To help guide you through the numerous Acronyms and Abbreviations, we’ve un-coded what they mean and provided a list of the ones most commonly used in Washington, D.C. 

AARC – The American Association for Respiratory Care. http://www.aarc.org/

ACCP – American College of Chest Physicians. www.chestnet.org

ADA - The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 gives civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, and religion. It guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations, employment, transportation, state and local government services, and telecommunications. http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm

ACF - The Administration for Children and Families, located within the Department of Health and Human Services, is responsible for federal programs that promote the economic and social well-being of families, children, individuals, and communities. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/

AHRQ - The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, located within the Department of Health and Human Services, is the lead agency charged with supporting research designed to improve the quality of health care, reduce its cost, improve patient safety, decrease medical errors, and broaden access to essential services. http://www.ahrq.gov/

AoA - The Administration on Aging was created in 1965 with the passage of the Older Americans Act (OAA) and is located within the Department of Health and Human Services. AoA works to develop a comprehensive, coordinated, and cost-effective system of long-term care that helps elderly individuals to maintain their dignity in their homes and communities. http://www.aoa.gov/index.asp.

AOCA – The Airline Oxygen Council of America.

http://www.airlineoxygencouncil.org/

ATS -  The American Thoracic Society. http://www.thoracic.org/

CBO - The Congressional Budget Office is a small, nonpartisan agency that produces policy analyses, cost estimates of legislation, and budget and economic projections that serve as a basis for the Congress's decisions about spending and taxes. http://www.cbo.gov/

CDC - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, located within the Department of Health and Human Services, was founded in 1946 to help control malaria. Since then, CDC has remained at the forefront of public health efforts to prevent and control infectious and chronic diseases, injuries, workplace hazards, disabilities, and environmental health threats. http://www.cdc.gov/

CDHP - Consumer-driven health plans

CLIA - The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (1988) are mechanisms through which the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services regulate all laboratory testing (except research) performed on humans in the U.S. http://www.cms.hhs.gov/clia/

CMS - The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, located within the department of Health and Human Services, administers the Medicare program and works in partnership with the states to administer Medicaid, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, and health insurance portability standards. http://www.cms.hhs.gov/

COPD – Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

COPR – The NIH, Council of Public Representatives. http://copr.nih.gov/

CPT - Current Procedural Terminology was developed in 1966 by the AMA. CPT codes provide a uniform language that accurately describes medical, surgical, and diagnostic services, and thereby serves as an effective means for reliable nationwide communication among physicians, other health care providers, patients, and third parties.

CRISP - Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects, maintained by the Office of Extramural Research at the National Institutes of Health, is a searchable database of federally funded biomedical research projects conducted at universities, hospitals, and other research institutions. http://crisp.cit.nih.gov/

CRS - The Congressional Research Service is the public policy research arm of the United States Congress. As a legislative branch agency within the Library of Congress, CRS works exclusively and directly for Members of Congress, their Committees, and staff on a confidential, nonpartisan basis.

DOC - The Department of Commerce: http://www.commerce.gov/index.html

DOD - Department of Defense: http://www.defenselink.mil/

DOE - Department of Energy: http://www.energy.gov/engine/content.do

DOJ - Department of Justice: http://www.defenselink.mil/

DOL - Department of Labor: http://www.dol.gov/

ED - Department of Education: http://www.ed.gov/index.jhtml

EEOC - The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was established by Congress 35 years ago to enforce Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. EEOC is the Federal Government's premier civil rights agency, enforcing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act; the Equal Pay Act of 1963; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, sections 501 and 505; Titles I and V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; and the Civil Rights Act of 1991. http://www.eeoc.gov/

EGAPP - The Evaluation of Genomic Applications in Practice and Preventionis a three-year model project developed by the Office of Genomics and Disease Prevention at the CDC. The project's goal is to support the first phases of a coordinated process for evaluating genetic tests and other genomic applications that are in transition from research to clinical and public health practice. http://www.cdc.gov/genomics/gtesting/egapp.htm

EO - Executive order: a legally binding edict issued by a member of the executive branch of a government (usually the President).

