understanding the language of innovation
Tech Room Glossary
Comprehensive guide to the terminology used across the Mango Soft ecosystem. It creates a shared language for developers and partners, ensuring clarity on the technical definitions, components, and processes that power our modular solutions.
A
ACL (Access Control List)
Acts like a digital guest list, defining exactly which users or system processes are granted permission to access specific files or resources.
Angular Core
A robust framework for building dynamic, single-page web applications that are fast, responsive, and maintainable.
API (Application Programming Interface)
Bridges the gap between different software applications, allowing them to share data and features without needing to know how the other is built.
Athena
An AWS service that allows you to analyze data directly in Amazon S3 using standard SQL, without setting up complex servers.
AWS (Amazon Web Services)
Provides on-demand cloud computing platforms and APIs, allowing businesses to scale server power and storage without buying physical hardware.
B
BAA (Business Associate Agreement)
A legally binding contract required by HIPAA between a healthcare provider (Covered Entity) and a third-party vendor (Business Associate) handling patient data. It outlines exactly how the software vendor or cloud host will safeguard Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI).
BI (Business Intelligence)
Analyzing business data to present actionable information, helping companies make informed, data-driven decisions.
Blockchain
A decentralized, distributed ledger that records transactions across many computers so that the record cannot be altered retroactively, ensuring trust.
Boilerplate
Standardized sections of code that can be reused in many places with little or no alteration, speeding up the start of new projects.
C
Caching
The process of storing copies of files or data in a temporary, high-speed storage location so they can be accessed more quickly than the primary source.
CDP (Customer Data Platform)
Unifies customer data from multiple sources into a single database to create a comprehensive, 360-degree profile of each user.
CDSS (Clinical Decision Support System):
Health information technology that analyzes data within electronic health records (EHRs) to provide healthcare workers with clinical knowledge and patient-specific information. It intelligently filters data to present actionable alerts, diagnostic suggestions, or treatment guidelines at the point of care.
CI/CD (Continuous Integration / Continuous Deployment)
Automates the testing and releasing of code, allowing developers to ship updates faster and with significantly fewer errors.
Client Control
A specific module that allows software to securely manage unique configurations and environment variables for different clients within the same system.
Columnar Storage
A database storage method that stores data by columns rather than rows, drastically speeding up analytical queries on large datasets.
CPOE (Computerized Provider Order Entry):
A system that allows medical professionals to enter medication orders, lab requests, and radiology orders electronically instead of using paper charts. This drastically reduces transcription errors, checks for drug interactions, and speeds up the delivery of patient care.
CPT (Current Procedural Terminology)
Developed and maintained by the American Medical Association (AMA), CPT is a standardized set of five-character alphanumeric codes used to report medical, surgical, and diagnostic procedures. In the medical billing cycle, CPT codes are used to communicate exactly what service or procedure a healthcare provider performed for a patient. Health insurance companies and government payers rely on these specific codes to determine the exact amount of financial reimbursement a practitioner will receive for their clinical work.
CSV (Comma-Separated Values)
A simple, universal file format used to store tabular data, making it easy to move information between different spreadsheets and databases.
D
Data Cubes
A method of storing data that allows for fast analysis from different perspectives (dimensions), often used in business intelligence.
DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine)
The standard protocol that allows medical imaging devices (like X-rays and MRIs) to exchange data with hospital systems.
Dynamo DB
A fast and flexible NoSQL database service from Amazon designed for applications that need consistent, single-digit millisecond latency at any scale.
DRG (Diagnosis-Related Group)
A patient classification system that standardizes prospective payment to hospitals and encourages cost containment initiatives. It categorizes hospital cases into groups that are expected to have similar hospital resource use, determining how much Medicare or insurance will pay for a hospital stay.
E
EDI (Electronic Data Interchange):
The computer-to-computer exchange of business documents in a standard electronic format. In healthcare, specific EDI transactions (like the EDI 837 for submitting a medical claim, or the EDI 835 for receiving payment details) are heavily regulated to ensure standardized billing across all medical software.
EHR (Electronic Health Record):
A comprehensive, digital version of a patient’s medical history that is securely managed by authorized healthcare providers. Built for interoperability, an EHR shares a patient’s complete medical history—diagnoses, medications, treatment plans, and lab results—across different healthcare facilities, specialists, and laboratories in real time.
