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Official “Do Not Use” List
This list is part of the Information Management standards
Does not apply to preprogrammed health information
technology systems (i.e. electronic medical records or CPOE
systems), but remains under consideration for the future
Organizations contemplating introduction or upgrade of such systems should
strive to eliminate the use of dangerous abbreviations, acronyms, symbols and
dose designations from the software.
Official “Do Not Use” List
Do Not Use
Potential Problem
Use Instead
U, u (unit)
Mistaken for “0”
(zero), the number “4”
(four) or “cc”
Write "unit"
IU (International
Unit)
Mistaken for IV
(intravenous) or the
number 10 (ten)
Write "International
Unit"
Q.D., QD, q.d., qd
(daily)
Q.O.D., QOD, q.o.d,
qod
(every other day)
Mistaken for each
other
Period after the Q
mistaken for "I" and
the "O" mistaken for "I
Write "daily"
Write "every other
day"
Trailing zero (X.0
mg)*
Lack of leading zero
(.X mg)
Decimal point is
missed
Write X mg
Write 0.X mg
MS
MSO
4
and MgSO
4
Can mean morphine
sulfate or magnesium
sulfate
Confused for one
another
Write "morphine
sulfate"
Write "magnesium
sulfate"
1
Applies to all orders and all medication-related documentation that is
handwritten (including free-text computer entry) or on pre-printed forms.
*Exception: A “trailing zero” may be used only where required 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. It may not be
used in medication orders or other medication-related documentation.
Development of the “Do Not Use” List
In 2001, The Joint Commission issued a Sentinel Event Alert on the subject of
medical abbreviations. A year later, its Board of Commissioners approved a
National Patient Safety Goal requiring accredited organizations to develop and
implement a list of abbreviations not to use. In 2004, The Joint Commission
created its “Do Not Use” List to meet that goal. In 2010, NPSG.02.02.01 was
integrated into the Information Management standards as elements of
performance 2 and 3 under IM.02.02.01.
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For more information
• Contact the Standards
Interpretation Group at
630-792-5900.
• Complete the
Standards
Online Question Submission
Form.
