- ADHD continuation
- The continuation of an existing prescription for adult ADHD pharmacotherapy where the diagnosis was made by another qualified clinician; not a new diagnostic workup.
- Advance directive
- A written document, signed by a competent adult, naming a healthcare agent and stating values and preferences for treatment in the event of incapacity. The Minnesota Department of Health publishes the statutory form.
- ASCVD risk
- Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk, calculated by the ACC/AHA pooled cohort equations; expressed as a percent ten-year risk.
- Bernese induction
- A low-dose buprenorphine induction method in which buprenorphine is started at sub-therapeutic doses while the member continues their existing opioid use, titrated upward over five to seven days. Avoids precipitated withdrawal.
- BMI
- Body-mass index, kilograms divided by meters squared. A flawed but widely-used screening tool; we use it as one piece of clinical information among several.
- Buprenorphine
- A partial mu-opioid receptor agonist used for opioid use disorder, prescribed by us as buprenorphine/naloxone (Suboxone or generic). Since the 2022 MAT Act, no X-waiver required.
- CBT-I
- Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia. First-line treatment for chronic insomnia per AASM 2021 guideline. Distinct from CBT-HF (for hot flashes).
- CGM
- Continuous glucose monitor. We use Dexcom G7 and Abbott Libre 3. Used as a 28-day teaching tool, not as a continuous lifestyle device for non-diabetic members.
- Concierge medicine
- A practice model in which a retainer fee buys preferential access to a clinician who continues to bill insurance for visits. Distinct from direct primary care, which replaces the visit fee with the membership.
- COWS
- Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale; an 11-item clinician-rated instrument for opioid withdrawal severity. Score > 8 historically used as the threshold for buprenorphine induction; the threshold is mostly retired in fentanyl-dominant inductions.
- DEXA
- Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry; the standard for bone-mineral-density measurement. Also used in our cardiometabolic lane to track lean-mass and fat-mass changes during weight-loss interventions.
- Direct primary care
- A practice model in which patients pay a flat membership fee for unlimited primary-care visits, direct clinician access, and posted-price ancillary services. No insurance billing.
- FIB-4
- A non-invasive index for hepatic fibrosis, calculated from age, AST, ALT, and platelet count. Used as the screening step before referral for transient elastography.
- Fezolinetant
- A selective NK3-receptor antagonist for moderate-to-severe vasomotor symptoms in menopause; FDA-approved May 2023, marketed as Veozah.
- FibroScan
- Vibration-controlled transient elastography; a non-invasive measurement of liver stiffness used in MASLD evaluation.
- FMP
- Final menstrual period, defined retrospectively after twelve consecutive months of amenorrhea.
- FNP-BC
- Family nurse practitioner, board-certified.
- GLP-1 receptor agonist
- A class of medications (semaglutide, tirzepatide, dulaglutide, liraglutide) used for type-2 diabetes and obesity; some agents have FDA-labeled cardiovascular benefits.
- HSA
- Health savings account; pre-tax savings account paired with a high-deductible insurance plan. DPC membership fees are not currently HSA-eligible under federal tax law (legislation has been proposed; nothing has passed as of this writing).
- IUD
- Intrauterine device. Levonorgestrel (Mirena, Kyleena, Liletta, Skyla) or copper (Paragard).
- LARC
- Long-acting reversible contraception. Comprises IUDs and contraceptive implants.
- MASLD
- Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease; renamed from NAFLD by AASLD/EASL/ALEH in 2023.
- MAT Act
- Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment Act, signed December 2022; eliminated the X-waiver requirement for buprenorphine prescribing.
- MHT
- Menopausal hormone therapy. Distinct from "hormone replacement therapy" (deprecated terminology).
- MOUD
- Medications for opioid use disorder. Buprenorphine, methadone, naltrexone.
- Panel
- The members of a clinical practice. Our panel cap is 480 across all clinicians.
- PDMP / PMP
- Prescription drug monitoring program. Minnesota's is the MN PMP; queried at every controlled-substance refill.
- PHQ-9
- Patient Health Questionnaire-9. A 9-item depression screening and severity tool. We screen at every annual visit.
- PMHNP-BC
- Psychiatric mental-health nurse practitioner, board-certified.
- POCUS
- Point-of-care ultrasound. We use a Butterfly iQ3 for office MSK, cardiac, and pulmonary work.
- POLST
- Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment. A portable medical order, distinct from an advance directive, signed by clinician and patient. Bright-pink form in Minnesota.
- REDs
- Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport. The 2023 IOC re-framing of the older Female Athlete Triad as an energy-availability problem affecting athletes broadly.
- RVU
- Relative value unit. The currency of fee-for-service primary-care billing; the unit our practice does not use.
- SNRI
- Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor. Venlafaxine, duloxetine, desvenlafaxine.
- Split
- An intermediate timing checkpoint within an encounter or protocol arc. We use the term in case logs and protocol pages to describe sequence-of-events tables.
- SSRI
- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Sertraline, escitalopram, fluoxetine, paroxetine, citalopram.
- Tendinopathy
- A failure-of-tendon-loading-and-remodeling problem; treated with graded loading rather than rest.
- TIP-63
- SAMHSA Treatment Improvement Protocol 63, "Medications for Opioid Use Disorder." The framework we use in Lane 03.
- Triplicate
- Schedule II prescription pad in Minnesota; paper-only, single-pharmacy, dated to the day.
- USPSTF
- U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. The screening framework we follow as the floor.
- VISA-A / VISA-P
- Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment scales for Achilles and patellar tendinopathy; used to track rehab progress.
- X-waiver
- The DEA waiver formerly required to prescribe buprenorphine for opioid use disorder; eliminated by the MAT Act in late 2022.