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This is a list of abbreviations used in medical prescriptions, including hospital orders (the patient-directed part of which is referred to as sig codes).This list does not include abbreviations for pharmaceuticals or drug name suffixes such as CD, CR, ER, XT (See Time release technology § List of abbreviations for those).
The main discussion of these abbreviations in the context of drug prescriptions and other medical prescriptions is at List of abbreviations used in medical prescriptions. Some of these abbreviations are best not used, as marked and explained here.
Abbreviation Meaning q: each, every (from Latin quaque) q15: every 15 minutes q6h q6° once every 6 hours q2wk: once every 2 weeks qAc Before every meal (from Latin quaque ante cibum) q.a.d. every other day (from Latin quaque altera die) QALY: quality-adjusted life year: q.AM: every day before noon (from Latin quaque die ante meridiem) q.d.
Abbreviations are used very frequently in medicine. They boost efficiency as long as they are used intelligently. The advantages of brevity should be weighed against the possibilities of obfuscation (making the communication harder for others to understand) and ambiguity (having more than one possible interpretation).
List of medical abbreviations: Z; O. List of abbreviations for medical organisations and personnel; P. List of abbreviations used in medical prescriptions
Use of abbreviations, such as those relating to the route of administration or dose of a medication, can be confusing and is the most common source of medication errors. [2] Use of some acronyms has been shown to impact the safety of patients in hospitals, and "do not use lists" have been published at a national level in the US.
List of medical abbreviations: Overview; List of medical abbreviations: Latin abbreviations; List of abbreviations for medical organisations and personnel; List of abbreviations used in medical prescriptions; List of optometric abbreviations
Brand names and generic names are differentiated by capitalizing brand names. See also the list of the top 100 bestselling branded drugs, ranked by sales. Abbreviations are used in the list as follows: INN = International Nonproprietary Name; BAN = British Approved Name; USAN = United States Adopted Name; Two-letter codes for countries