Avoid Incorrect/Prohibited Prescription Abbreviations

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) has recently indicated that the failure to substantially eliminate the utilization of "do not use" abbreviations in medication orders remains one of the most frequent non-compliance findings during Joint Commission surveys.

The Joint Commission says frequent use of prohibited abbreviations can result in additional burdens on nursing and pharmacy staff, reaction by some prescribers to what they perceive as unnecessary calls, and an unintended consequence of disrupted interdisciplinary collaboration and decreased responsiveness by prescribers to calls, especially from the pharmacy, leading to increased risk for patients.

During the past seven years, The Joint Commission has worked to reduce the errors in medication orders. Part of this work included the creation of a "do not use list" of abbreviations.

Civilian providers who see TRICARE beneficiaries are reminded to avoid using incorrect (and prohibited) abbreviations when writing a prescription for a TRICARE beneficiary that will be filled at a Military Treatment Facility (MTF), retail or mail order pharmacy.

Historical Background

The Joint Commission originally created the "do not use" list in 2004 as part of the requirements for meeting the National Patient Safety Goal requirement to standardize a list of abbreviations, acronyms and symbols that should not be used. It was affirmed by The Joint Commission in May 2005. For accreditation purposes, the official "do not use" list applies, at a minimum, to all orders and all medication-related documentation that is handwritten (including free-text computer entry) or on pre-printed forms.

The following items are reviewed annually for possible inclusion as part of the development of future Joint Commission NPSGs:

For more information about the "do not use list," visit www.jointcommission.org/PatientSafety/DoNotUseList , contact the Standards Interpretation Group at (630) 792-5900.