What Does HCP Mean in Medical Terms?

HCP stands for health care proxy. Person appointed to make medical decisions.

Where you will see HCP

You will most often see HCP in nursing notes, care plans and handovers, medical charts and clinical notes.

Example

A chart note might use “HCP” as shorthand for health care proxy when documenting a patient's care.

Related abbreviations

• 1:1 — one-to-one observation
• 2g Na diet — two-gram sodium diet
• 4-point restraints — four-point restraints
• A&O — alert and oriented
• A&O x4 — alert and oriented times four (person place time situation)
• A-line — A-line (arterial line shorthand)
• a.c. — ante cibum (before meals)
• a.m. — ante meridiem (morning)

Browse the full Medical Abbreviations guide — 5,715 entries, searchable A–Z and by specialty.