This page contains a glossary of terminology, jargon, acronyms and abbreviations used by Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand Waitaha Canterbury.
If you would like to suggest a new word or amendment to the glossary, please click the Is there something wrong with this page? link at the bottom of this page and fill out the form.
Te Whatu Ora staff who wish to use abbreviations in formal documentation should consult our internal policies and procedures for instructions about correct usage.
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| AA | arranged admission |
| ABC strategy for smoking cessation | Ask, Brief advice, Cessation support |
| ACC (Accident Compensation Corporation) Te Kaporeihana Āwhina Hunga Whara | Crown Entity providing comprehensive 24 hour, no-fault personal accident cover for all New Zealanders |
| ACM | Associated Clinical Manager |
| ACNM | Associate Charge Nurse Manager |
| ACS | Adult Community Service (Mental Health ) |
| Acute Care | The provision of appropriate, timely, acceptable and effective management of conditions with sudden onset and rapid progression that require attention. |
| ADLs | activities of daily living. For example, showering/bathing, dressing, toileting, home management tasks. |
| ADMS | Acute Demand Management Services |
| AIR | The Aotearoa Immunisation Register (AIR) |
| AKP (Aukati Kaipaipa) | Smoking cessation support for Maori |
| AL | Annual Leave |
| ALAC | The former Alcohol Liquor Advisory Council, now merged with Health Sponsorship Council (HSC) and part of the Te Hiringa Hauora/Health Promotion Agency (HPA). |
| ALOS (Average Length of Stay) | Sum of bed days for patients discharged in the period (ie lengths of stay) divided by the number of discharges for the period. |
| AMAU (Acute Medical Assessment Unit) now known a Medical Assessment Unit (MA) | Inpatient unit at Christchurch Hospital |
| Ambulatory Sensitive Admissions | Hospitalisation or death due to causes which could have been avoided by preventative or therapeutic programme |
| AMI (Acute Myocardial Infarction) | Heart attack. Damage to heart muscle that results typically from the partial or complete blocking of a coronary artery. |
| AOD | Alcohol and Other Drug |
| APL | Appetite for Life |
| ARC (Aged Residential Care) | Age related residential care |
| ASH (Ambulatory Sensitive Hospital Admissions) | Hospitalisation or death due to causes which could have been avoided by preventative or therapeutic programme |
| ASMS | Association of Salaried Medical Specialist |
| AT&R (Assessment Treatment and Rehabilitation) | The unit provides assessment, treatment & rehabilitation for people with an intellectual disability with significant challenging behaviour. |
| AUT | Auckland University of Technology |
| B4Sc (Before School Checks) | The final core WellChild/Tamariki Ora check children receive at age 4. It is free and includes vision, hearing, oral health, height and weight and allows health concerns to be identified and addressed early in a child's development, giving them the best possible start for school and later life. |
| BAG | Business Advisory Group |
| BDU | Business Development Unit |
| BFHI | Baby Friendly Hospitals Initiative |
| BIBA | brought in by ambulance |
| BIC (Brief Intervention Co-ordination Service) | Also known as a Brief Intervention Counselling. Provides people with mild to moderate mental health concerns up to 5 session of free psychological intervention from their general practice teams, with the possibility of onward referral to a related community agency. |
| BP | blood pressure |
| B/R | Bedrest |
| bx | biopsy |
| c/f | Compared with |
| c/o | complains of |
| c/w | consistent with |
| CABG | Coronary Artery Bypass Graft |
| CADS | Community Alcohol and Drug Services |
| CAF | Child, Adolescent and Family Service |
| CAFEm | CAF Emergency Team |
| CAFLink | CAF Single point of entry |
| CAFIU | Child and Family Inpatient Unit |
| CALD | Culturally And Linguistically Diverse (populations) |
| Canterbury HealthInfo | A Canterbury wide, electronic, information system that provides health information for the general public. |
| CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) | Spending on land, buildings and larger items of equipment. |
| CASP | Career and Salary Progression |
| CBAC | Community Based Assessment Centre |
| CBMS | Community Based Musculoskeletal Service |
| CCC (Central Coordination Centre) | Coordinate older persons health services, District Nursing, respite care etc |
| CCCC | Canterbury Care Coordination Centre |
| CCCT (Canterbury Community Care Trust) | Pegasus, Nurse Maude and Southlink organisations working as one group to provide Acute Demand Services |
| CCN (Canterbury Clinical Network) | Canterbury Clinical Network was an alliance of Canterbury health professionals, including GPs, secondary care specialists, practice nurses, community nurses, physiotherapists, community pharmacists, Māori and Pacific health providers, PHOs, IPAs and the District Health Board (DHB). The CCN was established with the explicit inclusion of the DHB (as the funder) as a key partner to enable a whole of system approach to service performance. CCN was disestablished in April 2024, and is no longer in operation. |
