Appendix: Glossary
This Glossary defines the terms used in Indian hospitals, health IT, insurance, and regulation, grouped by topic and sorted alphabetically within each table. Definitions are written for this Information; check official sources for legal or regulatory wording.
Care and hospital operations
| Term | Full form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ADT | Admission, Discharge, Transfer | Workflow tracking a patient’s admission, movement between wards, and discharge |
| Bed-blocking | — | A medically fit patient occupying a bed because billing, insurance, or discharge paperwork is not ready |
| Casualty | — | Common Indian name for the Emergency department |
| CCU | Coronary/Cardiac Care Unit | ICU for heart patients |
| CHC | Community Health Centre | Public secondary-care facility serving a block, above PHCs |
| Chronic care | — | Ongoing management of long-term conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, or kidney disease |
| Cosmetic / aesthetic procedure | — | Procedure chosen for appearance rather than medical need; generally not covered by insurance |
| CSSD | Central Sterile Supply Department | Sterilizes reusable surgical instruments |
| DAMA / LAMA | Discharge / Leave Against Medical Advice | Patient leaving the hospital despite medical advice to stay, recorded with a signed form |
| Day care procedure | — | Procedure under anaesthesia with discharge within 24 hours; insurers cover a defined list |
| Discharge summary | — | Document summarizing an inpatient stay: diagnosis, treatment, medicines, and follow-up |
| DOA | Dead on Arrival | Patient found dead on reaching the hospital |
| Elective procedure | — | Planned procedure for a real medical need whose timing is flexible; not the same as optional or cosmetic |
| ER / ED | Emergency Room / Emergency Department | 24-hour unit for urgent and life-threatening cases |
| Footfall | — | Number of patients visiting a hospital or OPD in a period |
| HDU | High Dependency Unit | Step-down unit between the ICU and a general ward |
| ICU | Intensive Care Unit | Unit for the sickest patients, with continuous monitoring |
| IPD | Inpatient Department | Care for patients admitted to a bed overnight or longer |
| MICU / SICU | Medical / Surgical ICU | ICUs for medical or post-surgical patients |
| MLC | Medico-Legal Case | Case with legal implications (accident, assault, poisoning) that must be reported to the police |
| MRD | Medical Records Department | Stores patient records and handles ICD coding |
| NICU | Neonatal Intensive Care Unit | ICU for newborns, especially premature babies |
| OPD | Outpatient Department | Same-day consultations without admission |
| OT | Operation Theatre | Room or suite where surgery is performed |
| Palliative care | — | Comfort-focused care for serious illness, aimed at quality of life rather than cure |
| PHC | Primary Health Centre | Public primary-care facility, usually rural |
| PICU | Paediatric Intensive Care Unit | ICU for children |
| Planned / unplanned admission | — | Admission scheduled in advance versus one arriving through Emergency |
| Preventive care | — | Preventing illness or catching it early through vaccination, screening, and check-ups |
| Primary / secondary / tertiary / quaternary care | — | Levels of care from first contact (GP) to specialist, super-specialty, and rare or experimental care |
| Rounds | — | Scheduled visits by doctors or nurses to review inpatients |
| Sub-centre | — | Smallest public health facility, run by ANMs and health workers |
| Triage | — | Sorting patients by severity so the sickest are seen first |
| Ward | — | Inpatient area; may be general, semi-private, private, or suite |
Clinical and prescription abbreviations
| Term | Full form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ABG | Arterial Blood Gas | Blood test measuring oxygen, carbon dioxide, and acidity |
| ADR | Adverse Drug Reaction | Harmful, unintended response to a medicine |
| BD | Bis in die | Twice a day |
| BP | Blood Pressure | Pressure of blood in the arteries |
| CBC | Complete Blood Count | Basic blood test of red cells, white cells, and platelets |
| C/O | Complaining of | Prefix for the patient’s reported symptoms |
| CT | Computed Tomography | Cross-sectional X-ray imaging |
| Dx | Diagnosis | The identified condition |
| ECG / EKG | Electrocardiogram | Recording of the heart’s electrical activity |
| Echo | Echocardiogram | Ultrasound of the heart |
| HbA1c | Glycated haemoglobin | Blood test of average blood sugar over about three months |
| HR | Heart Rate | Heartbeats per minute |
| HS | Hora somni | At bedtime |
| Hx | History | Patient’s medical history |
| IM / IV / SC | Intramuscular / Intravenous / Subcutaneous | Routes of injection |
| KFT / RFT | Kidney / Renal Function Test | Blood tests of kidney function |
| LFT | Liver Function Test | Blood tests of liver function |
| MRI | Magnetic Resonance Imaging | Imaging using magnetic fields, without radiation |
| NPO | Nil per os | Nothing by mouth, usually before surgery |
| OD | Omne in die | Once a day |
