The Joint Commission Do Not Use List and Patient Safety Recommendations

Vocabulary flashcards detailing prohibited abbreviations from the Joint Commission "Do Not Use" List and institution recommendations to promote Patient Safety Goals.

U or u

An abbreviation on the Joint Commission "Do Not Use" List that must be written out as "unit".

IU

An abbreviation on the Joint Commission "Do Not Use" List that must be written out as "international unit".

Q.D., QD, q.d., qd

Abbreviations on the Joint Commission "Do Not Use" List that must be written out as "daily".

Q.O.D., QOD, q.o.d., qod

Abbreviations on the Joint Commission "Do Not Use" List that must be written out as "every other day".

MS, MSO4, and MgSO4

Abbreviations on the Joint Commission "Do Not Use" List that must be written out as "either morphine sulfate or magnesium sulfate".

Trailing zero for medications ($X.0\,\text{mg}$)

A dosage notation on the Joint Commission "Do Not Use" List that must be written without the trailing zero as "$X\,\text{mg}$" (e.g., "$10\,\text{mg}$").

Lack of leading zero ($.X\,\text{mg}$)

A dosage notation on the Joint Commission "Do Not Use" List that must be written with a leading zero as "$0.X\,\text{mg}$" (e.g., "$0.1\,\text{mg}$").

Symbols $>$ or $<$

Mathematical symbols recommended to be avoided in healthcare organizations; must be written out as "greater than" or "less than".

Drug name abbreviations

Shortened medication names discouraged by institutions to minimize common errors; drug names must be written in full.

Apothecary units

A measurement system recommended to be replaced by metric units to minimize errors in healthcare organizations.

@ symbol

A symbol recommended to be avoided in healthcare documentation; must be written out as "at" or "each".

"cc" abbreviation

A unit abbreviation recommended to be avoided; must be written as "mL" or "milliliters".

"µg" abbreviation

A unit symbol recommended to be avoided; must be written as "mcg" or "micrograms".