ERISA - The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 is a federal law that sets minimum standards for most voluntarily established pension and health plans in private industry to provide protection for individuals in these plans. http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/health-plans/erisa.htm

ERS – The European Respiratory Society. http://dev.ersnet.org/

FAA -  The Federal Aviation Administration. http://www.faa.gov/

FDA - The Food and Drug Administration is responsible for protecting the public health by assuring the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation. The FDA is also responsible for advancing the public health by helping to speed innovations that make medicines and foods more effective, safer, and more affordable; and helping the public get the accurate, science-based information they need to use medicines and foods to improve their health. http://www.fda.gov/

FFDCA - Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act

FOIA - Freedom of Information Act

FR - The Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents. http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html

FTC - Federal Trade Commission: http://www.ftc.gov/

GAO - Government Accountability Office, formerly the General Accounting Office, the GAO studies how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars and advises Congress and the heads of executive agencies about ways to make government more effective and responsive. http://www.gao.gov/index.html

GINA – Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, a bill that will protect Americans against discrimination based on their genetic information when it comes to health insurance and employment.

GPO - The Government Printing Office is the federal government’s primary centralized resource for gathering, cataloging, producing, providing, and preserving published information in all its forms. http://www.gpo.gov/index.html

HCPCS - The Healthcare Common Procedural Coding System was established in 1978 to provide a standardized coding system for describing the specific items and services provided in the delivery of health care. http://www.cms.hhs.gov/medicare/hcpcs/#amb

H. Con. Res. - denotes a concurrent resolution originating in the House of Representatives. Concurrent resolutions are used for expressing facts, principles, opinions, and purposes of both the House and the Senate.

HEDIS - The Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set is a set of standardized performance measures designed to ensure that purchasers and consumers have the information they need to reliably compare the performance of managed health care plans.

HHS - The Department of Health & Human Services (also DHHS) is the United States government's principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves. http://www.os.dhhs.gov/

HIPAA - The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 establishes a foundation of federal protections for the privacy of protected health information.

H.J. Res. - denotes a joint resolution originating in the House of Representatives. There is little practical difference between a bill and a joint resolution and the two forms are often used interchangeably; joint resolutions, with the exception of proposed amendments to the Constitution, become law in the same manner as bills.

HMO - Health maintenance organization

H.R. - A bill originating in the House of Representatives is designated by the letters "H.R." followed by a number that it retains throughout all its parliamentary stages. The letters signify House Resolutions.

H. Res. - denotes a simple resolution affecting the House of Representatives (concerning rules, operation, or opinion of the chamber).

HRSA -The Health Resources and Services Administration provides national leadership, program resources, and services needed to improve access to culturally competent, quality health care. http://www.hrsa.gov/

LCD - Local Coverage Determinations (Medicare).

LOC - The Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution and serves as the research arm of Congress. It is also the largest library in the world, with more than 130 million items on approximately 530 miles of bookshelves. http://www.loc.gov/

MCAC - The Medicare Coverage Advisory Committee was chartered on November 23, 2004 by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. The MCAC advises CMS on whether specific medical items and services are reasonable and necessary under Medicare law. http://www.cms.hhs.gov/mcac/default.asp

MCHB -The primary responsibility of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau is to improve the health of American mothers and children. http://mchb.hrsa.gov/

MMA - Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003: http://new.cms.hhs.gov/MMAUpdate/

NCD - National Coverage Determination (Medicare)

NCI - National Cancer Institute:http://www.nci.nih.gov/

NHGRI - National Human Genome Research Institute: http://www.genome.gov/

NHLBI – The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/

NIH - The National Institutes of Health was founded in 1887. The goal of NIH research is to acquire new knowledge to help prevent, detect, diagnose, and treat disease and disability, from the rarest genetic disorder to the common cold. http://www.nih.gov/

NIAMS - National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases:http://www.niams.nih.gov/

NIDDK - National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Research grants for liver diseases take place under this institute. http://www.niddk.nih.gov/

NIEHS - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences: http://www.niehs.nih.gov/

NIMH - National Institute of Mental Health: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/

NLM - National Library of Medicine: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/

NNSGRC - The National Newborn Screening and Genetics Resource Center is a cooperative agreement between the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Genetic Services Branch and the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA), Department of Pediatrics. The mission of the NNSGRC is to: 1) provide a forum for interaction between consumers, health care professionals, researchers, organizations, and policy makers in refining and developing public health newborn screening and genetics programs; and 2) serve as a national resource center for information and education in the areas of newborn screening and genetics. http://genes-r-us.uthscsa.edu/

NORD – National Organization for Rare Disorders. www.rarediseases.org/

NSF - The National Science Foundation is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense…." http://www.nsf.gov/

OCR - The Office for Civil Rightspromotes and ensures that people have equal access to and opportunity to participate in and receive services in all HHS programs without facing unlawful discrimination. http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/index.html

ODA - The Orphan Drug Actprovides incentives for sponsors to develop products for rare diseases.

