Research Project
Course title and number: Medical Terminology, HIT 107
Research Project number: 40969700
1. How can eliminating abbreviations reduce errors?
• The use of abbreviations in the medical field has recently become a major
• issue and a national concern as a cause of medication or other life-threatening errors.
• When dealing with medical information and a person's life, accurate and understandable written or computerized documentation is of utmost importance.
• Eliminating abbreviations can reduce errors because this would require that all words be spelled out. Many abbreviations are very similar thus increasing the risk of mistaking one for another. For example, the abbreviation “U” for “Units” is commonly mistaken as a zero, four or cc (Do Not Use, 2008).
• In the correct circumstances, this seemingly simple misinterpretation can be deadly for a patient .
• Written policies for the use of abbreviations should be developed in all healthcare facilities to curb or eliminate errors related to misinterpreted documentation. Important contents of such policies should include information.
2. Should written policies be developed for abbreviation usage ? If yes, what should the policies contain? If no, explain?
• Yes, patient safety and promotion of zero medication error are common goals in every healthcare institution.
• JCAHO (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) provides institutions with a list of dangerous abbreviations that should be avoided in clinical documentation.
• The Institute for Safe Medication Practice also promotes the consistent application of not using specified abbreviations to prevent errors.
• The policy recommends not using abbreviations, symbols and acronyms in medical communication. According to ISMP, abbreviations should never be used in
Research Project number: 40969700
1. How can eliminating abbreviations reduce errors?
• The use of abbreviations in the medical field has recently become a major
• issue and a national concern as a cause of medication or other life-threatening errors.
• When dealing with medical information and a person's life, accurate and understandable written or computerized documentation is of utmost importance.
• Eliminating abbreviations can reduce errors because this would require that all words be spelled out. Many abbreviations are very similar thus increasing the risk of mistaking one for another. For example, the abbreviation “U” for “Units” is commonly mistaken as a zero, four or cc (Do Not Use, 2008).
• In the correct circumstances, this seemingly simple misinterpretation can be deadly for a patient .
• Written policies for the use of abbreviations should be developed in all healthcare facilities to curb or eliminate errors related to misinterpreted documentation. Important contents of such policies should include information.
2. Should written policies be developed for abbreviation usage ? If yes, what should the policies contain? If no, explain?
• Yes, patient safety and promotion of zero medication error are common goals in every healthcare institution.
• JCAHO (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) provides institutions with a list of dangerous abbreviations that should be avoided in clinical documentation.
• The Institute for Safe Medication Practice also promotes the consistent application of not using specified abbreviations to prevent errors.
• The policy recommends not using abbreviations, symbols and acronyms in medical communication. According to ISMP, abbreviations should never be used in