Elastic Search
A search engine that provides fast search, fine-tuned relevance, and powerful analytics, often used for “fuzzy” matching (finding results even with typos).
eMPI (Enterprise Master Patient Index):
A database used across a healthcare organization to maintain consistent, accurate, and current demographic and medical data on patients. It links separate patient records across different clinical systems, ensuring that “John Smith” in the lab system is correctly matched to “John Smith” in the billing system.
EMR (Electronic Medical Record):
A digital version of the traditional paper chart within a single medical practice, clinic, or dispensary. While similar to an EHR, an EMR is typically restricted to the clinical data collected in one specific office and is not easily shared outside of that specific practice.
ESB (Enterprise Service Bus)
Acts as a central communication hub connecting various applications throughout an organization, ensuring they can share data regardless of their underlying technology.
ePHI (Electronic Protected Health Information):
Any protected health information (such as medical history, lab results, insurance details, or demographic data) that is created, stored, transmitted, or received electronically. It is the specific digital data that HIPAA regulations are designed to protect.
Ethereum
A blockchain platform that enables developers to build and deploy smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps).
F
FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources)
Developed by the same organization behind HL7, FHIR (pronounced “fire”) is a modern interoperability standard for exchanging healthcare information electronically. Instead of relying on the rigid, legacy document formats used by older HL7 versions, FHIR uses modular data components called “resources” (representing things like a patient, a medication, or an allergy) and modern web-based API technologies (such as REST, JSON, and XML). This modern architecture makes it drastically faster and easier for mobile apps, cloud systems, and diverse electronic health record (EHR) platforms to seamlessly query, share, and understand specific pieces of clinical data in real time.
FIDO (Fast Identity Online)
A set of open standards for passwordless authentication, enabling secure logins using biometrics or security keys instead of typing passwords.
Firetower
A system designed to track and log every user action and system event, creating a complete audit trail for compliance.
G
Gateway
A network node that acts as an entrance to another network, often used to secure and manage traffic between on-premise systems and the cloud.
Gitflow
A strict branching model for the Git version control system, helping teams manage features, releases, and hotfixes in an organized way.
H
HCPCS (Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System)
Often pronounced “hick-picks,” this is a collection of standardized codes representing medical procedures, supplies, products, and services. While “Level I” of HCPCS is actually identical to the CPT code set (covering physician services), “Level II” codes are alphanumeric and used primarily to identify products, supplies, and services not included in CPT. This includes ambulance operations, administered drugs, and Durable Medical Equipment (DME) such as wheelchairs, diabetic testing strips, braces, and prosthetics.
Headless System
A software architecture where the frontend (presentation) is decoupled from the backend (logic), allowing developers to deliver content to any device (web, mobile, watch).
Hexagonal Architecture
A design pattern that isolates the core business logic from outside concerns (like databases or UIs), making the application easier to test and change.
HIE (Health Information Exchange)
The secure, electronic mobilization of healthcare information across organizations within a region, community, or hospital system. It allows doctors, nurses, and pharmacists to appropriately access and securely share a patient’s vital medical information electronically.
HIMS (Hospital Information Management System)
A Hospital Information Management System is essentially synonymous with the previously defined HIS (Hospital Information System), but the term specifically emphasizes the comprehensive management aspect of hospital operations. While it still houses clinical data, a HIMS heavily focuses on integrating these clinical workflows with crucial administrative, financial, and operational modules—including inventory and pharmacy management, human resources, billing cycles, and patient scheduling. It provides hospital administrators with a unified, data-driven platform to optimize day-to-day workflows, reduce operational costs, and ensure regulatory compliance across the entire healthcare facility.
HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society)
Often typed as HIMMS, this is a global, non-profit organization dedicated to improving healthcare quality, safety, cost-effectiveness, and access through the best use of information technology. Rather than being a piece of software or hardware, HIMSS acts as an industry advocate, thought leader, and standard-setter. It is perhaps most famous for its massive annual global health IT conference and its maturity models—like the Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM)—which evaluate, score, and guide hospitals worldwide on their level of digital transformation and clinical integration.
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)
Enacted in the United States in 1996, HIPAA is a sweeping federal law that establishes national standards for protecting sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient’s consent or knowledge. It mandates how healthcare providers, insurance companies, and IT vendors (including those managing HIS, PACS, or cloud servers) must handle Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI). Through its core components—primarily the Privacy Rule and the Security Rule—it requires organizations to implement strict administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to ensure patient confidentiality and prevent data breaches.
HIS (Hospital Information System)
A comprehensive, integrated software system designed to manage all aspects of a hospital’s operation, including medical, administrative, financial, and legal processes. It acts as the central hub for a healthcare facility, housing electronic health records (EHR), managing patient admissions and discharges, and coordinating data across various departments (like pharmacy, billing, and clinical care) to improve both patient outcomes and organizational efficiency.
