Acronyms

Like many areas in health, palliative care has many acronyms and abbreviations that can be confusing. Knowing what these initials mean can be illuminating.

A

ABS  –  Australian Bureau of Statistics
ACAT  –  Aged Care Assessment Team
ACCRM  –  Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine
ACD  –  Advance Care Directive
ACGB  –  Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement
ACN  –  Australian College of Nursing
ACP  –  Advance Care Planning or Advance Care Plan
ACCRM  –  Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine
ACSA  –  Aged and Community Services Australia
ACSQHC  –  Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
ADL  –  Activities of Daily Living
AHHA  –  Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association
AHPA  –  Allied Health Professions Australia
AHPRA  –  Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency
AHW  –  Aboriginal Health Worker
AIHW  –  Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
AKPS  –  Australian Karnofsky Performance Status
AMA  –  Australian Medical Association
ANF  –  Australian Nursing Federation
AN-SNAP  –  Australian National Subacute and Non-Acute Patient (AN-SNAP)
ANZPPCRG  –  Australian and New Zealand Paediatric Palliative Care Reference Group
ANZSPM  –  Australian and New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine
APHN  –  Asia Pacific Hospice and Palliative Care Association
APNA  –  Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association
APRAC  –  Australian Palliative Care in Residential Aged Care
ARC –  Australian Research Council

B

BMI  –  Body mass Index

C

CALD  –  Culturally and Linguistically Diverse
CAM  –  Complementary and Alternative Medicines
CAPC  –  Center to Advance Palliative Care
CATSINaM  –  Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives
CEBPARAC  –  Comprehensive Evidence-Based Palliative Approach in Residential Aged Care
CHeRP  –  Centre for Health Research & Psycho-Oncology
CHF  –  Consumer Health Forum
CINAHL  –  Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature
COAG  –  Council of Australian Governments
COMPAC  –  Palliative Approach in Aged Care in the Community
COPD  –  Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
CoP  –  Community of Practice
CPCRE –  Centre for Palliative Care Research and Education
CPD –  Continuing Professional Development
CPR  –  Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
CRANA  –  Council of Remote Area Nurses of Australia
CRANAplus  –  Peak Professional Body for the Remote & Isolated Health Workforce

D

DoH  –  Department of Health
DVA  –  Department of Veterans’ Affairs

E

EACH  –  Extended Aged Care at Home
EACH-D  –  Extended Aged Care at Home-Dementia
EAPC  –  European Association of Palliative Care
EBM  –  Evidence-Based Medicine
EBP  –  Evidence-Based Practice
EBPC  –  Evidence-Based Palliative Care
EBPRAC  –  Encouraging Best Practice in Residential Aged Care
ED  –  Emergency Department
EdCAN  – National Cancer Nursing Education Project
ELDAC  –  End of life Directions for Aged Care
EN  –  Enrolled Nurse
EoL  –  End of Life
EoLCP  –  End-of-Life Care Plan
EPC  –  Enhanced Primary Care
ESAS  –  Edmonton Symptom Assessment System
eviQ  –  eviQ Cancer Treatments Online

F

FECCA  –  Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Council of Australia

G

GP  –  General Practitioner
GPN  –  General Practice Nurses

H

HIV/AIDS  –  Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
HRQoL  –  Health-related quality of life

I

IADL  –  Instrumental Activities of Daily Living
IAHPC  –  International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care
IASP  –  International Association for the Study of Pain
ICD  –  International Classification of Diseases
IMG  –  International Medical Graduate
IPL  –  Interprofessional Learning (IPL)
IPOS  –  International Psycho-Oncology Society
IPP-SHR  -International Program of Psycho-Social Health
IT  –  Information Technology

J

K

L

LASA  –  Leading Aged Services Australia
LCP  –  Liverpool Care Plan
LGBTI  –  Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex
LOS – Length of Stay

M

MBS  –  Medicare Benefits Schedule
MeSH  –  Medical Subject Heading
MJA  –  Medical Journal of Australia
MND  –  Motor Neurone Disease
MOOC  –  Massive Open Online Courses
MS  –  Multiple Sclerosis
MSOAP  –  Medical Specialists Outreach Assistance Program

N

NACCHO  –  National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation
NAT-C  –  Needs Assessment Tool for Carers
NAT:PD-C  –  Needs Assessment Tool: Progressive Disease – Cancer
NCPC  –  National Council for Palliative Care (UK)
NHHRC  –  National Health and Hospital Reform Commission
NHMRC  –  National Health and Medical Research Council
NHPCO  –  National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (US)
NHS  –  National Health Service (UK)
NICE  –  The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
NICS  –  National Institute of Clinical Studies
NP  –  Nurse Practitioner
NPS  –  National Prescribing Service
NSAP  –  National Standards Assessment Program

O

OATSIH  –  Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health
OT  –  Occupational Therapist

P

PaCCSC  –  Palliative Care Clinical Studies Collaborative
PBS  –  Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
PCA  –  Palliative Care Australia
PCNA  –  Palliative Care Nurses Australia
PCC4U  –  Palliative Care Curriculum for Undergraduates
PCOC  –  Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration
PCMWG  –  Palliative Care Medications Working Group
PDSA  –  Plan Do Study Act
PEACH  –  Palliative Care Home Support Packages
PEPA  –  Program of Experience in the Palliative Approach
PICO  –  Population Intervention Comparison Outcomes
PoCoG  –  Psycho-Oncology Cooperative Research Group
POGOe  –  Portal of Geriatric Online Education

Q

QALY  –  Quality-Adjusted Life Year
QI  –  Quality Improvement
QoL  –  Quality of Life
QuoCCA  –  Quality of Care Collaborative for Australia in Paediatric Palliative Care
QUM  –  Quality Use of Medicines

R

RAC –  Residential Aged Care
RACF –  Residential Aged Care Facility
RACGP  –  Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
RCNA  –  Royal College of Nursing Australia
RCT – Randomised Controlled Trial
RN  –  Registered Nurse

S

SAS  –  Symptom Assessment Scale
SCN  –  Specialist Cancer Nurse
SDM  –  Substitute Decision-Maker
SF-36  –  36-Item Short Form Health Survey
SMMSE  –  Standardised Mini-Mental State Examination
SNAP  –  Sub-acute, Non-acute and Palliative care
SPCACPAS  – Specialist Palliative Care and Advance Care Planning Advisory Services

T

TGA  –  Therapeutic Goods Administration

U

V

W

WACCPC  –  Western Australian Centre for Cancer and Palliative Care
WHO  –  World Health Organization
WPCA  –  Worldwide Palliative Care Alliance

X

Y

Z