| CCPG (Canterbury Community Pharmacy Group) | Canterbury Community Pharmacy Group (CCPG) is an organisation representing pharmacists in Canterbury, New Zealand |
| CCPS (Client claim payment system) | Healthpac |
| CD | Clinical Director |
| CDHB | Canterbury District Health Board, also known as Canterbury DHB, the former organisation managing health services in Canterbury, and replaced by Te Whatu Ora in 2022. |
| CDM | Chronic Disease Management ? |
| CE Act (Crown Entities Act) | The Act which governs Crown Entities set out in 2004 |
| CEA | Collective Employment Agreement |
| CFA (Crown Funding Agreement) | An agreement by the Crown to provide funding in return for the provision of, or arranging the provision of, specified services |
| chemo | chemotherapy |
| CHL | Canterbury Health Labs |
| CHMG | Christchurch Hospital Management Group |
| CHOC (Children's Haematology and Oncology Centre) | Children's Haematology and Oncology Centre |
| CI | Canterbury Initiative |
| CIS | Clinical Information Systems |
| CM | Clinical Manager |
| CME | Continuing Medical Education |
| CMHT | Community Mental Health Teams |
| CMI | Christchurch Medical Imaging |
| CMO | Chief Medical Officer |
| CN | Clinical Networks |
| CNM | Charge Nurse Manager |
| CNS (Clinical Nurse Specialist) | Registered nurses with an advanced degree in a particular area of patient care e.g. neurosurgery clinical nurse specialist |
| Community and Public Health | Community and Public Health provides public health services to those people living in the Canterbury, South Canterbury and West Coast regions. |
| Concerto | Concerto is the most important module in Canterbury DHB’s CIS. It is a single sign-on physician portal that connects multiple hospital information systems, to provide a secure 'single patient view' of data across all clinical applications. Concerto also provides a secure and consistent environment that supports the ways that physicians interact with data and eliminates the need to sign-on multiple times to separate applications to view patient records. At Canterbury DHB, this module provides the front page for access to clinical results system (Éclair) and other clinical documentation modules such as PACS (Radiology images). |
| cont | continuous/continued |
| Continuants of Care | Exists when a person can access responsive services matched to their level of need at any time throughout their illness or recovery. |
| CoP | Chief of Psychiatry |
| COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) | A progressive disease process that commonly results from smoking. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is characterised by difficulty breathing, wheezing and a chronic cough |
| CORD | Chronic Obstructive Respiratory Disease |
| CORNS | Child Outreach Nursing Services |
| COTS | Clinical Occupational Therapy Specialist |
| CPAC (Clinical Prioritisation Assessment Criteria) | National criteria |
| CPAM (Community Pharmacy Anticoagulation Management) | The Community Pharmacy Anticoagulation Management (CPAM) Service uses international normalised ratio (INR) point-of-care testing and adjusts warfarin doses with the aid of a decision support system in a pharmacy. |
| CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) | Prescribed treatment for patients diagnosed as having Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) |
| CPH (Community and Public Health) | A division of the Canterbury DHB that provides public health services |
| CPHAC (Community and Public Health Advisory Committee) | CPH (AC) is a statutory advisory committee to the board and meets Meets jointly with the Disability Support Advisory Committee. This was disestablished in 2022. |
| CPI | Consumer Price Index |
| CPIT | Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology, now ARA. |
| CQI | Continued Quality Improvement |
| CR | Crisis Resolution (Specialist Mental Health Service) |
| CREST (Community Rehabilitation Enablement Support Team) | A community-based supported discharge team that facilitates earlier discharge from hospital to appropriate home-based rehabilitation services and will be expanded to support people who can be rehabilitated in their homes to avoid hospital admission |
| CRISS (Cardio-Respiratory Integrated Specialist Services) | Cardio-Respiratory Integrated Specialist Services (CRISS) is part of the Cardiology Department based at Christchurch Hospital. |
| CRG | Canterbury Radiology Group |
| CRMS | Community Referral Management Service |
| CRO | Cardio-Respiratory Outreach Service |
| CRU | Clinical Research Unit |
| Crown Entities | A generic term for a diverse range of entities referred to in the Crown Entities Act 2004. Crown entities are legally separate from the Crown and operate at arms length from the responsible or shareholding Minister; they are included in the annual financial statements of the Government. |
| CSC | Community Services Card |
| CSU | Clinical Services Unit |
| CSW | Community Support Workers |
| CSWS | Clinical Social Worker Specialist |
