PPD is an acronym that stands for what?

• A. Per patient day
• B. Price per day
• C. Patient participation duration
• D. Prior period depreciation

Answer: (A)

PPD stands for per patient day. In healthcare budgeting and financial analysis, this unit ties costs or charges directly to the amount of patient care activity, measured as patient days. By dividing total costs (or revenue) by the number of patient days, you get a consistent metric that lets you compare performance across units, time periods, or facility types, regardless of patient volume. For example, $60,000 in expenses over 300 patient days equals $200 per patient day, which you can use for staffing decisions, productivity analysis, and budgeting.

The other phrases don’t fit because they describe different ideas: price per day is simply a price tag and not the standard healthcare metric denoted by PPD; patient participation duration isn’t a common term used with this acronym; and prior period depreciation refers to depreciation from an earlier period and isn’t the meaning typically conveyed by PPD in financial practice.