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Insulin and Diabetes Acronyms and Useful Terms (Alphabetical)
Please send suggestions for this list to: suggestions@digitalhospitalinc.com

A
Automated dispensing cabinets (ADCs)
ACA: Affordable Care Act
ADA: American Diabetes Association
ADC: Automated dispensing cabinets (Also UBC, ADD, ADM) automated distribution cabinets
ADD: Automated dispensing devices (such as ADC’s)
ADE: Adverse Drug Event
ADK: Android Programming Kit
ADM: automated dispensing machines (Also UBC, ADD, ADC).
ADT: Admissions/Discharges/Transfers
AE: Adverse Event
AHA: American Hospital Association
AHCA: American Health Care Act of 2017
AHRQ: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
AJHP: American Journal of Health-System Pharmacists
ALOS: Average Length of Stay (in hospital)
ANA: American Nursing Association
aseptic: Free from contamination caused by harmful bacteria, viruses, or other microorganisms.
ASHP: American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
ASHP Mid Year : Expo for Clinical Pharmacists (How to treat disease.)
ASHP Summer : Expo for Pharmacy Directors (Geared towards systems.)
B
BAA : Business Associate Agreement
Basal Insulin: Insulin therapy that controls blood sugar between meals and during sleep is called long-acting or basal insulin.
BBCMA: Bedside Barcode Med Administration
BBI: Basal Bolus Insulin
BG: Blood Glucose
BJC : Merger of Barnes-Jewish with Christian Health. Operates 12 hospitals in Missouri/Illinois.
Bolus Insulin: Insulin therapy that controls blood sugar when you eat is called fast-acting or bolus insulin.
C
CBG: Capillary Blood Glucose (method of obtaining your BG.
CC: cubic centimeter; 1cc = 1ml; 1unit = 100th of a CC. One milliliter (mL) is a thousandth of a liter.
C-DAC: The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing is the most comprehensive EHR system in India.
CDE: Certified Diabetes Educator
CDPH: California Department of Public Health
CDRH: The Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) is the branch of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) responsible for the preMarket approval of all medical devices, as well as overseeing the manufacturing, performance and safety of these devices.
CE: A "CE" Marking is a mandatory conformity Marking for certain products sold within the European Economic Area (EEA) since 1985. The CE Marking is also found on products sold outside the EEA that are manufactured in, or designed to be sold in, the EEA. The letters "CE" are the abbreviation of French phrase "Conformité Européene" which literally means "European Conformity".
Cerner: EHR system manufacturer
CGM: Continuous Glucose Monitoring
CHF: Congestive Heart Failure
CMI: Case Mix Index (Hospital adjustment for how sick you are, in relation to the average patient)
CMSA: Center for Medication Safety Advancement
COW: Computer on Wheels (WOW is a preferable term due to misunderstandings.)
CPOE: Computerized Physician Order Entry
CV: Cardio Vascular
D
DHI: Digital Hospital, Inc.
DHINT: Digital Hospital Interface (between EHR and medical device)
Diabetic Coma: A life-threatening diabetes complication that causes unconsciousness. If you have diabetes, dangerously high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) or dangerously low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) can lead to a diabetic coma.
DICOM: Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) is a standard for handling, storing, printing, and transmitting information in medical imaging. It includes a file format definition and a network communications protocol.
Diversion Activity: A polite term for “Stealing Drugs”.
DKA: Diabetic ketoacidosis is a serious complication of diabetes that occurs when your body produces high levels of blood acids called ketones. The condition develops when your body can't produce enough insulin.
dL: deciliter; one tenth of a liter.
DM: Diabetes Mellitus
E
EHR: Electronic Health Record (like EPIC,Cerner, Meditech); EMR
EMR: Electronic Medical Record; EHR
Enteral: Involving or passing through the intestine
ePHI: Electronic Private Health Information; pronounced EEFI.
EPIC: EHR systems provider.
ERX: EPIC specific table defines medication as able to be ordered.
F
FBG: Fasting Blood Glucose
Fly-ins – Fly in to DC to see your congressperson
Formulary: A pharmacy’s list of approved drugs.
G
GTT: Global Trigger Tool - Flags specific evidence in medical records.
GLP1: Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor. Alongside glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP), GLP-1 is the only known incretin describing its ability to decrease blood sugar levels in a glucose-dependent manner by enhancing the secretion of insulin.
Glucose - a monosaccharide carbohydrate; a simple sugar that is an important energy source in living organisms and is a component of many carbohydrates.
Glycogen - a polysaccharide carbohydrate that is stored in the liver and muscles by animals
Glucagon - a hormone formed in the pancreas that promotes the breakdown of glycogen to glucose in the liver. The liver then sends the glucose to the bloodstream.