| CTA (Clinical Training Agency) | The CTA provides funding for Post Entry Clinical Training programmes, are nationally recognised by the profession and/or health sector and meet a national health service skill requirement rather than a local employer need. |
| CTC | Clinical Team Coordinator |
| CTO | Compulsory Treatment Order/Community Treatment Order |
| CVD (Cardiovascular Disease) | Cardiovascular diseases are diseases affecting the heart and circulatory system. They include ischaemic heart disease, rheumatic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and other forms of vascular and heart disease. |
| CVRP | Community Violence Reduction Project |
| CWD (Case Weighted Discharge) | Relative measure of a patient's utlisation of resources. |
| CWH | Christchurch Women's Hospital |
| CYF | Child Youth & Family now replaced by Oranga Tamariki - Ministry for Children |
| CXR | chest X-ray |
| DAA | Designated Audit Agency |
| DAH | Director of Allied Health |
| DAMHS | Director of Area Mental Health Services (Mental Health Act) |
| DAP (District Annual Plan) | This document sets out what the DHB intends to do over the year to advance the outcomes set out in the District Strategic Plan, the funding proposed for these outputs, the expected performance of the DHB provider arm and the expected capital investment and financial and performance forecasts. |
| DARs | Diabetes Annual Reviews |
| DeSMACES | Demand Side Management Analysis and Clinical Education Services? |
| DeSMAE (Demand Side Management Analysis and Education) | The objective of the Demand Side Management - Analysis and Education (DeSMAE) Service is to develop a whole-of-system framework for pharmaceuticals, laboratory and imaging, utilising demand side (volume) management, supply side (provider agreements/pricing) management and the development of new referral pathways via the Canterbury Initiative. |
| Determinants of Health | The range of personal, social, economic and environmental factors that determine the health status of individuals or populations. |
| DG | Director General |
| DHB | District Health Board |
| DHBSS | District Health Board Shared Services |
| DIA | Department of Internal Affairs |
| Diag | Diagnosis |
| DNAs (Do Not Attends) | When patients don't turn up |
| DNM | Duty Nurse Manager |
| DNWs (Do Not Waits) | When patients leave before being seen |
| DOM | Director of Midwifery |
| DON (Director of Nursing) | (E) DON is Executive Director of Nursing |
| DOSA (Day of Surgery Admission) | A patient who is admitted on the same day on which they are scheduled to have their elective survey. The admission can be as either a day case or an inpatient. |
| d/p | Day patient |
| DRG (Diagnostic Related Group) | The grouping of patients in accordance with their diagnosis |
| DSAC (Disability Support Advisory Committee) | Meets jointly with Community Public Health's Advisory Committee in Canterbury DHB |
| DSP (District Strategic Plan) | Identifies how the Canterbury DHB will fulfill its objectives and functions over the next five to ten years by identifying the significant internal and external issues that impact on the DHB and affect its ability to fulfill its mandate and purpose, acknowledging societal outcomes and identifying appropriate system outcomes as they relate to DHB population outcomes and outlining major planning and capability building. |
| DSS (Disability Support Services) | Services provided for people who have been identified as having a disability, which is likely to continue for a minimum of six months and results in a reduction of independent function to the extent that ongoing support is required |
| Dx | Discharge |
| EAP | Employee Assistance Programme |
| ECEC | Early Childhood Education Centre |
| ECP | Emergency Contraception Pill |
| ED | Emergency Department |
| EI | Electives Initiative |
| EMT (Executive Management Team) | Senior Management Team for the Canterbury DHB who report directly to the Chief Executive |
| EN | Enrolled Nurse |
| EOC | Emergency Operations Centre |
| EOI | Expression of Interest |
| Episode | In relation to hospital admissions; An Episode is the period of engagement directly related to an admission to a single hospital admission. |
| ER | Employment Relations |
| ERA | Employment Relations Authority |
| ERMS | Electronic Referral Management System |
| ESPIs (Elective Services Patient Flow Indicators) | Developed by the Ministry to assess whether or not DHBs are on the right track with the Government policies on elective services |
| ETD | Estimated time of departure |
| Exclusive breastfeeding | The infant has never, to the mother’s knowledge, had any water, formula or other liquid or solid food. Only breast milk, from the breast or expressed, and prescribed medicines have been given from birth. |
| FCT | Forensic Community Team |
| FFT (Future Funding Track) | Annual percentage price increase to DHBs from the Ministry |
| FMHS | Forensic Mental Health Service |
| Follow-ups | Further assessments by hospital specialists. |
| FPSC | Finance procurement and supply chain |
