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VA San Diego Healthcare System
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“Do Not Use” / Dangerous Abbreviation List
Clear communication is an essential part of good patient care. The following abbreviations or symbols have been found to result in a high rate of patient safety incidents and are therefore prohibited from use. This prohibition applies to all orders and all medication-related documentation whether handwritten, directly entered into the electronic record system, or on pre-printed forms.
| Do Not Use |
Potential Problem |
Use Instead |
| IU (International Unit) |
Mistaken as IV (intravenous) or the number 10 (ten) |
Write “International Unit” |
MS
MSO4 or MgSO4 |
Can mean morphine sulfate or magnesium sulfate and are confused or mistaken for one another |
Write “morphine sulfate”
Write “magnesium sulfate”
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Q.D., QD, q.d, qd (daily)
Q.O.D., QOD, q.o.d., qod (every other day)
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Mistaken for each other
Period after the q mistaken for “I” and the “Q” mistaken for “I”
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Write “daily”
Write “every other day”
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Trailing Zero (e.g. X.0 mg)*
Lack of Leading Zero (.Xmg) |
Decimal point is missed leading to 10-fold dose error |
Write X
Write 0.X |
| U (for unit) |
Mistaken as “0”, the number 4, or “cc” |
Write “unit” |
* Exceptions: A “trailing zero” may be used where needed to demonstrate the level of precision of the value being reported, such as for laboratory results, imaging studies that report size of lesions, or catheter/tube sizes. A trailing zero may not be used in medication orders or other medication related documentation.
The following list are the documents that VA San Diego Healthcare System defines as "Medication-related" for purposes of auditing and reporting of individual compliance to the Medical Executive Committee. However, the use of dangerous abbreviations should be avoided in all documentation.
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Medication-Related Document Titles: Provider-specific monitoring for dangerous abbreviations will take place in the following documents
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ADR/ADVERSE DRUG REACTION
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ADR/DRUG ALLERGY NOTE
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CONSULT/PHARM
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CONSULT/PHARM/NON-FORMULARY DRUG
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DC/PHYSICIAN D/C SUMMARY
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DRUG NUTRI/DRUG-NUTRI INTERACTION
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DRUG CONSULT/PSYCH/ALCOHOL DRUG TREATMENT PROGRAM
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H&P/PHYSICIAN ADMISSION H&P /BPT
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H&P/PSYCHIATRY ADMISSION H&P /BPT
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MEDICATION ABUSE
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NURS/ECC/PSYCHOTROPIC
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NURS/ECC/PSYCHOTROPIC MONITOR
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NURS/ECC/RN PSYCHOTROPIC
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NUTRI/DRUG-NUTRI INTERACTION
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PACU NURS/PACU TRANSFER
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PACU ANESTH/PACU DISCHARGE NOTE
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PACU ANESTH/PACU ADMIT
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PHARM/ADTP DC COUNSELING /BPT
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PHARM/ANTICOAGULATION
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PHARM/COGNITIVE CLINIC
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PHARM/DC COUNSELING
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PHARM/DC COUNSELING LONG /BPT
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PHARM/DIABETES CARE /BPT
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PHARM/ECU MONTHLY REVIEW
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PHARM/GEN PSYCH
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PHARM/HEMODIALYSIS /BPT
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PHARM/ICU INITIAL ASSESSMENT NOTE /BPT
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PHARM/INITIAL ASSESSMENT
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PHARM/INITIAL ASSESSMENT /BPT
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PHARM/INITIAL ASSESSMENT ABBRV /BPT
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PHARM/LIPID CLINIC /BPT
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PHARM/MED COUNSELING NOTE /BPT
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PHARM/MED MANAGEMENT CLINIC /BPT
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PHARM/MED/SPID
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PHARM/MOOD CLINIC
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PHARM/MST CLINIC
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PHARM/MST/TELEPHONE CONTACT
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PHARM/NON FORMULARY PRIOR AUTH
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PHARM/NON INTERVENTION /BPT
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PHARM/ONCOLOGY
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PHARM/PEC
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PHARM/PHARMACOKINETICS
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PHARM/PRACTITIONER CLINIC /BPT
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PHARM/PROGRESS NOTE
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PHARM/RESIDENT
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PHARM/SAMI
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PHARM/SMOKING CESSATION
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PHARM/TELEPHONE CONTACT
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PHARM/TRANSITIONAL PHARMACY BENEFIT NOTE
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PHARM/TRIAGE
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| Reviewed/Updated Date: February 6, 2008 |
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