Download high-risk abbreviations chart

“Prohibited Abbreviations” chart implemented throughout Health First
By Health First Chief Quality Officer Jim Palermo, MD
The following list of “Prohibited Abbreviations” with guidelines to spell out or express only as shown in the “Correct Use”
column. is being implemented in September throughout the Health First system to prevent errors and lower patient safety risks.
This guideline is being published as part of a systemwide effort to “improve the effectiveness of communication among
caregivers,” one of JCAHO’s 2003 National Patient Safety Goals. The Health First Patient Safety Committee, comprised of
representatives from throughout the organization, worked together to standardize abbreviations, acronyms, and symbols, including
the final list of “Prohibited Abbreviations” shown below.
Our guidelines for “Correct Use” are based on Florida Hospital Association’s prohibited abbreviations/expressions guidelines. The
list below will also be disseminated to all physicians whose emails are listed in the Medical Staff email groups recently installed
on the Health First email system and also posted on the inside front cover of patient charts starting this fall. A pocket-sized
booklet that lists Health First’s approved abbreviations will be available at nursing stations and or in any areas where patient
charting is done (including electronic medical records) by the end of September. The booklets will include all standardized
abbreviations as well as the prohibited abbreviations and correct usage shown in the chart below.
PROHIBITED ABBREVIATIONS
The list of abbreviations in the first column are PROHIBITED, except as noted in the last column.
These abbreviations MUST be fully written out or used ONLY as described in the “Correct Use” column.
PROHIBITED ABBREVIATION/
DOSE EXPRESSION
MISINTERPRETATION
CORRECT USE
Apothecary symbols; Gr
misunderstood or misread (symbol
for dram misread for “3” and minim
misread as “mL”)
dram, minim, grain
(ALWAYS spell out)
AU
mistaken for OU
(oculo uterque — each eye)
aurio uterque (each ear)
ARA-A
cytarabine ARA-C
vidarabine
CPZ
chlorpromazine
COMPAZINE (prochlorperazine)
HCl
potassium chloride (the “H” is
misinterpreted as “K”)
hydrochloric acid
HCT
hydrochlorothiazide
hydrocortisone (use “HCT”
ONLY to mean “hematocrit”)
MSO4
magnesim sulfate
morphine sulfate
MTX
mitoxantrone
methotrexate
TAC
tetracaine, ADRENALIN, cocaine
triamcinolone
ZnSO4
morphine sulfate
zinc sulfate
“Norflox”
NORFLEX
norfloxacin
ug
mistaken for “mg” when handwritten
microgram
o.d. or OD
misinterpreted as “right eye”
(OD—oculus dexter) and administration
of oral medications in the eye
once daily (use “OD” ONLY to
mean “right eye”)
TIW or tiw
mistaken as “three times a day”
three times a week
per os
the “os” mistaken for “left eye”
orally
qn
misinterpreted as “qh” (every hour)
nightly or at bedtime
sub q
the “q” mistaken for “every”
subcutaneous
U or u
read as zero (0) or a four (4), causing a
10-fold overdose or greater (4U seen as
“40” or 4u seen as “44”)
unit
IU
misread as IV (intravenous) or intra-uterine
International Unit
x3d
mistaken for “three doses”
for three days
BT
mistaken as “BID” (twice daily)
bedtime
ss
mistaken for “55”
sliding scale (insulin) or
1/2 (apothecary)
Name letters and dose
numbers run together
(e.g., Inderal40 mg)
misread as Inderal 140 mg
Inderal 40 mg
Prescribing format: drug (space)
dosage (space) frequency
zero after decimal
point (1.0)
misread as 10 mg if the decimal point
is not seen
1 mg
NEVER use zero after
decimal for dose
no zero before decimal
dose (.5 mg)
misread as 5 mg
0.5 mg
ALWAYS place zero before
the decimal for dose