| FSA (First Specialist Assessment) | Outpatients only - first time a patient is seen by a doctor foro a consultation in that speciality for that reason, this does not include procedures, nurse appointments, diagnostic appointments or pre-admisson visits |
| F/U | follow up |
| FTE (Full Time Equivalent) | An employee works an average minimum of 40 ordinary hours per week on an ongoing basis |
| GA | general anaesthetic |
| General Practice Team (GPT) | Includes practice nurses etc as well as General Practitioners (GPs) |
| Genetic Health Service New Zealand (GHSNZ) | Genetic Health Service New Zealand (GHSNZ) helps assist in diagnosing genetic conditions and supports people with genetic conditions. |
| GM | General Manager |
| GMS | General Medical Subsidy |
| GP | General Practitioner |
| GPL (General Practice Liaison) | Canterbury Initiative function |
| GUOT | Genito Urinary Operating Theatre |
| Gynae | gynaecology |
| H&DC Code (Code of Health & Disability Services Consumers Rights) | Compliance with the Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994 and health and Disability Commissioner Regs 1996 |
| H&Ds (Health and Disability Services) | Compliance standards for hospital in patients and residential care service |
| HAC | Hospital Advisory Committee. This was disestablished in 2022. |
| HbA1c | Haemoglobin A1c, also known as glycated haemoglobin. The level of HbA1c reflects the average blood glucose level over the past 3 months |
| HBI | Hospital Benchmark Information |
| HBSS | Home based support service. A service that arranges home based support for patients. |
| HCS | Health Connect South |
| HCSS | Home Community Support Services |
| HDC | Health and Disability Commissioner / Te Toihau Hauora Hauātanga |
| HDU | High Dependency Unit |
| HEAL (Healthy Eating Active Living 'Action Plan') | This plan provides us with the platform to implement the national HEHA strategy at a local level |
| Healthline 0800 611 116 | Healthline 0800 611 116 provides a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week over-the-phone health service you can call for free health advice, information and treatment from professional healthcare providers. |
| Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora | Health New Zealand - Te Whatu ora (Health NZ) is the organisation established in 2022 to lead the day-to-day running of the health system across New Zealand, with functions delivered at local, district, regional and national levels. |
| Health Outcomes | A change in the health status of an individual, group or population which is attributable to a planned programme or series of programmes, regardless of whether such a programme was intended to change health status. |
| Health Workforce Advisory Committee | Committee who advises the Minister on how to ensure an adequate and responsive professional health workforce |
| HealthPathways | A Canterbury wide, electronic, information system that provides referral guidelines, best practice information, etc, for all health providers. |
| HEAT (Heat Equity Assessment Tool) | The HEAT Tool provides questions to assist people working in the health sector to consider how particular inequalities in health have come about, and where the effective intervention points are to tackle them. |
| HEHA (Healthy Eating Health Action 'Strategy') | HEHA is the Ministry’s strategic approach to improving nutrition, increasing physical activity and achieving healthy weight for all New Zealanders. |
| HHS | Hospital & Health Services |
| HIA (Health Impact Assessments) | A Healthy Christchurch initiative |
| HIN | Health Information Database |
| HIS-NZ (Health Information Strategy - New Zealand) | The Government's Health Information Strategy for all District Health Boards |
| HLC (Hospital Level Care) | Used in Aged Residential Care settings |
| HNZ (Health Needs Assessment) | A processdesigned to establish the health requirements of a particular population |
| HOPS | Health of Older People Strategy |
| HPCA (Health Practitioners Competency Assurance) | The purpose of the HPCA Act, which came into force on 18 September 2004, is to protect the health and safety of members of the public by providing for mechanisms to ensure that health practitioners are competent and fit to practice their professions. |
| HPI (Health Practitioner Index) | A comprehensive source of trusted information about health practitioners for the NZ health and disability sector. The HIP uniquely identifies health providers and organisations. This will allow health providers who manage health information electronically to do so with greater security. It will help our health sector to find better and more secure ways to access and transfer health-related information. |
| HPO | Health Protection Officer |
| HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) | A national immunisation programme for HPV started in September 2007 and aims to reduce the incidence of cervical cancer. |
| HR | Human Resources |
| HR | Heart rate |
| HRC | Health Research Council |
| HRIS | Human Resource Information System |
| HRSS | Human Resources Shared Services |
| HSS (Hospital and Specialist Services Division) | The provider arm of the Canterbury DHB |
| hrly | hourly |
| ht | height |
| HT (Health Targets) | Ministry's Health Targets |