| PO | Per os | By mouth |
| PRN / SOS | Pro re nata / if needed | Take only when required |
| QID | Quater in die | Four times a day |
| Rx | Prescription | Treatment or medicine prescribed |
| SOAP | Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan | Standard structure for clinical notes |
| SpO2 | Peripheral oxygen saturation | Blood oxygen level measured by a pulse oximeter |
| STAT | Statim | Immediately |
| TDS / TID | Ter die sumendum / ter in die | Three times a day |
| USG | Ultrasonography | Ultrasound imaging |
| Vitals | — | Core measurements: temperature, pulse, respiration, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation |
Roles, degrees, and qualifications
| Term | Full form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ANM | Auxiliary Nurse Midwife | Community health nurse, often staffing sub-centres |
| ASHA | Accredited Social Health Activist | Village-level community health worker under the National Health Mission |
| AYUSH | Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa, Homoeopathy | India’s traditional systems of medicine, with their own ministry |
| BAMS / BHMS | Bachelor of Ayurvedic / Homoeopathic Medicine and Surgery | Undergraduate degrees in Ayurveda and Homoeopathy |
| BDS / MDS | Bachelor / Master of Dental Surgery | Undergraduate and postgraduate dental degrees |
| B.Sc Nursing / M.Sc Nursing | — | Four-year nursing degree / postgraduate nursing degree |
| CEO / COO / CFO / CIO | Chief Executive / Operating / Financial / Information Officer | Senior executives running the hospital, operations, finance, and IT |
| CMO | Chief Medical Officer | Senior medical administrator; also a government post |
| Consultant | — | Fully qualified specialist doctor; Senior and Associate grades exist |
| DM / MCh | Doctorate of Medicine / Magister Chirurgiae | Super-specialty degrees in medicine (e.g. cardiology) and surgery (e.g. neurosurgery) |
| DNB | Diplomate of National Board | Postgraduate medical qualification from the National Board of Examinations, equivalent to MD/MS |
| GNM | General Nursing and Midwifery | 3.5-year nursing diploma |
| HOD | Head of Department | Clinical head of a specialty department |
| Intensivist | — | Doctor specialized in running the ICU |
| JR / SR | Junior / Senior Resident | Doctors in training who handle rounds and on-call duty |
| MBBS | Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery | Basic medical degree qualifying a doctor to practise |
| MD / MS (degree) | Doctor of Medicine / Master of Surgery | Postgraduate specialist degrees in medical and surgical fields |
| MD (role) | Medical Director | Head of the clinical arm of a hospital (context distinguishes it from the degree) |
| MS (role) | Medical Superintendent | Head of a hospital, especially in government and teaching hospitals |
| MSW | Medical Social Worker | Supports patients and families, including discharge planning |
| Nursing Superintendent | — | Head of nursing across the hospital |
| PRO | Public Relations Officer / Patient Relations | Handles patient relations, feedback, and the hospital’s public image |
| RMO | Resident Medical Officer | Doctor on duty in wards and emergencies, often round the clock |
| TPA coordinator | — | Hospital staff member who manages insurance pre-authorizations and claims |
| Visiting / Honorary Consultant | — | Specialist who practises at the hospital on a consulting basis rather than full-time |
Hospital software and health IT
| Term | Full form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| AMC | Annual Maintenance Contract | Yearly support and update fee, typically 15–20% of a perpetual licence |
| API | Application Programming Interface | Way for software systems to exchange data |
| CDSS | Clinical Decision Support System | Software that gives clinicians alerts and recommendations |
| CPOE | Computerized Physician Order Entry | Doctors placing lab, radiology, and medication orders electronically |
| DICOM | Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine | Standard format for storing and sharing medical images |
| EHR | Electronic Health Record | Health record designed to be shared across providers |
| EMR | Electronic Medical Record | Digital patient chart within one provider |
| e-Prescription | — | Electronically generated prescription, often with interaction alerts |
| EQAS | External Quality Assessment Scheme | External proficiency testing for labs, required for NABL |
| FHIR | Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources | Modern HL7 standard for exchanging health data; used by ABDM |
| HIMS / HMIS | Hospital (Management) Information System | Core operational software running every hospital department |
| HL7 | Health Level Seven | Family of standards for exchanging clinical data between systems |
| ICD-10 / ICD-11 | International Classification of Diseases | WHO’s coding system for diagnoses |
| Instrument interfacing | — | Direct connection between lab analysers and the LIMS |
| LIS / LIMS | Laboratory Information (Management) System | Software running lab workflow, results, and quality control |