HITRUST (Health Information Trust Alliance):
A widely adopted security framework in the healthcare industry that combines regulations from HIPAA, ISO, NIST, and PCI. Achieving HITRUST certification demonstrates to hospitals that a SaaS vendor or technology partner meets the absolute highest standards of data security and risk management.
HL7 (Health Level Seven)
International standards used to transfer clinical and administrative data between software applications used by healthcare providers.
I
IAC (Infrastructure as Code)
Manages data centers through machine-readable definition files rather than physical hardware configuration, ensuring consistency and preventing manual errors.
ICD (International Classification of Diseases)
Maintained globally by the World Health Organization (WHO), the ICD is the standardized system used by clinical and health information professionals to classify and code all diagnoses, symptoms, abnormal findings, and external causes of injury. While CPT and HCPCS codes explain what treatment or supply was provided to the patient, the ICD code is essential because it explains why the patient needed it by pinpointing their exact medical condition. The United States currently uses the 10th revision (ICD-10) for all healthcare diagnosis reporting.
IDaaS (Identity-as-a-Service)
A cloud-based service that handles identity verification and login processes, saving developers from building their own security systems from scratch.
IoMT (Internet of Medical Things)
The interconnected infrastructure of medical devices, software applications, and health systems and services. This includes smart medical sensors, wearable health monitors, and hospital equipment that use the internet to transmit real-time patient data to healthcare providers.
J
JSON (JavaScript Object Notation)
A lightweight, human-readable format for storing and transporting data, widely used for data interchange on the web.
K
Knowledge Datagraph
A structured representation of data that connects entities—objects, events, or concepts—to reveal relationships and insights.
L
LIS (Laboratory Information System)
A specialized software system that records, manages, and stores data specifically for clinical laboratories. It handles the entire lifecycle of lab work: receiving test orders, tracking physical samples (like blood or tissue) through various testing phases, recording the results from automated lab instruments, and securely routing those results back to the ordering physician or the central HIS.
LOINC (Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes)
A universal standard for identifying medical laboratory observations. While HL7 handles the routing of the message, LOINC standardizes the name of the lab test (e.g., a specific type of blood glucose test) so that different computer systems can understand exactly what was measured.
M
MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication)
Enhances security by requiring users to provide two or more verification factors (like a password + a phone code) to gain access.
N
NDC (National Drug Code)
The NDC is a unique, universal product identifier used in the United States for human prescription drugs and biological medications. Managed by the FDA, this 10- or 11-digit code is strictly divided into three distinct segments: the first identifies the labeler (the manufacturer or distributor), the second identifies the specific product (its strength, dosage form, and formulation), and the third identifies the commercial package size and type. This rigorous standardization is crucial for pharmacy dispensing, inventory management, and accurate medication billing to insurance providers.
Neo4J
A graph database designed to treat the relationships between data as equally important as the data itself (perfect for social networks or fraud detection).
NPI (National Provider Identifier)
A unique 10-digit identification number issued to healthcare providers in the United States by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). It is a universal identifier used on all standardized electronic healthcare transactions, such as medical claims and prescriptions.
O
OLAP (Online Analytical Processing)
Performs multidimensional analysis of business data, allowing for complex calculations and trend analysis across huge datasets.
Omnichannel
Providing a seamless user experience across all channels (mobile, web, in-store), ensuring the user can pick up where they left off.
OTP (One-Time Password)
A password valid for only one login session or transaction, drastically reducing the risk of password theft or replay attacks.
P
PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System)
A medical imaging technology that provides economical storage and convenient, electronic access to images from multiple modalities (such as X-rays, MRIs, CT scans, and ultrasounds). Instead of relying on physical film, PACS electronically captures, archives, distributes, and displays these high-resolution images, allowing healthcare professionals to view them securely from different locations and significantly speeding up the diagnostic process.
Passkey
A modern digital credential that allows users to sign in to apps and websites with a biometric sensor (like a fingerprint or face scan), replacing passwords.
PDF (Portable Document Format)
Ensures a document looks the same on any device, preserving the original fonts, images, and layout regardless of the software used to view it.
PHR (Personal Health Record):
An electronic, patient-centric application where individuals can securely maintain, manage, and track their own medical and health information. Unlike hospital-managed systems, a PHR is controlled by the patient, empowering them to log daily health metrics and integrate data from their doctor’s patient portal.
