P&T Committee		Pharmaceutical & Therapeutic Committee. In a provider institution (e.g., hospital, medical group) this is the team of physicians, pharmacists, and administrators who approve the content of an interchange plan (aka. formulary) and also lobbies doctors to comply with the plan.
Package Price		The price of a single package. This is usually bigger than unit price, but not necessarily. For example, the package price of a 0.5 ml package is smaller than its unit price (i.e., the price of 1 ml of the product).
Package Size		The total size of the package, in one of three units of measure, Drug Form Unit of Measure Tablets, kits, etc. Each Liquids ML (milliliters) Solids GM (grams)
Packaging		Describes the drug product container (e.g., Aerosol, bottle, box, jar, syringe, etc.) Also known as Unit of Order.
PACU		The Post-Anesthesia Care Unit is where surgery patients are taken to recover, if all goes well (i.e., patients in critical condition are taken to the ICU).
PAR Area		Small carts or shelves within departments containing a set number of items, each with a reorder point. Materiel personnel take inventories on a daily basis, and requisition replenishment issues to the PAR (manually or automatically).
PAR Level		See PAR Area.
Parenterals		Parenterals are injectable or intravenous products. They are divided into two types: large volume (LVP) and small volume (SVP) parenterals.
Patented Drugs		There are two types of patent protection for drugs, • a patent over the actual active molecule, which prevents anyone else from manufacturing it • a patent over the process of manufacturing a particular molecule.
Patient Account ID		Also called Patient Account Number. A number or some other identifier associated with a particular patient case. This number links together the various charges associated with a particular patient case.
Patient Case		All the information related to the diagnosis and treatment of a patient’s specific condition. Also referred to as “visit” or “encounter.”
Patient History		The collection of all cases for a specific patient. Also referred to as “episode.”
Payor		Refers to the party that covers the cost of care. This could be self-funded employers, MCOs, HMOs, and insurance carriers.
PBM		Pharmacy Benefit Managers are businesses that manage pharmaceuticals covered within a benefits plan. This includes contracts with local or regional retail pharmacies. They employ information systems and networks to facilitate management of contracts between pharmacies, payors, and drug manufacturers. See also TPA.
PCA		Patient Controlled Anelgesia.
PCP		1. Primary Care Provider. See also PHCP. 2. Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia.
PDA		Parenteral Drug Association (see Parenterals).
PDR		Physicians Desk Reference.
PDT		Photodynamic Therapy. Refers to drugs that attaches itself to diseased tissue. The drug is later exposed to light, making it chemically active. It then attacks the abnormal cells while leaving healthy ones alone.
PEG		Pneumoencephalogram (“picture of the brain full of air,” for the latin-impaired). A procedure that “consists of draining all the cerebrospinal fluid and pumping in air to increase contrast in the ventricles. It is a painful procedure which cannot be done under anesthesia.” (From “A Case Of Need,” by Jeffery Hudson, aka. Michael Chrichton).
PEP-C		Patient Evaluation of Performance in California. And I have no idea what this means.
Perpetual Inventory		Used to describe an inventory record keeping system where each transaction in and out is recorded and a new balance is calculated.
Personal Information		Any individually identifiable information about an individual collected online, including a first and last name, a home or other physical address, including street name and name of a city or town, an E-mail address, a telephone number, a Social Security number, or any other identifier that may permit the physical or online contacting of a specific individual. [Source: Hi-Ethics Coalition]
PET		Positive Emission Tomography. Non-invasive technology that captures images of cellular activity or metabolism by tracking movement of radioactive tracers through body.
PFSH		Patient Family and Social History. See also HPI, PMH, PSH, ROS, and the University of Florida’s Medical History Taking Study Guide.
Pharmaceutical Care		A concept that defines “pharmaceutical care” as the responsible provision of drug therapy for the purpose of achieving definite outcomes that improve a patient’s quality of life.
Pharmacoeconomics		The discipline of evaluating the total cost of therapy and helping the hospital make decisions about allocating resources in order to provide the most cost-effective care.
PHCP		Primary Healthcare Physician. See Primary Care Provider.
PHO		Physician Hospital Organization.
PhRMA		The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.
Physical Inventory		The determination of inventory quantity by actual count.The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)
Physician Hospital Organization		A Physician Hospital Organization (PHO) is a loose coupling of a hospital and its physicians for common services and contracting, but where physicians retain ownership of their practices.
Physician Practice Management		PPM is a category of software used to help physicians run their offices, including billing, scheduling, etc. Also known as Practice Management Systems.
PICU		Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (see ICU).
PIDS		Person Identification Service. The CORBAmed standard interface to enable Master Patient Indexes.
PIP-DCG		Principal Inpatient DCG. A risk-adjusted capitation system in development by HCFA to calculate payments for Medicare+Choice plans.
PIN		Product Identification Number. The name of a product code system, including non-prescription pharmaceuticals. See also HBA, UPC and HRI.
Plans Of Care		Prescribed plans for administering healthcare. These are defined based on best practices of providing healthcare (aka. Practice Protocols).