| HUHC | High User Health Card |
| ICD | International Classification of Diseases |
| ICU | Intensive Care Unit |
| IDF (Inter District Flow) | Service provided by a DHB to a patient whose 'place of residence' falls under the region of another DHB. Under population based funding (PBF) each DHB is funded on the basis of its resident population therefore the DHB providing the IDF will recover the costs of the IDF from the DHB who was funded for that patient. |
| IEA | Individual Employment Agreement |
| IFHC | Integrated Family Health Centres (or Care) |
| IFHS | Integrated Family Health Service? |
| IHD (Ischaemic Heart Disease) | Includes heart attack and related heart problems caused by narrowed coronary arteries and thus less blood and oxygen reaching the heart. Also called coronary artery disease and coronary heart disease. |
| Integration | Combine into a whole’ or ‘complete by addition of parts. |
| InterRAI (International Resident Assessment Instrument) | Comprehensive geriartric assessment tool |
| IP | Inpatient |
| IPA | Independent Practitioners Association |
| IPAC | Independent Practitioner |
| IPC | Infection Prevention & Control |
| IR | Industrial Relations |
| ISSP (Information Services Strategic Plan) | The Canterbury DHB's plan for information services - in line with the NZ Health Information Strategy |
| IUCD | Intrauterine Contraceptive Device |
| Iwi (Māori) | An extended Māori kinship group, tribe, nation, people, nationality, race - often refers to a large group of people descended from a common ancestor and associated with a distinct territory. |
| JAC | Joint Action Committee |
| KPI (Key Performance Indicator) | Key Performance Indicators are quantifiable measurements, agreed to beforehand, that reflect the critical success factors of an organisation. |
| KPP (Knowing the People Planning Project) | The Programme identifies those people with enduring mental illness and tracks their progress against ten elements of recovery from employment status through to use of hospital services. |
| L&D (Learning & Development) | Part of Human Resources |
| LCP (Liverpool Care Pathway) | The Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) is an international programme adopted nationally, which is currently being run as a pilot programme in Canterbury. The LCP is a multi-professional pathway that provides a template for best practice in the care of dying patients and their families in a variety of settings, focusing on achieving quality of life. |
| Lead Maternity Carer | LMC |
| LEAP (Late Effects Assessment Programme) | LEAP is a clinic (and programme) for children and adolescents with cancer established to help monitor and support children and adolescents who have completed active cancer therapy. See our LEAP page for more information. |
| LINAC | Linear Accelerator? |
| LLO | Liquor Licensing Officer |
| LMC (Lead Maternity Carer) | A self employed midwife who has a contract with the MOH to provide maternity services. Canterbury’s LMCs each have an Access Agreement with Canterbury’s maternity facilities. |
| LMCO | Lead Maternity Carer |
| LNA | Learning Needs Analysis |
| LOS (Length of Stay) | LOS is the time from admission to discharge, less any time spent on leave. It is normal to exclude boarder patients when calculating length of stay. |
| LREG | Local RMO Engagement Group |
| LRG | Laboratory Reference Group |
| LSH | Long Stay Hospital |
| LTCCP (Long Term Council Community Plan) | Plan that sets out the type of community the people of a region would like to live in, and the things they would like to see for their community. It shows how the Council (for that region) and other organisations will work to build that community. |
| LTSF | Long Term System Framework |
| mane | In the morning |
| manip | manipulation |
| MECA | Multi Employer Collective Agreement |
| MED | Ministry of Economic Development |
| meds | medications |
| Medical Assessment Unit (MA) | Inpatient unit at Christchurch Hospital formerly known as AMAU |
| MenB (Meningococcal B) | Meningococcal disease is a bacterial infection. It causes severe illnesses including: meningitis (an infection of membranes that cover the brain) and septicaemia (a serious infection in the blood). There are several different strains of bacteria which cause meningococcal disease including A, B and C. |
| MHERC | Mental Health Education and Resource Centre |
| MHINC (Medical Health Information National Collection) | The national database of mental health information held by the NZ Health Information Service to support policy formation, monitoring and research |
| MH-SMART (Mental Health Standard Measure of Assessment and Recovery) | The aim of the MH-SMART initiative is to support recovery by promoting and facilitating the development of an outcomes-focused culture in the mental health sector. The principle of achieving this will be by implementing a suite of standard tools to measure changes in the health status of mental health service users that is responsive to the needs of Maori and other cultures within a recovery framework. |
| mL | Millilitre |
| MLWU | Medical Laboratory Workers Union |