| MAR | Medication Administration Record | Record of every dose given to an inpatient |
| MIS | Management Information System | Reports and dashboards for management |
| PACS | Picture Archiving and Communication System | Stores and shares medical images |
| PHR | Personal Health Record | Health records held and managed by the patient |
| RCM | Revenue Cycle Management | Process and software covering billing, claims, and collections |
| RIS | Radiology Information System | Schedules and manages radiology workflow and reports |
| SaaS | Software as a Service | Subscription software hosted by the vendor |
| SNOMED CT | Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine – Clinical Terms | Clinical terminology standard; India is a member and uses it in ABDM |
| TAT | Turnaround Time | Time from order or sample to result |
| WABA | WhatsApp Business API | Meta’s platform for business messaging on WhatsApp |
Insurance, billing, and revenue cycle
| Term | Full form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| AR days | Accounts Receivable days | Average days to collect money owed, e.g. from insurers |
| Cashless claim | — | Insurer or TPA pays the hospital directly; patient pays nothing upfront for covered costs |
| Claim settlement | — | Final payment of a claim by the insurer or TPA |
| Co-payment (co-pay) | — | Fixed share of each claim the policyholder must pay |
| Deductible | — | Amount the policyholder pays before insurance starts paying |
| Deduction | — | Part of a hospital bill the insurer refuses to pay, such as non-medical items |
| Empanelment | — | Formal listing of a hospital with an insurer, TPA, or government scheme |
| Enhancement | — | Request to the insurer to raise an approved pre-authorization amount during a stay |
| Final bill | — | Complete hospital bill raised at discharge |
| Interim bill | — | Running bill issued during a long stay |
| IRDAI | Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India | Regulator of insurers and TPAs |
| Network hospital | — | Hospital with a cashless agreement with an insurer or TPA |
| Non-payables | — | Consumables and items insurers usually exclude, such as gloves or registration fees |
| Package rate | — | Fixed price for a defined procedure, used by PM-JAY and many insurers |
| PED | Pre-Existing Disease | Condition present before the policy began, usually covered after a waiting period |
| Policyholder | — | Person who owns the insurance policy |
| Pre-authorization (pre-auth) | — | Insurer or TPA approval required before cashless treatment |
| Reimbursement claim | — | Patient pays first, then claims the cost back from the insurer |
| Rejection / repudiation | — | Insurer’s refusal to pay a claim |
| Room-rent capping | — | Policy limit on daily room charges; exceeding it can reduce the whole claim proportionately |
| Sub-limit | — | Cap on payment for a specific treatment or expense within the total cover |
| Sum insured | — | Maximum amount the policy pays in a policy year |
| Top-up / super top-up | — | Extra cover that pays after a deductible or base policy is exhausted |
| TPA | Third Party Administrator | Company that processes claims for insurers |
| Waiting period | — | Time after buying a policy before certain conditions are covered |
Regulators, laws, accreditation, and government schemes
| Term | Full form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| AERB | Atomic Energy Regulatory Board | Licenses radiation equipment such as X-ray and CT machines |
| Ayushman Arogya Mandir | — | New name for Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres, upgraded primary-care centres |
| BMW Rules | Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016 | Rules for segregating and disposing of hospital waste |
| CDSCO | Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation | National regulator for drugs and medical devices |
| CEA | Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010 | Law requiring registration of clinical establishments; adopted state by state |
| CGHS | Central Government Health Scheme | Health scheme for central government employees and pensioners |
| Cut practice | — | Illegal payment to a doctor for referring a patient |
| DCI | Dental Council of India | Regulator of dental education and practice |
| DPDP Act | Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 | India’s data privacy law; requires consent to process personal data |
| DLT | Distributed Ledger Technology (TRAI) | Mandatory registration of SMS senders and templates |
| DND / NCPR | Do Not Disturb / National Customer Preference Register | TRAI registry blocking unwanted commercial messages |
| ECHS | Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme | Health scheme for retired armed forces personnel |
| e-Sanjeevani | — | Government telemedicine platform |
| ESIC | Employees’ State Insurance Corporation | Social insurance for lower-wage employees, with its own hospitals |
| GeM | Government e-Marketplace | Online portal for government procurement |
| INC | Indian Nursing Council | Regulator of nursing education |
