SCATA - UK Society for Computing and Technology in Anaesthesia

Jargon Buster

The SCATA Jargon Buster is a compilation of many of the confusing terms and acronyms used in Health Informatics. It was compiled from various sources and is maintained by the SCATA membership.
If you are are a SCATA member, you can add and edit jargon terms from the member's area
Non-members can use the contact page to submit a new term or acronym, or to update an existing one.

Recent additions or updates: CDR | EMPI | FHIR | JSON | MPI

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Term or Acronym	Definition	Explanation
GMS	General Medical Services	The rules used to manage payments to family doctors as part of the GPs' contract.
GNU	Gnu is not Unix, a recursive acronym	Unix is a well-established computer operating system. GNU is the basis of a free Unix-like non-Unix operating system.
Google	(One Googol = 10¹⁰⁰)	In June 2005, just 10 months after floating on the NY stock exchange, Google became the world's largest media company, worth more than $81bn (compared to Time Warner's value of c$78bn). The financial success of Google mirrors the effect the search engine has had on the world. Not only is Google now a commonplace verb ('I googled his name', but the search engine has entered into the culture in a number of other ways in terms such as 'Googleproof','Googlestalk' and 'Googlebomb'.
Googlebomb		The practice of creating multiple links to a website in order to force that site to the top of Google's ranking. So, for example, in June 2005, Googling ‘miserable failure’ brought up the official White House page for the biography of George W.Bush. By their very nature, Googlebombs are fated to be transient. As more people discuss a Googlebomb on websites or Blogs, that discussion is likely to force the target site off the top slot.
Googlewhack		The curious pursuit of finding a pair of words that when entered into Google, produces just one result. As with Googlebombs, their unique quality is transient as the word pair becomes known through Internet publicity. Examples of successful Googlewhacks include: 'episcopal brachiosaur' and 'pimp schadenfreude'.
GPS	Global Positioning System	Developed by the US Dept. of Defense, uses a constellation of orbiting satellites to give instantaneous, real-time geographic positions to within c. 10m. Anyone on Earth can access GPS data and it is widely used for car 'Sat-Nav'igational systems.
GUI	Graphical User Interface	The visual elements of an operating system that allow interaction with a mouse and other pointing devices.