CP-20 Prohibited Medical Abbreviations
Re. 7/06
The following medical abbreviations must not be used in clinical documentation in the form of free
text (either handwritten or electronic) or any preprinted forms. For more detailed information,
please see BIDMC Policy CP-20: Prohibited Medical Abbreviations.
Intended
Meaning
Unacceptable Abbreviation
Misinterpretation
Acceptable Alternative
Medication Names
MS
MSO4
Morphine sulfate
Mistaken for
“magnesium sulfate”
MgSO4
Magnesium sulfate Mistaken for
“morphine sulfate”
Use “morphine sulfate”
Use “magnesium sulfate”
Dose
Trailing Zeros:
Zero written after decimal points
1 mg
Misread as “10 mg”
Do not use terminal zeros for
doses expressed in whole units
(Write “1 mg”)
(Unacceptable example: 1.0 mg)
**Exception: Trailing zeros may be used in nonmedication-related documentation when there is a
clear need to demonstrate level of precision, such
as for laboratory values, imaging study
measurement of lesion sizes, or catheter and
therapeutic tube sizes.
Missing Leading Zeros:
Zero missing before decimal points
0.5 mg
Misread as “5 mg”
Always use zero before a
decimal point when the dose is
less than a whole unit
(Unacceptable example: .5 mg)
(Write “0.5 mg”)
U
Unit
Misread as “zero
(0),” “four (4),” or
“cc (cubic cm)”
Use “unit”
IU
International unit
Misread as “IV
Use “unit” or “international
(intravenous)” or “10 unit”
(ten)”
μg
Microgram
Misread as “mg”
Use “mcg”
QD
Once daily
The period after “Q”
can be mistaken for
“I” (as in “QID”) or
“O” (as in “QOD”)
Use “daily” or “once daily”
QOD
Every other day
The “O” can be
Use “every other day”
mistaken for a period
(as in “Q.D.”) or “I”
(as in “QID”)
Letter “d”
Days
Mistaken for “doses” Use “days” or “doses”
Frequency
(Unacceptable example: x 3d)
TIW or tiw
Three times a week Mistaken for “three
times a day”
Do not use this abbreviation.
Specify which days of the week.