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Part A (Medicare): Part A is the hospital insurance portion of Medicare that pays for inpatient hospital stays, care in a skilled nursing facility, hospice care and some home health care.

Part B (Medicare): Medicare medical insurance that helps pay for doctors' services, outpatient hospital care, durable medical equipment, and some medical services that are not covered by Part A.

Partial disability: The individual can perform part of his/her job duties.

Participating provider (PAR): A physician may enter into a contract with a specific insurance company or program, and by doing so, agrees to abide by certain rules and regulations set forth by that particular third party payer. There are usually pros and cons to such a contract. Some of the more common pros are that the claims will be processed faster, the benefits will be paid directly to the physician, and pre-addressed, pre-numbered forms will be provided by the payer. Cons include that the provider must accept the amount of benefits paid as payment in full and is not allowed to bill the patient for the balance (aside from any deductibles and coinsurance).

Patient chart: A file in which all medical documents, such as chart notes, test results, correspondence, etc., is kept which journalizes a patient's medical care.

Patient information form (PIF): A form used in a medical office or clinic that is filled out by patients who are new to the facility. It asks for name, address, and phone number of the patient, marital status, name of spouse and who to contact in case of emergency plus employment information and pertinent insurance data. This information is then transferred to the patient information section (top section) of the CMS-1500.

Physician group: A partnership, association, corporation, individual practice association (IPA), or other group that distributes income from the practice among members. An IPA is considered to be a physician group only if it is composed of individual physicians and has no subcontracts with other physician groups.

Preexisting condition: An illness or injury that occurred prior to the time that the insured entered into a contract agreement with the insurance company. Under such instances, the particular illness or injury, in most cases, is not covered by the conditions set forth in the insurance policy. Normally it is excluded through the use of a "rider," or a modification or amendment of the insurance policy.

Preferred provider organization (PPO): A health care delivery arrangement which offers insured individuals access to participating providers at reduced costs. PPOs provide enrollees in PPOs insured incentives, such as lower deductibles and copayments, if they use providers within the network. Network providers agree to negotiated fees in exchange for their preferred provider status.

Prepaid health plan: A prepaid managed care design that provides less than comprehensive services on an at risk basis or one that provides any benefit package on a non-risk basis.

Preventive care: Care to keep an individual healthy or to prevent illness, such as colorectal cancer screening, yearly mammograms, and flu shots.

Primary care physician (PCP): Primary Care Physician (PCP): A physician who is trained to provide basic patient care. A PCP is the doctor seen first for most health problems. He or she makes sure that patients receive the necessary care to maintain their health. He or she may also consult with other doctors and health care providers regarding a particular patient's care and refer that patient to them. In many managed care plans, enrollees must see their primary care physician before seeing any other health care provider. (See also: Gatekeeper)

Primary diagnosis: The condition that is the main cause for the patient's visit to the medical office.

Power of attorney: Written legal authorization stating that an individual can act and make decisions for another.

Primary care: A basic level of care usually given by doctors who work with general and family medicine, internal medicine (internists), pregnant women (obstetricians), and children (pediatricians). A physician's assistant (PA), nurse practitioner (NP), and/or a state licensed registered nurse with special training, can also provide this basic level of health care.

Primary payer: An insurance carrier that pays compensation for a loss ahead of any other insurance coverages the policyholder may have.

Procedure: Something done to fix a health problem or to learn more about it. For example, surgery, tests, and putting in an IV (intravenous line) are procedures.

Procedures manual: A notebook or handbook outlining step-by-step methods of performing specific tasks in the workplace, usually organized by departments, sometimes referred to as a Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) manual.

Provider: The individual (physician or other health care professional) who performs the medical services.

Provider identification number (PIN): A specific number that a carrier (such as Medicare) assigns each physician and is used for identification purposes on the CMS-1500 claim form.