Posted 1 month ago Comments
Health care practitioners definitely have their own language and no, it is not meant to confuse the layman. Abbreviations have been a way for doctors and nurses to communicate quickly and efficiently for centuries. We don’t say “the patient has inflammation around his heart,” we say it’s “endocarditis.” When we want a patient to fast after midnight for a procedure in the morning, we simply write “NPO” in the chart. If a doctor wants to stop all antibiotics he or she will write “d/c abx.” Patient do not need to know all abbreviations but there are a few that will keep them “in the know” while in the hospital or after discharge.
Common Abbreviations Everyone Should Know:
NPO= Nothing by Mouth (Do not eat or drink!)
BID= Twice a day (take medication twice daily)
TID= Three times a day (take medication 3 times a day)
HS= At bedtime (take medication before bed)
QD= Daily (take medication daily)
D/C= Discontinue (stop medication or medical treatment)
AC= Before Meals (take medication before meals)
ASA= Aspirin
OTC= Over the Counter
DM= Diabetes
HTN= High Blood Pressure
MI= Myocardial Infarction (Heart Attack)
CVA= Cerebrovascular Accident (Stroke)
AMA= Against Medical Advice
Start with those and interject if you don’t understand what the doctor or nurse is saying!
