Our New Medical Vernacular

"It's that time of year."

"For what?"

"For our annual performance reviews. You know, where we rank our employees as "does not meet expectations, meets expectations, or exceeds expectations." They laughed. It was a plesant, social affair, and while he didn't work in a hospital, he did work for a health care corporation. I couldn't help but listen to the conversation, since it sounded so familiar.

"... and if they don't meet expectations, we have to develop a 'PIP'."

"PIP?"

"A Performance Improvement Plan. And that will lead us to a good discussion about an ACR."

"ACR?"

"Annual compensation review. This of course, drives the merit increase conversation."

"Merit increase conversation?"

"The merit increase must average 2.5%, ranging between 1 and 4% depending on whether you're below expectations, meet expectations, or exceed expectations. Hah! It doesn't really matter, now does it, since state taxes have gone up so much around here. So there you have it. I love my job," he chuckled as he sipped his beer.

It's strange how much our medical vernacular has changed and is starting to sound like the corporate vernacular:

"Meaningful use."

"Guidelines."

"P4P"

"Measures."

"MGMA Benchmark."

Won't be long until I have a PIP.

-Wes