Glucometrics: Glucometrics is a way to measure the success of inpatient glucose management. Glucometrics generally consists of 3 measures: Glycemic exposure; Efficacy of control; and rate of adverse events.
GPO: A group purchasing organization (GPO) is an entity that helps healthcare providers-such as hospitals, nursing homes and home health agencies-realize savings and efficiencies by aggregating purchasing volume and using that leverage to negotiate discounts with manufacturers, distributors and other vendors.
Gram: In mass, a gram is equal to a thousandth of a liter (one cubic centimeter) of water at 4 degrees centigrade. 1cc of insulin = 1ml of insulin.
H
HCA: Hospital Corporation of America
HHS: Hyperosmolar Hyperglycemic State is 1 of 2 serious metabolic derangements that occurs in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and can be a life-threatening emergency. It is less common than the other acute complication of diabetes, diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).
HIE: Electronic Health Information Exchange
HIPAA: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. HIPAA helps protect the privacy of medical records.
HIS: Hospital Information System
HIT: Health Information Technology
HL7: Hospital Level 7 (OSI); an application layer protocol which defines the rules for exchanging data between applications.
Hyperglycemia: An excess of glucose in the bloodstream
Hypoglycemia: 50 mg/dL or less BG (see "insulin shock")
HypoG: Hypoglycemia (Low Blood Sugar)
I
Iatrogenic: Relating to illness caused by medical examination or treatment. Induced inadvertently by a physician or surgeon or by medical treatment or diagnostic procedures
ID: Inside Diameter (of syringe)
IHF: International Hospital Federation
IHI: Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Cambridge, MA
IIOT: Industrial Internet of Things
Incretin: A hormone that stimulates insulin secretion in response to meals. The two most important incretin hormones are called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP).
Inpatient: A hospitalized patient.
Insulin Order Set: Stepwise Approach to Managing Inpatient Hyperglycemia
Insulin Shock: The hypoglycemic reaction when blood sugar falls below certain levels.
Integrated System: Automatically exchanges information with other systems whenever there is new or changed data.
Intraoperative: Occurring or performed during the course of a surgical operation
IOT: Internet of Things
IOM: Institute of Medicine (Landmark book: "To Err is Human")
IOMT: Internet of Medical Things
ISMP: Institute for Safe Medication Practices. President: Michael R. Cohen
ISO: International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
ISO 13485: An International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard that represents the requirements for a comprehensive quality management system for the design and manufacture of medical devices.
ITT: Intention To Treat
IV: Intravenous
J
JC: Joint Commission; JCAHO
JCAHO: Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.
K
Keto-acidosis: Diabetic ketoacidosis is a serious complication of diabetes that occurs when your body produces high levels of blood acids called ketones. The condition develops when your body can't produce enough insulin.
L
LAB: Laboratory Results as part of the EHR system (when referring to diabetes, typically the Lab results include Blood Glucose levels)
Level 7: Application Level Protocol (HL7)
Lantus: long-acting insulin; basal
LASA: Look Alike Sound Alike. LASA is a safety problem due to mistaken identity of medications.
Levemir : long-acting insulin; basal
LIP: Licensed Independent Practitioner (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations)
LIS: Laboratory Information System
M
MAR: Medication Administration Report
Mg: Milligram(s). One thousandth of a gram. In mass, a gram is equal to a thousandth of a liter (one cubic centimeter) of water at 4 degrees centigrade.
ML: Milliliter; 1000 milliliters(ml)=1,000,000 µL= 1Liter
MLLP: Minimum Lower Level Protocol (lower than HL7)
MO: Medication order.
Morbidity: A diseased state or symptom
MRN: Medical Record Number
MSO: Medication Safety Officer
N
NAS: Network Storage Device; Network Attached Storage; pronounce to rhyme with “JAZZ”.
Never Event: Never Events are serious incidents that are wholly preventable and should always be prevented by the implementation of known best practices by healthcare providers.
NDC: National Drug Code (drug ID number seen on every prescription vial). National Drug Code (NDC) is a unique product identifier used in the United States for drugs intended for human use.
NICU: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit; pronounced "knee Q".
NLP: Natural Language Programming
NOU: New Open Unit within a Hospital.
NPH: Humulin N, Novolin N (Neutral Protamine Hagedorn)
NPO: Nil per os - withhold oral food and fluids
O
Omnicell: Type of ADC
OR: Operating Room
Order Sets: A stepwise approach to managing inpatient hyperglycemia
OSI: Operating System Interconnection Level 7 protocol.
