Dangerous Abbreviations and the Appropriate Terms: To minimize the potential for error and to maximize patient safety, the following list of
dangerous abbreviations and phrases are not to be used in any form of clinical
documentation in the patient medical record:
Dangerous Abbreviation
Appropriate Term
U
Unit
IU
International Unit
QD
Daily or Every Day
QOD
Every Other Day
Trailing Zero (X.0 mg)
No Zero After a Decimal Point
No Leading Zero (.X mg)
Use Zero Before a Decimal Point
MS and MSO4
Morphine or Morphine Sulfate
MgSO4
Magnesium or Magnesium Sulfate
Ug (Microgram)
Use mcg
TIW
Three Times Weekly
Cc
ml
Look Alike/Sound Alike Medication Safety (Refer to Policystat) Pharmacy will review annually a list of look-alike/sound-alike drugs used within the
organization and will take action to prevent errors involving the interchange of these drugs.
Annual review will include the following:
Look-alike/sound-alike drug combinations currently on the organizational listing
Look-alike/sound-alike drug combinations to be added to the organizational listing
Specific actions to prevent errors involving the interchange of these drugs, including but
not limited to:
o
Computer strategy
o
Storage strategy
o
Prescribing strategy
o
Formulary strategy
o
Nursing strategy
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New “Sound-alike Look-alike” medications may be added to this as identified through the Failure Mode and Effects Analysis formulary procedure conducted by the CHI Saint Joseph Health Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee.