| MMPO | Midwifery and Maternity Providers Organisation |
| MMR | Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine |
| MoH | Ministry of Health |
| Morbidity | Illness, sickness. |
| Mortality | Death. |
| MoU | Memorandum of Understanding |
| MOW | Meals on Wheels |
| MPDS | Maori Provider Development Scheme |
| MPIA | Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs |
| MSD | Ministry of Social Development |
| MSO | Management Services Organisation |
| MT4C | Making Time for Caring |
| MUR | Medicines Use Review and Adherence Support |
| NASC (Needs Assessment & Service Co-ordination) | NASC assists older people with long-term disabilities/health problems (i.e. longer than 6 months) to remain living at home, safely and independently, for as long as possible. Needs Assessors complete an assessment of needs with the older person, and Service Coordinators use this assessment to develop care packages of support services to assist at home. |
| National Minimum Data Set | A national collection of public and private hospital discharge information, including clinical information, for inpatients and day patients. |
| National Public Health Service | The National Public Health Service brings together functions from Te Hiringa Hauora, the Ministry of Health, and public health units into a unified operational service. |
| National Screening Unit (NSU) | The National Screening Unit (NSU) is responsible for the safety, effectiveness, and quality of organised screening programmes in New Zealand. The NSU is part of the Population Health and Prevention directorate within Te Whatu Ora. |
| NBM | nil by mouth |
| NC | Nurse Consultant |
| NCEA | National Certificate of Educational Attainment |
| NCSP | National Cervical Screening Programme |
| ND | Nursing Director |
| NGO | Non Government Organisation |
| NHI | National Health Index |
| NHI (National Health Index) | The NHI number is a unique identifier that is assigned to every person who uses health and disability support services in NZ. A person’s NHI number is stored on the NHI along with that person’s demographic details. The NHI and associated NHI numbers are used to help with the planning, co-ordination and provision of health and disability support services across NZ. |
| NHS | National Health Service (UK) |
| NICU | Neonatal Intensive Care Unit |
| NIR | National Immunisation Register |
| NIR (National Immunisation Register) | The NIR is a computerised information system that has been developed to hold immunisation details of NZ children and assist to improve immunisation rates. |
| NLTT | Nurse Led Telephone Triage |
| Non-Government Organisations | There are many ways of defining NGOs. In the context of the relationship between the Health and Disability NGOs and the Canterbury DHB, NGOs include independent community and iwi/Maori organisations operating on a not-for-profit basis, which bring a value to society that is distinct from both Government and the market. In reality this will mean that any profits are put back into the organisation, rather than distributed to shareholders. |
| NREG | National RMO Engagement Group |
| NRT | Nicotine Replacement Therapy |
| NZ Resident Doctors Association (NZRDA) | |
| NZBS (NZ Blood Service) | Manages the donation, collection, processing, and supply of blood, controlled human substances, and related or incidental matters |
| NZCOM | NZ College of Midwives |
| NZCOM | New Zealand College of Midwives |
| NZDep (NZ Deprivation Index) | The New Zealand Deprivation Index is a small area deprivation index, based on the residential address of an individual. The NZDep Index uses the level of 10 variables to reflect seven dimensions of deprivation: income, transport, living space, home ownership, employment, qualifications, and support. Decile 1 is least deprived, Decile 10 is most deprived. |
| NZGG | NZ Guidelines Group |
| NZHIS (NZ Health Information Service) | A group within the Ministry responsible for the collection and dissemination of health-related data. NZHIS has as its foundation the goal of making accurate information readily available and accessible in a timely manner throughout the health sector. |
| NZMA | NZ Medical Association |
| NZNO | NZ Nurses Organisation |
| NZPHD | NZ Public Health & Disability Act |
| NZTE | NZ Trade & Enterprise |
| OAG | Office of the Auditor General |
| Obs | observations |
| Occ Health | Occupational Health |
| OccTher | Occupational Therapy |
| OE | on examination |
| OIA | Official Information Act |
| Older Persons Mental Health (OPMH) | Older Persons Mental Health (OPMH) formally known as Psychiatric Services for the Elderly (PSE) |
| op | operation |
| OP | outpatient |
| OPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) | A progressive disease process that most commonly results from smoking. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is characterised by difficulty breathing, wheezing and a chronic cough. |
| OPH (SS) | Older Persons' Health (Specialist Service) |
| OPMH | Older Persons Mental Health (OPMH) formally known as Psychiatric Services for the Elderly (PSE) |
