You may find this a handy aid in keeping up with all the changes we face and to make sure everyone is in synch with what an acronym stands for - especially when there can be multiple meanings.  For example, what first comes to mind when you see “AA”?  Is it anesthesiologist assistant or anesthesia care personally performed by an anesthesiologist?

The start of a new year is a good time to make sure that our communications are working as intended!

ACI                   Advancing Care Information
APM                 Alternative Payment Model
CF                    Conversion Factor
DOS                 Date of Service
DX                   Diagnosis
EC                    Eligible Clinician
EHR                 Electronic Health Record
EIDM                Enterprise Identity Management
HARP               HCQIS Access Roles and Profile
HCC                 Hierarchical Condition Category
HCQIS              Health Care Quality Information System
HICN                 Health Insurance Claim Number
MBI                  Medicare Beneficiary Identifier
MIPS                Merit-based Incentive Payment System
MPFS               Medicare Physician Fee Schedule
MU                   Meaningful Use
MUE                 Medically Unlikely Edit
NCCI                 National Correct Coding Initiative
NPI                   National Provider Identifier
NPPES             National Plan and Provider Enumeration System
PE                    Practice Expense
PECOS             Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System
PI                     Promoting Interoperability
PLI                   Professional Liability Insurance
POS                 Place of Service
PTP                  Procedure to Procedure
QCDR               Qualified Clinical Data Registry
QPP                 Quality Payment Program
QR                   Qualified Registry
RVU                 Relative Value Unit