Medical Abbreviations

CQI Procedure

A process to reflect upon aspects related to practice that may contribute to medication errors and subsequent patient harm.

CQI forms

Forms that must be completed thoroughly to reflect on errors and develop action plans for prevention.

Action plan

A concise and reasonable strategy developed to prevent similar errors in the future.

ADEs

Adverse Drug Events, which cause more than 1.5 million emergency department visits each year in the United States.

Anticoagulants

Medications that are a leading cause of emergency department visits for ADEs, accounting for approximately 21%.

Diabetes agents

Medications such as insulin that account for almost one in seven emergency department visits for ADEs, or 14%.

Antibiotics

Medications that are responsible for almost one in eight emergency department visits for ADEs, or 13%.

Medication classification

The process of categorizing medication abbreviations by organ system.

Medical abbreviations

Shortened forms of words or phrases used in medical contexts.

Importance of prescriptions

Understanding prescriptions is crucial as it can prevent adverse drug events and improve patient safety.

Medication statistics

82% of American adults take at least one medication, and 29% take more than five medications at a time.

Submission format for CQI forms

CQI forms must be submitted in docx or pdf format, as .pages is not readable.

CQI form due date

CQI forms are due no later than one week after grades are posted.

Unacceptable action plans

Plans such as hiring a second pharmacist to double-check work or citing insufficient time are not acceptable.

Emergency department visits

Almost 500,000 visits per year are due to ADEs requiring hospitalization.

Reflection in CQI

Students must reflect on the type of error and the circumstances that contributed to it.

Clinical implications

Understanding how an error would be classified and its impact on patient care.

Community Lab

A setting where CQI forms are utilized and submitted for evaluation.

Medication errors

Mistakes in prescribing, dispensing, or administering medications that can harm patients.

ADR

Adverse Drug Reactions, which can occur when taking multiple medications.

Sig codes

Codes used to quickly annotate medication instructions.

AC

From the Latin 'ante cibum,' means 'take before a meal.'

HS

From the Latin 'hora somni,' means 'take at bedtime.'

PC

From the Latin 'post cibum,' means 'take after a meal.'

PO

From the Latin 'per os,' means that medication should be taken orally.

AD

From the Latin 'auris dexter,' means that medication should be taken via your right ear.

AS

From the Latin 'auris sinister,' means that medication should be taken via your left ear.

AU

From the Latin 'auris utro,' denotes medication meant to be taken in both ears.

OD

From the Latin 'oculus dexter,' means that medication is for your right eye.

OS

From the Latin 'oculus sinister,' means that medication is for your left eye.

SUBQ

Indicates that medication should be taken subcutaneously.

SUP

Means that medication is a suppository.

BID

From the Latin 'bis in die,' means that the medication should be taken 'twice a day.'

PRN

From the Latin 'pro re nata,' means that the medication should be taken 'as needed.'

Q

From the Latin 'quaque,' means 'every,' with medical abbreviations like QHR meaning every hour.

Q4HR

Means every four hours.

i, ii, iii, iiii

Medical abbreviations that indicate dose size and equate to 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Disease States

Abbreviations that can be specific to a disease state or symptoms.

Signs/Symptoms

Commonly used in dialogue and documenting patient information.

Pharmaceutical Abbreviations

Often based on a combination of Latin and prescription shorthand.

Medication Instructions

Designed to get important information across as quickly as possible.

QD

Abbreviation that can be misleading when multiple tablets or capsules are involved.

Clarity in Prescriptions

The need for clear instructions in prescriptions to avoid patient misunderstanding.

e-Prescribing

Electronic prescribing that helps lower rates of medical errors.

Drug Name Abbreviations

Abbreviations for drug names that can lead to confusion and errors.

MTX

Abbreviation that can refer to both methotrexate and mitoxantrone.

ATX

Abbreviation that can be confused with zidovudine, azathioprine, or atomoxetine.

