Acronym (noun) : A word formed from the first (or first few) letters of several words.

The world of HIT (Health Information Technology) is littered with acronyms at every turn. Anyone trying to stay informed about this topic that frequently tops the headlines may end up drowning in alphabet soup and come away more confused than when they started.

Below is a simple summary of a few of the HIT acronyms you may encounter:

ARRA - American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 - also known as President Obama's stimulus package, includes a healthcare component that provides incentives to provider organizations that adopt HIT systems as quickly as possible. This Act authorizes the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide a reimbursement incentive for physician and hospital providers who are successful in becoming "meaningful users" of an electronic health record (EHR). 

CCHIT - Certification Commission on Health Information Technology - is a private, nonprofit organization that has been recognized by the federal government as an official certification body for health information technology. Its mission is to accelerate the adoption of robust, interoperable health information technology by creating a credible, efficient certification process. The certification requirements are based on widely accepted industry standards and involve the work of hundreds of expert volunteers and input from a variety of stakeholders throughout the health care industry. Under ARRA, responsibility for developing requirements for "meaningingful use" became the responsibility of the HIT Policy Committee of the ONC (Office of the National Coordinator).

CPOE - Computer-based Physician Order Entry - is a process that allows physicians to enter orders directly into a computer system to streamline the process and prevent transcription errors and reduce medication errors.

EMR - Electronic Medical Record - a computerized legal medical record created in an organization that delivers care.  Electronic medical records tend to be a part of a local stand-alone health information system that allows storage, retrieval and manipulation of records.

EHR - Electronic Health Record - is defined by a record in digital format that is capable of collecting patient data, exchanging this data easily between different health care providers or settings to facilitate continuity of care, measuring clinical process improvement and outcomes, and reporting health data to public health and other agencies.

HIE - Health Information Exchange - is the electronic transfer of health-related information among organizations according to nationally recognized standards.

HIPAA - Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 - Legislation that requires the use of standard transactions to communicate administrative health information and the use of privacy and security standards between covered entities. These requirements were expanded under ARRA.

HITECH - Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act - provisions of ARRA that outline funding for healthcare providers to acquire HIT systems, adoption incentives, and for the development of a nationwide health information technology infrastructure to support the secure exchange of electronic health information while ensuring its privacy.

NCPDP - National Council for Prescription Drug Programs - determines messaging standards relating to electronic exchange of prescription information.

NeHC - The National eHealth Collaborative (formerly AHIC Successor, Inc.) is a public-private partnership driving the grassroots development of a secure, interoperable, nationwide health information system. It was established through a grant from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT to build on the accomplishments of the American Health Information Community (AHIC), a federal advisory committee to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) until 2008, and is led by some of the nation's most respected thought leaders in healthcare and health IT. www.nationalehealth.org

ONC - Office of the National Coordinator - is the principal Federal entity charged with coordination of nationwide efforts to implement and use the most advanced health information technology and the electronic exchange of health information. The position of National Coordinator was created in 2004, through an Executive Order, and legislatively mandated in the   Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act [HITECH Act] of 2009. This position is held by Dr. David Blumenthal. Under ARRA, responsibility for developing requirements for "meaning ful use" of an EHR became the responsibility of the HIT Policy Committee of the ONC. http://healthit.hhs.gov

PHI - Protected Health Information - is defined by HIPAA regulations as any information, whether oral or recorded that is created or received by a health care provider, health plan, public health authority, employer, life insurer, school or university, or health care clearinghouse, and relates to the past, present, or future physical or mental health or condition of an individual; the provision of health care to an individual; or the past, present, or future payment for the provision of health care to an individual.

PHR - Personal Health Record - is patient generated and maintained information such as legal documents, insurance information, personal routines, preferences, observations, dietary habits, non-prescription medications, etc.

RHIO - Regional Health Information Networks - are regional organizations that bring together health care stakeholders within a defined geographic area and govern health information exchange (HIE) among them for the purpose of improving health and care in that community.

SNOMED - Systemized Nomenclature for Medicine - is the vocabulary standard code for medical terms, procedures and diagnoses.

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