Wisconsin Association of Free & Charitable Clinics
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Glossary of Terms


ADEA: Age Discrimination in Employment Act
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AICPA: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

Charitable Clinic: The nonprofit clinic provides goods and/or services for a fee directly to uninsured and/or underserved patients. “Services” include medical, dental, mental health/behavioral health, and/or medications. Clinic may use a flat fee or sliding fee scale. Payment from the patient is expected at the time of service, and may or may not be waived if the patient has no ability to pay. Clinic may bill patients but does not bill any third-party payers, including Medicaid, Medicare, or commercial insurers. Clinic may be bricks-and-mortar clinic or mobile unit.

CHNA: Community Health Needs Assessment. Here is an example of a CHNA - Aurora Health Care's Community Health Needs Assessment. 

ED: Emergency Department

EEO/EEOC: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

EPPA: Employee Polygraph Protection Act

ERISA: Employee Retirement Income Security Act

Extensive Background Check: There are different categories of background checks that are performed. Civil checks include information that is available in public records, including lawsuits, bankruptcies, liens, property ownership and vehicle registrations. Criminal record may contain information on arrests and convictions. Background checks are conducted at the state, county and national level. The most thorough background check is usually a combination of the three. Make sure that you understand the law for conducting background checks in the state in which you are doing business.

FASB: Financial Accounting Standards Board

Free Clinic: The nonprofit clinic provides all goods and services at no charge directly to uninsured and/or underserved patients. “Services” include medical, dental, mental health/behavioral health, and/or medications. Clinic may request or suggest donations. Clinic does not bill any third-party payers, including Medicaid, Medicare, or commercial insurers. Clinic may be bricks-and-mortar clinic or mobile unit.

Free/Charitable Pharmacy: The licensed pharmacy dispenses free or low-cost medications directly to uninsured and underserved patients.

Federally Designated Clinic: The clinic has been designated as a Federally-Qualified Health Center (FQHC) or FQHC Look-Alike.

FQHC: Federally-Qualified Health Center

FLSA: Fair Labor Standards Act

FMLA: Family and Medical Leave Act

FTCA: Federal Tort Claims Act

Governing Body: a group of people who formulate the policy and direct the affairs of an institution in partnership with the managers, especially on a voluntary or part-time basis.

HIPAA: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

HRSA: Health Resource and Services Administration

Hybrid Clinic: The clinic is a free clinic or charitable clinic as defined above, except that it also bills one or more third-party payers, such as Medicaid, Medicare, or commercial insurers. Clinic has not been designated as a Federally-Qualified Health Center (FQHC), FQHC Look-Alike, or Rural Health Clinic.

Patient: An individual who is receiving needed professional services that are directed by a licensed practitioner of the healing arts toward maintenance, improvement or protection of health or lessening of illness, disability or pain. (US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMS)

OSHA: Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Referral Network/Clinic Without Walls: The organization collaborates with volunteer clinicians, safety net clinics, hospitals, and others to match care donated by providers with eligible uninsured and underserved patients. The organization coordinates the donated care for patients referred to the program, but the organization itself does not directly deliver any healthcare services. Project Access programs, for example, would be considered “clinics without walls.”

Rural Health Clinic: The clinic has been designated as a Rural Health Clinic

Services: include medical, dental, mental health/behavioral health, and/or medications.

Standards: According to The British Standards Institution (2017) the distilled wisdom of people with expertise in their subject matter and who know the needs of the organizations they represent… Standards are knowledge. They are powerful tools that can help drive innovation and increase productivity. They can make organizations more successful and people's everyday lives easier, safer, and healthier. The point of a standard is to provide a reliable basis for people to share the same expectations about a product or service.
Uninsured: More specifically, medically uninsured - person or group of individuals who have no health insurance.

Underserved: In regard to health services, refers to populations which are disadvantaged because of ability to pay, ability to access care, ability to access comprehensive healthcare, or other disparities for reasons of race, religion, language group or social status.

Visit: Documented contact with a licensed healthcare provider for any healthcare service, including but not limited to medical, nursing, behavioral health, and dental. Visits performed by students under the direct supervision of licensed providers may be counted as a visit. Appointments carried out by dental providers or mental health/behavioral health providers are counted as a visit. Mental health/behavioral health includes services designed to promote well-being by preventing or intervening in mental illness, substance abuse, or other addictions. Exclude visits made for medication pick-up/refill, visits to determine eligibility for clinic services, visits for laboratory/diagnostic tests without contact with a licensed provider, and services provided off-site by referral providers.

VHCP: Wisconsin’s Volunteer Health Care Provider Program
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WHD:
Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor

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  • Who we are
    • History & Mission
    • Board and Staff >
      • Board Documents
    • Donate Today
    • Our Partners
    • Contact Us
  • What We Do
    • Advocacy
    • AmeriCorps Programs >
      • Public Service Opportunities
      • VISTA Program
      • Public Health AmeriCorps
      • AmeriCorps FAQs
      • Current Members
    • Standards Program >
      • Standards of Excellence
      • Seals of Excellence
    • Telehealth
    • Monthly Webinars
  • For Patients
    • Find a Clinic
  • For Members
    • WAFCC/VHCP Enrollment
    • Join Us >
      • Our members
    • Member Log in >
      • Past Webinar Recordings
      • FCC Leaders' Call Information
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Events >
      • 2022 WAFCC on the Road Recap
      • FCC Week 2022
      • 2022 AmeriCorps Week