P
PACU: Post Anesthesia Care Unit
PAE: Preventable Adverse Event
Parenteral: Administered or occurring elsewhere in the body than the mouth and alimentary canal, as by intravenous or intramuscular injection.
PED: (pronounced PEED) Pediatric
Perioperative: Perioperative generally refers to the three phases of surgery: preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative. The goal of perioperative care is to provide better conditions for patients before operation, during operation, and after operation.
PHI: Protected health information (PHI) under US law is any information about health status, provision of health care, or payment for health care that is created or collected by a "Covered Entity" (or a Business Associate of a Covered Entity), and can be linked to a specific individual. This is includes any part of a patient's medical record or payment history. PHI is often sought out in datasets for de-identification before researchers share the dataset publicly. When researchers remove PHI from a dataset they do so in an attempt to preserve privacy for research participants.
POA: Present on Admission (referring to conditions).
POC: Point of Care
Postprandial: Occurring after a meal.
Prandial: During or relating to the eating of food.
PRN: Pro Res Natas “As Needed”
PSO: Patient Safety Organization
Pyxis: Type of ADC
Q
q.h.s. : Abbreviation for the Latin - quaque hora somni, every bedtime. The JCAHO directs that (nightly) at bedtime be written in full to avoid misreading of this abbreviation as q.h., every hour.
q.d. (qd or QD) is once a day; q.d. stands for "quaque die" (which means, in Latin, once a day).
b.i.d. (or bid or BID) is two times a day ; b.i.d. stands for "bis in die" (in Latin, twice a day).
q.i.d. (or qid or QID) is four times a day; q.i.d. stands for "quater in die" (in Latin, 4 times a day).
q_h: If a medicine is to be taken every so-many hours, it is written "q_h"; the "q" standing for "quaque" and the "h" indicating the number of hours. So, for example, "2 caps q4h" means "Take 2 capsules every 4 hours."
R
RAA-I: Rapid Acting Insulin
RCA: Root Cause Analysis
RN: Registered Nurse
ROI: Region of Interest
RPh: Pharmacist
RSI: Retained Surgical Item (items left in patient)
S
SC: Subcutaneous (the depth at which insulin injections are administered). The subcutis is the layer of skin directly below the dermis and epidermis, collectively referred to as the cutis. (preferred for non-critically ill patients. Otherwise IV for critically ill.)
SGLT2: A member of the sodium glucose cotransporter family which are sodium-dependent glucose transport proteins. SGLT2 is the major cotransporter involved in glucose reabsorption in the kidney. SGLT2 inhibitors are called gliflozins. They lead to a reduction in blood glucose levels. Therefore, SGLT2 inhibitors have potential use in the treatment of type II diabetes. Gliflozins enhance glycemic control as well as reduce body weight and systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The gliflozins canagliflozin, dapagliflozin, and empagliflozin may lead to euglycemic ketoacidosis.
SIPOC: In process improvement, a SIPOC (sometimes COPIS) is a tool that summarizes the inputs and outputs of one or more processes in table form. The acronym SIPOC stands for suppliers, inputs, process, outputs, and customers which form the columns of the table.
SSC: Surgical Sponge Count (70% of all RSI) (sometimes fatal)
SSRI: Sliding Scale Regular Insulin; also can stand for "selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor"
System: A group, or chain, of related hospitals, such as HCA.
SUBQ: Subcutaneous (injection type for insulin)
T
Tall Man Lettering: Tall man lettering is used for better differentiation, i.e. HumALOG vs HumULIN, thereby increasing safety in terms of LASA.
Tare; Taring: To ascertain the weight of the wrapping, receptacle, or conveyance containing goods.
TCP/IP: Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (Lower level than HL7)
T2DM: Type 2 Diabetes
TDD: Total Daily Dose (of insulin)
t.i.d. : three times a day. It is an abbreviation for "ter in die" The abbreviation t.i.d. is sometimes written without a period either in lower-case letters as "tid" or in capital letters as "TID".
U
µL: microliter; one millionth of a liter; 1000 milliliters(ml) = 1,000,000 µL = 1Liter; 1ml = 1,000 µL; 1 unit = 10 µL
UBC: Unit-based cabinets (such as ADC)
UUID: Universal Unique ID
V
Vendor hookup: The price the IT dept. charges another department to open a port feed to a new device.
W
Web Services: The term Web services describes a standardized way of integrating Web-based applications over an Internet protocol backbone. Used primarily as a means for businesses to communicate with each other and with clients, Web services allow organizations to communicate data without intimate knowledge of each other's IT systems behind the firewall.
WHO: World Health Organization
WOW: Workstation On Wheels (most hospitals have PC on wheels for bedside entry)
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