ODS -The Office of Dietary Supplements was established via the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994. The ODS was created in 1995 within the Office of Disease Prevention to strengthen knowledge and understanding of dietary supplements by evaluating scientific information, stimulating and supporting research, disseminating research results, and educating the public to foster an enhanced quality of life and health for the U.S. population.. http://ods.od.nih.gov/

OHRP - The Office of Human Research Protectionsprovides leadership and oversight on all matters related to the protection of human subjects participating in research conducted or supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/

OMB - The Office of Management and Budget is the White House office responsible for devising and submitting the president's annual budget proposal to Congress. http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/

OOPD - The FDA Office of Orphan Products Developmentwas created in 1982, and promotes the development of products that demonstrate promise for the diagnosis and/or treatment of rare diseases or conditions. http://www.fda.gov/orphan/

ORD - Office of Rare Diseases was established in 1993 to stimulate and coordinate research on rare diseases and to support research to respond to the needs of patients who have any one of the more than 6,000 rare diseases known today. http://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/

PHI - Protected health information.

POS - Point of service (type of health insurance plan).

PPO - Preferred provider organization (type of health insurance plan).

PPTA -  The Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association http://www.pptaglobal.org/

PTO - Patent and Trademark Office: http://www.uspto.gov/

QALY - Quality-adjusted life-year.

S. - A bill originating in the Senate is designated by the letter "S." followed by a number that it retains throughout all its parliamentary stages. The letter signifies Senate.

SACGHS - Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health, and Society.

SACGT - Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Genetic Testing.

SACHDGDNC - Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders and Genetic Diseases in Newborns and Children.

SAMSHA -The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is located within the Department of Health and Human Services, and its mission is to build resilience and facilitate recovery for people with or at risk for substance abuse and mental illness. http://www.samhsa.gov/

SAP - Statement of Administration Policy.

SBIR - Small Business Innovation Research is a highly competitive program that encourages small business to explore their technological potential and provides the incentive to profit from its commercialization.

SCHIP - The State Children’s Health Insurance Program, created by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, gave each state permission to offer health insurance for children, up to age 19, who are not already insured. SCHIP is a state administered program and each state sets its own guidelines regarding eligibility and services.

http://www.cms.hhs.gov/schip/

S. Con. Res. - denotes a concurrent resolution originating in the Senate. Concurrent resolutions are used for expressing facts, principles, opinions, and purposes of both the House and the Senate.

SFAR – Special Federal Aviation Regulation.

S.J. Res. - denotes a joint resolution originating in the Senate. There is little practical difference between a bill and a joint resolution and the two forms are often used interchangeably; joint resolutions, with the exception of proposed amendments to the Constitution, become law in the same manner as bills.

SNPRM -  Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is a notice and request for comment published in the Federal Register when an agency has made significant substantive changes to a rule between the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and the final rule. The SNPRM allows the public to comment on the changes.

S. Res. - denotes a simple resolution affecting the Senate (concerning rules, operation, or opinion of the chamber).

SSA - Social Security Administration: http://www.ssa.gov/

TANF - The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program was created by the Welfare Reform Law of 1996.

TANF became effective July 1, 1997 and replaced what was then commonly known as welfare: Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS) programs. http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/ofa/

USDA - Department of Agriculture: http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome

USPSTF - The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is located in the Department of Health and Human Services.

USPSTF is an independent panel of experts in primary care and prevention that systematically reviews the evidence of effectiveness and develops recommendations for clinical preventive services.

http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/uspstfix.htm

VA - Department of Veterans Affairs: http://www.va.gov/

WHO - The World Health Organization is the United Nations specialized agency for health established in 1948. http://www.who.int/en/

 

Acronyms provided by the Alpha-1 Association and Genetic Alliance