Can Bad Handwriting Lead to Serious Personal Injury and Death?
Doctors and pharmacists often rely on the use of standard abbreviations in prescribing medication for their patients. But check out these most common abbreviation errors that can cause injury and death to unsuspecting patients:
Dangerous Abbreviations (National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting Prevention)
| Abbreviation | Intended meaning | Common Error |
|---|---|---|
| U | Units | Mistaken as a zero or a four (4) resulting in overdose. Also mistaken for "cc" (cubic centimeters) when poorly written. |
| µg | Micrograms | Mistaken for "mg" (milligrams) resulting in an overdose. |
| Q.D. | Latin abbreviation for every day | The period after the "Q" has sometimes been mistaken for an " I, " and the drug has been given "QID" (four times daily) rather than daily. |
| Q.O.D. | Latin abbreviation for every other day | Misinterpreted as "QD" (daily) or "QID" (four times daily). If the "O" is poorly written, it looks like a period or "I." |
| SC or SQ | Subcutaneous | Mistaken as "SL" (sublingual) when poorly written. |
| T I W | Three times a week | Misinterpreted as "three times a day" or "twice a week." |
| D/C | Discharge; also discontinue | Patient's medications have been prematurely discontinued when D/C, (intended to mean "discharge") was misinterpreted as "discontinue," because it was followed by a list of drugs. |
| HS | Half strength | Misinterpreted as the Latin abbreviation "HS" (hour of sleep). |
| cc | Cubic centimeters | Mistaken as "U" (units) when poorly written. |
| AU, AS, AD | Latin abbreviation for both ears; left ear; right ear | Misinterpreted as the Latin abbreviation "OU" (both eyes); "OS" (left eye); "OD" (right eye) |
| IU | International Unit | Mistaken as IV (intravenous) or 10(ten) |
| MS, MSO4, MgSO4 | Confused for one another | Can mean morphine sulfate or magnesium sulfate |
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