> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mso.getlemma.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Acronym decoder > Fast lookup table for the acronyms used across MSO-PC operations. Separate from the glossary for scan speed. Healthcare drowns in acronyms. This is the fast table; [the glossary](/reference/appendix/glossary) has the definitions. ## Structure and legal | Acronym | Expansion | | ------- | ----------------------------------------- | | AKS | Anti-Kickback Statute | | BAA | Business Associate Agreement | | CPOD | Corporate Practice of Dentistry | | CPOM | Corporate Practice of Medicine | | CPVM | Corporate Practice of Veterinary Medicine | | DSO | Dental Service Organization | | FCA | False Claims Act | | FMV | Fair Market Value | | MSA | Management Services Agreement | | MSO | Management Services Organization | | PA | Professional Association | | PC | Professional Corporation | | PLLC | Professional Limited Liability Company | | POPTS | Physician-Owned Physical Therapy Services | | VIE | Variable Interest Entity | ## Identifiers and enrollment | Acronym | Expansion | | ------- | ------------------------------------------------ | | CAQH | Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare | | CVO | Credentialing Verification Organization | | DEA | Drug Enforcement Administration (registration) | | EIN | Employer Identification Number | | LEIE | List of Excluded Individuals/Entities (OIG) | | NPDB | National Practitioner Data Bank | | NPI | National Provider Identifier | | NPPES | National Plan and Provider Enumeration System | | PECOS | Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System | | PSV | Primary Source Verification | | PTAN | Provider Transaction Access Number | | TIN | Tax Identification Number | ## Claims and EDI | Acronym | Expansion | | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | CARC | Claim Adjustment Reason Code | | CDT | Current Dental Terminology | | CPT | Current Procedural Terminology | | EDI | Electronic Data Interchange | | EFT | Electronic Funds Transfer | | EOB | Explanation of Benefits | | ERA | Electronic Remittance Advice | | HCPCS | Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System | | ICD-10-CM | International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification | | ICD-10-PCS | ICD-10 Procedure Coding System | | NCCI | National Correct Coding Initiative | | NDC | National Drug Code | | NUBC | National Uniform Billing Committee | | NUCC | National Uniform Claim Committee | | PLB | Provider Level Adjustment | | POS | Place of Service | | RARC | Remittance Advice Remark Code | | RVU | Relative Value Unit | | TRN | Trace Number (reassociation) | ## Group codes | Code | Expansion | | ---- | ------------------------- | | CO | Contractual Obligation | | OA | Other Adjustment | | PI | Payer Initiated Reduction | | PR | Patient Responsibility | ## Payers and programs | Acronym | Expansion | | ------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ | | ACA | Affordable Care Act | | ACO | Accountable Care Organization | | ASO | Administrative Services Only | | BCBS | Blue Cross Blue Shield | | CHIP | Children's Health Insurance Program | | CMS | Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services | | DSNP | Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan | | EPO | Exclusive Provider Organization | | FEHB | Federal Employees Health Benefits | | FFS | Fee-For-Service | | HMO | Health Maintenance Organization | | IPA | Independent Practice Association | | MA | Medicare Advantage | | MAC | Medicare Administrative Contractor | | MCO | Managed Care Organization | | PBM | Pharmacy Benefit Manager | | PIP | Personal Injury Protection | | POS | Point of Service (plan type, distinct from Place of Service) | | PPO | Preferred Provider Organization | | TPA | Third-Party Administrator | | VA CCN | VA Community Care Network | **POS is overloaded.** In claims it means **Place of Service**; in plan types it means **Point of Service**. Context distinguishes them, and this wiki uses POS for place of service throughout. ## Compliance and privacy | Acronym | Expansion | | ------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | | ABN | Advance Beneficiary Notice | | AI | Artificial Intelligence | | CDS | Clinical Decision Support | | CMP | Civil Monetary Penalty | | DHS | Designated Health Services (Stark) | | ePHI | Electronic Protected Health Information | | HITECH | Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act | | MHPAEA | Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act | | NSA | No Surprises Act | | OCR | Office for Civil Rights (HHS) | | OIG | Office of Inspector General (HHS) | | PHI | Protected Health Information | | SRA | Security Risk Analysis | | SUD | Substance Use Disorder | | ZDR | Zero Data Retention | ## Audits | Acronym | Expansion | | ------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | CERT | Comprehensive Error Rate Testing | | MFCU | Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (state; investigates and prosecutes Medicaid fraud) | | OMHA | Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals (Medicare appeal level 3) | | QIC | Qualified Independent Contractor (Medicare appeal level 2) | | RAC | Recovery Audit Contractor | | SIU | Special Investigations Unit | | UPIC | Unified Program Integrity Contractor | | ZPIC | Zone Program Integrity Contractor (legacy; largely succeeded by UPIC) | ## Operations and finance | Acronym | Expansion | | --------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | | AFR | Applicable Federal Rate | | AR | Accounts Receivable | | DACA | Deposit Account Control Agreement | | EBITDA | Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization | | FTE | Full-Time Equivalent | | GPCI | Geographic Practice Cost Index | | KPI | Key Performance Indicator | | KYB / KYC | Know Your Business / Know Your Customer | | LLM | Large Language Model | | MPPR | Multiple Procedure Payment Reduction | | PEO | Professional Employer Organization | | PFS | Physician Fee Schedule | | QoE | Quality of Earnings | | QSBS | Qualified Small Business Stock | | RBRVS | Resource-Based Relative Value Scale | | RCM | Revenue Cycle Management | | VCC | Virtual Credit Card | ## Clinical credentials | Acronym | Expansion | | ---------- | --------------------------------------------------------- | | APRN | Advanced Practice Registered Nurse | | CPB | Certified Professional Biller | | CPC | Certified Professional Coder | | DDS / DMD | Doctor of Dental Surgery / Dental Medicine | | DO | Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine | | DPM | Doctor of Podiatric Medicine | | DPT | Doctor of Physical Therapy | | LCSW | Licensed Clinical Social Worker | | LMFT | Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist | | LPC / LMHC | Licensed Professional Counselor / Mental Health Counselor | | MD | Doctor of Medicine | | NP | Nurse Practitioner | | OD | Doctor of Optometry | | PA-C | Physician Assistant, Certified | | PMHNP | Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner | | PsyD | Doctor of Psychology | ## Transactions | Number | Meaning | | ------------ | -------------------------------------------- | | 270 / 271 | Eligibility inquiry / response | | 276 / 277 | Claim status inquiry / response | | 277CA | Claim acknowledgment | | 278 | Prior authorization request / response | | 834 | Benefit enrollment | | 835 | Remittance advice | | 837P / I / D | Claim, professional / institutional / dental | | 999 | Implementation acknowledgment | | TA1 | Interchange acknowledgment | ## Related topics - [Glossary](/reference/appendix/glossary.md) - [X12 healthcare transaction sets](/reference/edi/x12-transaction-sets.md)