| JCI | Joint Commission International | International hospital accreditation held by some Indian hospitals |
| L1 | Lowest bidder | Government tender rule awarding contracts to the lowest price |
| MTP Act | Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 | Law governing abortion |
| NABH | National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers | Quality accreditation for hospitals |
| NABL | National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories | Accreditation for laboratories |
| NHA | National Health Authority | Agency implementing PM-JAY and ABDM |
| NHM | National Health Mission | Government programme funding public health services |
| NMC | National Medical Commission | Regulator of medical education and doctor licensing; replaced the MCI |
| NQAS | National Quality Assurance Standards | Quality standards for public health facilities |
| PCI | Pharmacy Council of India | Regulator of pharmacy education and practice |
| PCPNDT Act | Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994 | Bans sex determination; regulates ultrasound centres |
| PM-JAY | Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana | Government health insurance scheme under Ayushman Bharat |
| PPP | Public-Private Partnership | Government infrastructure run by a private operator under contract |
| THOA | Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994 | Law regulating organ donation and transplants |
| TRAI | Telecom Regulatory Authority of India | Telecom regulator, including commercial SMS rules |
ABDM and digital health
| Term | Full form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ABDM | Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission | India’s national digital health infrastructure |
| ABHA address | — | Human-readable health ID handle (username@abdm) linked to the ABHA number |
| ABHA number | Ayushman Bharat Health Account | 14-digit health ID created voluntarily with the patient’s consent |
| Consent artefact | — | Record of exactly what health data a patient agreed to share, with whom, and for how long |
| DHIS | Digital Health Incentive Scheme | Financial incentives for facilities and vendors creating ABHA-linked records |
| HFR | Health Facility Registry | ABDM register of health facilities |
| HIE-CM | Health Information Exchange & Consent Manager | ABDM gateway that routes data requests and manages consent |
| HIP | Health Information Provider | Facility where a health record originates |
| HIU | Health Information User | Entity requesting to view a record |
| HPR | Healthcare Professionals Registry | ABDM register of doctors and health professionals |
| Milestones (M1–M3) | — | Stages of ABDM integration: ABHA creation and verification, record sharing as HIP, and record access as HIU |
| NRCeS | National Resource Centre for EHR Standards | C-DAC centre publishing India’s FHIR profiles for ABDM |
| PHR app | Personal Health Record app | Patient app for viewing and sharing ABHA-linked records |
| Sandbox | — | ABDM test environment where software is integrated before production use |
| Scan and Share | — | QR-code OPD registration using ABHA, giving a digital queue token |
| TSP | Technology Service Provider | Software vendor integrating facilities with ABDM |
| UHI | Unified Health Interface | Open network for discovering and booking health services across apps |
Metrics and KPIs
| Term | Full form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ALOS | Average Length of Stay | Average days per inpatient admission |
| ARPOB | Average Revenue Per Occupied Bed | Revenue per occupied bed per day; headline profitability metric for chains |
| ARPP | Average Revenue Per Patient | Revenue per patient, often tracked separately for OPD and IPD |
| Bed occupancy rate | — | Percentage of available beds filled in a period |
| Bed turnover ratio | — | Number of patients using one bed in a period |
| Bed turnover interval | — | Average time a bed stays empty between patients |
| CSAT | Customer Satisfaction score | Patient rating of satisfaction with a visit or stay |
| Discharge TAT | Discharge Turnaround Time | Time from discharge decision to the patient leaving |
| EBITDA | Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization | Operating profit measure used by investors |
| HAI rate | Healthcare-Associated Infection rate | Infections acquired in hospital per patients or patient-days |
| Mortality rate | — | Deaths as a share of admissions, often by unit or procedure |
| No-show rate | — | Share of booked appointments the patient misses |
| NPS | Net Promoter Score | Measure of patients’ likelihood to recommend the hospital |
| OPD-to-IPD conversion | — | Share of outpatients who are later admitted |
| OT utilization | Operation Theatre utilization | Share of available theatre time used for surgery |
| Payer mix | — | Split of revenue across cash, private insurance, and government schemes |
| Readmission rate | — | Share of discharged patients readmitted within a set window, often 30 days |
| Wait time | — | Time a patient waits before consultation or service |