Confusing Numbers

Numbers in prescriptions that can lead to dosing errors.

Furosemide 40 mg Q.D.

Example of a prescription misinterpreted as QID leading to a medical error.

µg vs mg

Micrograms should be spelled out to avoid confusion with milligrams.

Trailing Zeros

Trailing zeros can lead to misinterpretation of dosage in prescriptions.

Leading Zeros

Lack of a leading zero can cause misreading of dosage strength.

PCP

Can mean either primary care provider or Pneumocystis pneumonia.

d/c

Can mean either discharged or discontinue.

Confusing Abbreviations

Abbreviations that can be misunderstood or misread.

Healthcare Provider Instructions

Instructions that may not be clear to patients due to health literacy.

Prescription Label Clarity

Importance of clear directions on prescription labels.

Pharmacist Role

Pharmacists translate prescription abbreviations for medication labels.

Medical Errors

Errors that can arise from unclear abbreviations and poor penmanship.

Discrepancies in Electronic Prescriptions

Common issues that can lead to medical errors and patient harm.

Joint Commission's Do Not Use List

List that includes guidelines to prevent misinterpretation in prescriptions.

Patient Harm

Potential negative outcomes from prescription errors.

Abbreviations in prescriptions

Practitioners could make up their own abbreviations.

Ambiguity in drug names

Abbreviating drug names can lead to serious ambiguity.

Insulin errors

The cause of many insulin errors is related to the use of abbreviations when communicating prescription information.

Abbreviation 'U'

The abbreviation 'U' to indicate 'units' contributes to many errors when it is misread as a zero (0) or a number 4.

Chlorambucil prescription error

A prescription written for chlorambucil (Leukeran) with directions to give 'one tablet BIW' led to a pharmacist typing 'one tablet twice daily,' but the prescriber intended for the patient to take 1 tablet twice a week.

TIW abbreviation error

Similar errors have occurred with the abbreviation TIW where patients received the medication 3 times daily instead of the intended 3 times a week.

What does “NMT” mean?

“no more than” or “nebulizer mist treatment.” depending on the context

Patient instructions confusion

The pharmacy label could have read 'Use 4 mL no more than twice daily' instead of 'Use 4 mL with nebulizer mist treatment twice daily.'

Prescription writing error

The doctor was in a rush when writing the prescription, and when he crossed the 'A' and wrote the 'C' it looked like 'TAZ.'

Dispensing error

As a result, the pharmacy dispensed Tazorac instead of the prescribed topical corticosteroid triamcinolone.

Lab

Common abbreviation used for laboratory.

Rehab

Common abbreviation used for rehabilitation.

Exam

Common abbreviation used for examination.

Info

Common abbreviation used for information.

Demo

Common abbreviation used for demonstration.

AIDS

Common abbreviation for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome.

SC/SQ

Abbreviation for subcutaneously.

U

Abbreviation for unit.

Trailing zeros after decimal point

(1.0) = 1

Decimal point without a number in front

(.5) = 0.5

No space between drug and unit of measure

(140mg) = 140 mg

APAP

Abbreviation for acetaminophen.

DM

Abbreviation for Diabetes Mellitus.

HTN

Abbreviation for Hypertension.

HF

Abbreviation for Heart Failure.

Afib

Abbreviation for Atrial Fibrillation.

DUE

Abbreviation for Drug Utilization Evaluation.

GERD

Abbreviation for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease.

UA

Abbreviation for Urinary Analysis.

I&O

Abbreviation for intake and output.

RRR

Abbreviation for regular rate and rhythm.

S1 & S2

Abbreviation for lub and dub sounds; normal heart sounds.

S3

Abbreviation for ventricular gallop.

S4

Abbreviation for atrial gallop.

CP

Abbreviation for chest pain.

CSF

Abbreviation for cerebrospinal fluid.

HA

Abbreviation for headache.

TBI

Abbreviation for traumatic brain injury.