PK (PassKit)
The proprietary format used by Apple to create digital passes like boarding passes, coupons, and loyalty cards for the Apple Wallet.
Predictive Analytics
The practice of extracting information from existing data sets to determine patterns and predict future outcomes and trends.
pyCore
A set of Python-based utilities and tools provided by Mango Soft to accelerate the development of backend services.
R
RCM (Revenue Cycle Management)
The financial process that healthcare facilities use to track patient care episodes from registration and appointment scheduling to the final payment of a balance. It integrates clinical data with administrative and billing workflows to communicate with health insurance companies and ensure providers are reimbursed properly.
Red Shift
A cloud data warehouse that makes it simple and cost-effective to analyze all your data using standard SQL and existing business intelligence tools.
RIS (Radiology Information System)
A networked software system used for managing medical imagery and associated data within a radiology department. It is specifically designed to handle administrative and operational tasks such as tracking radiology imaging orders, scheduling patient appointments, maintaining radiological histories, and managing billing. RIS is typically integrated with other medical systems to ensure a seamless workflow from the moment a physician orders a scan to the final diagnosis.
RPM (Remote Patient Monitoring)
A subcategory of telehealth that uses digital medical devices to collect medical and health data from individuals in one location (like their home) and securely transmit that information to healthcare providers in a different location for assessment and recommendations.
S
SAM (Serverless Application Model)
An open-source framework for building serverless applications on AWS, simplifying the definition of resources like APIs and databases.
SaMD (Software as a Medical Device)
Software intended to be used for one or more medical purposes that perform these purposes without being part of a physical hardware medical device. Examples include AI algorithms that detect anomalies in MRI scans, or mobile apps that calculate insulin dosages.
SDK (Software Development Kit)
A collection of software tools in one installable package that helps developers create applications for specific platforms efficiently.
Server
A computer program or physical hardware device that provides functionality, shares resources, or serves data to other computers (known as “clients”) over a network. In a traditional IT architecture, organizations must provision and maintain their own physical or virtual servers to host applications, manage databases, or route emails, meaning they are responsible for hardware maintenance, operating system updates, security patching, and scaling capacity.
Serverless
A cloud model where the provider manages the infrastructure, allowing developers to focus solely on writing code without worrying about server maintenance.
SMS (Short Message Service)
The standard protocol for sending text messages, often utilized for notifications, alerts, or two-factor authentication codes.
SMART on FHIR
An open, standards-based technology platform that enables developers to create apps that seamlessly and securely run across the healthcare system. It combines the FHIR data standard with standard web security (OAuth2), allowing patients and doctors to use third-party applications to access EHR data safely.
SNOMED CT (Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine - Clinical Terms):
The most comprehensive and precise clinical health terminology product in the world. It provides standardized medical terms (concepts, codes, and synonyms) used in clinical documentation and reporting to ensure that health systems globally speak the same clinical language.
SQL (Structured Query Language)
The standard language used to communicate with and manipulate relational databases (inserting, searching, updating, and deleting records).
SSO (Single Sign-On)
Allows a user to access multiple related, but independent software systems with a single ID and password, improving user convenience.
T
TTL (Time To Live)
A timer setting on data (often in a cache) that tells the system how long to keep the data before discarding it or refreshing it to ensure freshness.
TTM (Time-to-Market)
A critical business metric measuring the amount of time it takes from a product’s conception until it is available for sale.
U
UI (User Interface)
The visual part of the application—screens, buttons, and icons—that a user interacts with to control the software.
UX (User Experience)
Encompasses the overall experience a user has when interacting with a product, focusing on ease of use, flow, and satisfaction.
V
VNA (Vendor Neutral Archive)
A medical imaging technology designed to securely store patient images and clinical documents in a standardized format, allowing them to be accessed by different healthcare systems regardless of the original vendor that generated them. Unlike traditional PACS, which can sometimes trap data in proprietary silos tied to specific imaging equipment, a VNA acts as a centralized, vendor-agnostic repository. It consolidates imaging data (like DICOM) and non-imaging data across multiple departments and facilities, significantly improving long-term archiving, data migration, and hospital-wide interoperability.
W
WA (WhatsApp)
Refers to integrating the popular messaging app into business software for chatbots, customer support, or automated notifications.
WebSockets
A technology that opens an interactive, two-way communication session between a user’s browser and a server, perfect for real-time apps like chat.
wGet
A command-line computer program used to retrieve content from web servers, known for its stability and ability to resume interrupted downloads.