| Oranga Tamariki | Oranga Tamariki, also known as the Ministry for Children and previously the Ministry for Vulnerable Children, is a government department in New Zealand responsible for the well-being of children, specifically children at risk of harm, youth offenders and children of the State. |
| OSA | Obstructive Sleep Apnoea |
| OT | Occupational Therapy or Occupational Therapist |
| OT | Operating Theatre |
| P | pulse |
| PACS (Picture Archiving and Communications Systems) | A picture archiving and communications system is a versatile system that enables the transfer of digital images and patient information throughout the organisation. In broad terms, PACS is a technology, system and process for handling medical images (X-rays, CT, ultrasound etc) without the need for film. Images are stored on computer as digital information and displayed on computer screens for viewing. |
| PACU | Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) |
| Paed Onc | Paediatric Oncology |
| Paeds | Paediatrics or Paediatricians |
| PAX | Passenger |
| PBF (Population Based Funding) | Involves using a formula to allocate each DHB a fair share of the available resources so that each Board has an equal opportunity to meet the health and disability needs of its population. |
| PCO | Primary Care Organisation |
| PCT | Pharmaceutical Cancer Treatment |
| PD | Position Description |
| Period of Care | The period of care covers the time from when the presenting referral is accepted through to the closure of the presenting and all other related referrals. E.g., a multi trauma patient arriving at the emergency department becomes an inpatient, may have surgery, follow-up treatments and rehabilitation. If another condition is discovered e.g., diabetes, this should be treated as another presenting referral, and thereby another period of active care. |
| PG | Personal Grievance |
| PHARMAC (Pharmaceutical Management Agency) Te Pātaka Whaioranga | Agency which secures, for eligible people in need of pharmaceuticals, the best health outcomes that are reasonably achievable from pharmaceutical treatment and from within the amount of funding provided. |
| PHO (Primary Health Organisation) | PHOs encompass the range of primary care and practitioners and are funded by DHBs to provide of a set of essential primary health care services to those people who are enrolled in that PHO. |
| PHO PPP | Primary Health Organisation Performance Programme |
| PHx | past history |
| PICC | peripherally inserted central catheter |
| PMS (Patient Management Systems) | PMS (secondary-care), or Practice Management System (primary-care) used to keep track of patients. In secondary care the focus is usually on tracking the admissions, discharges or transfers of patients, in primary care, the focus is on maintenance of the register. |
| PP (Pacific Peoples) | The population of Pacific Island ethnic origin (for example, Tongan, Niuean, Fijian, Samoan, Cook Island Maori, and Tokelauan) incorporating people of Pacific Island ethnic origin born in NZ as well as overseas. |
| PPDS | Pacific Provider Development Scheme |
| PPE | Personal protective equipment |
| Primary birthing facility | This is a facility that provides inpatient services for labour and birth and the immediate postnatal period. |
| Primary Care | Primary Care means essential health care based on practical, scientifically sound, culturally appropriate and socially acceptable methods. It is universally accessible to people in their communities, involves community participation, is integral to, and a central function of, the country’s health system, and is the first level of contact with the health system. |
| PRIME | Primary Response in Medical Emergency |
| PRIMHD | Programme for the Integration of Mental Health Data |
| PSA | Public Service Association |
| PSAID (Psychiatric Services for Adults with Intellectual Disability) | The PSAID outpatient team provides comprehensive psychiatric assessment and treatment ?including outpatient consultations and case management. |
| PSE | Psychiatric Services for the Elderly has now changed its name to Older Persons Mental Health (OPMH) |
| Public Health | The science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health and efficiency through organised community effort. A collective effort to identify and address the unacceptable realities that result in preventable and avoidable health outcomes, and it is the composite of efforts and activities that are carried out by people committed to these ends. |
| QFARC | Quality, Finance, Audit and Risk Committee. This was disestablished in 2022. |
| QIC (Quality Improvement Committee) | The Quality Improvement Committee is a statutory committee established under the NZ Public Health and Disability Act. |
| QIPPS | Quality Improvement Programme Planning Systems |
| Quintile | Deprivation quintiles divide areas by addresses to analyse variations in health between deprived and affluent sections of the population. Q1 is the lowest deprivation and Q5 is the highest. Q0 is unknown. |
| RAT | Rapid Antigen Test |
| RCPHO | Rural Canterbury Primary Health Organisation |
| RCSP (Regional Clinical Service Plans) | Collaborative plan by DHBs in a region (Northern, Midland, Central, Southern) describing the future configuration of services across that region. |
