Common Prescription Abbreviations
Many abbreviations on a prescription pertain to how often a person should take a medication, like before a meal, or the route of administration, like inhaled versus by mouth.
Banned Medical Abbreviations
To prevent these medical errors, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals (JCAH) created a “Do Not Use” list of abbreviations in 2003.
According to JCAH, for the following abbreviations, healthcare providers must write the full word and not the abbreviation on any order or medication-related document that is handwritten (including computer forms where there is free text) or pre-printed forms.
If you suspect an error on your prescription please notify your healthcare provider and pharmacist right away—even with the abbreviation guidelines, errors do occur. Trust your gut and your keen eye. You don’t want to become a casualty of medical error.
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