PMH		Patient Medical History. Background information related to the patient’s health and well being. According to the University of Florida’s Medical History Taking Study Guide, a brief past medical (and social) history often includes these elements: 1. Allergies and Reactions to Drugs (“What happened?”) 2. Current Medications (including “Over-the-Counter”) 3. Medical/Psychiatric Illnesses (Diabetes, Hypertension, Depression, etc.) 4. Surgeries/Injuries/Hospitalizations (Appendectomy, Car Accident, etc.) 5. Immunizations 6. Tobacco/Alcohol/Drug Use 7. Reproductive Status for Females • Last Menstrual Period • Last Pelvic Exam/Pap Smear • Pregnancies/Births/Contraception 8. Birth History/Developmental Milestones for Children 9. Marital/Family Status 10. Occupation/Exposures See also HPI, PFSH, PSH, ROS.
PMPM		Per Member/Per Month. Capitated amount payor pays to provider each month for each member, from which provider must pay for all care required for the member.
POC		See Plans Of Care. Also, “Point of Care,” generic name for places where healthcare diagnosis and treatment is delivered directly to patients. It is unfortunate that this phrase is suspiciously reminiscent of “Point of Sale,” a euphemism for the cash register.
Post-Anesthesia Care Unit		The PACU is where surgery patients are taken to recover, if all goes well (i.e., patients in critical condition are taken to the ICU).
PPM		See Physician Practice Management.
PPO		See Preferred Provider Organization.
PPR		Paper-based Patient Record. See CPR.
Practice Management Systems		Software used to help physicians run their practices, including billing, scheduling, etc. Also known as Physician Practice Management systems, and PPMs. A few commercial offerings are, • CDL Healthcare Systems • Cerner • Companion Technologies • CompuSense • Disc Systems • HBO & Co. • IDX Systems • Medic • Medical Manager • OACIS • PCN • Reynolds & Reynolds
Practice Protocols		Same as Plans Of Care.
Pre-Admission Certification		Approval issued by a case manager (i.e., insurance company representative) before a plan member can be admitted into a hospital and receive coverage. Emergency Room cases must be reported to the insurance carrier within a short period of time after it takes place (usually 24 or 48 hours); the carrier may still refuse to cover the ER charges, if they are deemed to not be covered by the plan (i.e., see Pre-Existing Condition). This is primarily a cost-control process.
Pre-Admission Test		Tests that must be completed before a person can be admitted to a hospital or other inpatient facility (not always necessary or possible in the Emergency Room).
Pre-authorization		When a patient has to contact his or her insurance company to receive authorization for treatment prior to receiving hospital treatment. See also Pre-certification.
Pre-certification		Same as Pre-authorization.
Pre-existing Condition		A medical condition not covered by an insurance company. Usually, this is the case because the condition was present before the individual applied for the policy. Employer-sponsored plans, for the most part, do not have this limitation. What constitutes a pre-existing condition varies by insurance company. See HIPAA.
Preferred Provider Organization		A plan that contracts with independent providers at a discount for services. It may be risk-bearing, like an insurance company, or it may be non-risk bearing, like a physician sponsored PPO that markets itself to insurance companies or self-insured companies via an access fee. In a PPO, the patient may go to the physician of his/her choice, even if that physician does not participate in the PPO; however, in that case, the patient receives care at a lower benefit level.
Primary Care Provider		The Primary Care Provider (PCP), usually a General Practitioner who takes care of general healthcare needs, and refers patients to a specialist, as needed.
PRIMUS		Primary Care for the Uniform Services is a health benefits program for DEERS-registered patients.
PROs		Medicare’s Peer-Review Organizations. As of 1999, there are 37 PROs that are in charge of identifying and correcting deficiencies in the quality of care provided to Medicare beneficiaries. These are regional entities, and each is responsible for a single state or multiple states.
Product Standardization		Product standardization consolidates the purchase of many generically equivalent branded products into fewer products. This can translate into costs savings by virtue of the fact that, • making higher volume purchases helps to bring down the per-item costs, and • keeping less unique items in stock (i.e., smaller item universe) simplifies inventory — it evens simplifies data warehousing.
POC		Proof of Coverage.
Prospective Payment System		See PPS.
Provider		Healthcare professionals and organizations that provide healthcare services (i.e., physicians, nurses, , hospitals, clinics).
PSH		Patient Surgical History. See also HPI, PFSH, PMH, ROS.
PSN		Provider Sponsored Networks. As its name implies, these are (information systems) networks sponsored by provider organizations (e.g., IPAs, MSOs, Hospitals).
PSO		Provider Service Organization.
PT		Physical Therapy.
PTCB		Pharmacy Technician Certification Board.
PTEC		Pharmacy Technician Educators Council.
PUD		Peptic Ulcer Disease. A chronic disease.
Purchase Order		An order to an outside vendor to supply goods or services. Also known as a Supply Requisition
Px		Short-hand for “procedure.” See also, Dx, Fx, Hx, Mx, Rx, Sx, Tx.
PYXIS		A robotic systems and device for dispensing drugs. It fills a prescription for a particular patient. It works somewhat like a Bank’s ATM, • a nurse enters patient information; • the device allows access to just the appropriate drug(s) in a drawer.