| RDST | Resident Doctors Support Team |
| RFP | Request for Proposal |
| Ring Fence (Relates to Mental Health Blueprint) | Mental health funding may be ring fenced to ensure and surplus is not transferred outside of mental health. |
| RMO (Resident Medical Officer) | This is another name for a House Officer or Registrar. |
| RN | Registered Nurse |
| RTW | Return to Work |
| SCN | Southern Cancer Network |
| Secondary birthing facility | This is a hospital that provides inpatient and outpatient services for women and their babies who experience complications that need additional maternity care involving obstetricians, paediatricians and other specialists. |
| Secondary Care | Specialist care that is typically provided in a hospital setting. |
| SFWU | Service and Food Workers Union |
| SIA | Services to Improve Access |
| SIHMN (South Island Mental Health Network) | SIMHN is a forum of mental health representatives appointed by the six DHBs and is assisted in its work by the South Island Shared Services Agency Ltd (SISSAL). |
| SL | Sick leave |
| SLA (Service Level Alliance) | Part of Alliance Contracting, used for Better, Sooner, More Convenient and elsewhere. |
| SMHS | Specialist Mental Health Service |
| SM | Service Manager |
| SMO | Senior Medical Officer |
| SOI (Statement of Intent) | The Statement of Intent covers three years and is the DHB’s key accountability document to Parliament. It is a statutory obligation under the Public Finance Act and has a high level focus of key financial and non-financial objectives and targets, similar to an executive summary. |
| SPF | Service Provision Framework |
| SPoE | Single Point of Entry. Single Point of Entry is a single point of initial contact when people are referred for certain types of mental health services. |
| SSC | State Services Commission |
| SSP | Statement of Service Performance |
| SSQS (Service specific quality specifications) | Detailed in Base Provider agreement |
| STAT Dispensing | STAT Dispensing refers to all-at-once dispensing by pharmacies. |
| STI | Sexually transmitted infection |
| SWAG | Staff Wellbeing Action Group |
| SWP | Staff Wellbeing Programme |
| TAG | Technical Advisory Group |
| Te Aho o Te Kahu - Cancer Control Agency | Te Aho o Te Kahu - Cancer Control Agency leads and unites efforts to deliver better cancer outcomes and is accountable for ensuring transparency of progress towards the goals and outcomes in the National Cancer Action Plan 2019-2029. |
| Te Aka Whai Ora | Māori Health Authority |
| Te Hiringa Hauora | Health Promotion Agency (HPA) |
| Te Kaporeihana Āwhina Hunga Whara | Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) |
| Te Mana Ora | Community and Public Health |
| Te Pātaka Whaioranga | The Pharmaceutical Management Agency, better known as Pharmac, |
| Te Poari Hauora ō Waitaha | Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) |
| Te Ratonga Toto O Aotearoa | New Zealand Blood Service (NZBS) |
| Te Tai o Poutini | West Coast |
| Te Toihau Hauora Hauātanga | Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC) |
| Te Waipounamu | South Island |
| Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand is the organisation established to lead the day-to-day running of the health system across New Zealand, with functions delivered at local, district, regional and national levels. |
| Tertiary Care | Very specialised care often only provided in a smaller number of locations. |
| TLA (Territorial Local Authority) | Local Council also known as: Regional Councils; District Councils; Territorial Local Authorities; Unitary Authorities; City Councils; Councils |
| TOP | Termination of pregnancy |
| TOR | Terms of Reference |
| TOW (Treaty of Waitangi / Te Tiriti o Waitangi) | New Zealand's founding document. It establishes the relationship between the Crown and Māori as tangata whenua and requires both the Crown and Māori to act reasonably toward each other and with utmost good faith. |
| TPMH | The Princess Margaret Hospital |
| TURP | Transurethral resection of prostate |
| TWHR | Te Whare Hohou Roko – Forensic Extended Rehabilitation Uni |
| TWM | Te Whare Manaaki - Forensic Secure Unit |
| TWMO | Te Whare Mauri Ora – Forensic Rehabilitation Unit |
| UC | University of Canterbury |
| UoO | University of Otago |
| UPC | User Part Charges |
| VC | Video Conference |
| VHP | Visiting Health Professional |
| VLCA | Very Low Cost Access Practices |
| VMR | Virtual Meeting Room |
| Waitaha | Canterbury |
| W&CHD | Women's and Children's Health Division |
| WC | West Coast |
| Well Child / Tamariki Ora Programme | This covers eight core checks provided from birth to 5 years to check that each child is keeping well, growing and developing to their fullest potential. The checks are free. |
| Whaikaha - Ministry of Disabled People | Whaikaha leads the disability support system in partnership with the community. |
| WO | Whanau Ora |
| YFT | Youth Forensic Team |
| YTD (Year to date) | The 12 month period immediately prior to the date given. |
Page last updated: 13 December 2022
Is this page useful?