SHORT TERM: FINALS

PHARM 231: HOSPITAL PHARMACY

LECTURE

UNIT 5: MEDICAL TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

III. MEDICATION PROFILE
OUTLINE
• A Patient Medication Profile (PMP) is a written summary of
I. Introduction
all the medicines a patient takes regularly, including over-
II. Patient Chart
the-counter and complementary medicines.
III. Medication Profile
• A patient’s PMP can assist you to understand and manage
IV. Medication Order
medicines in terms of how, why and when to take the
a. Required Information
medicines.
V. Why Medical Abbreviations are so
important to learn
VI. Medical Abbreviation Activities 1-5

I. INTRODUCTION
• Abbreviations, acronyms, and medical terminologies are
commonly used in the medical world to save time and
space while writing in the patients' medical records. They
are commonly used in both general and clinical settings to
simplify and facilitate communication as well as means of
saving time, space and effort.
• A hospital pharmacist will encounter and handle patient
chart and patient medication profiles. Most of the writings
are in medical abbreviations and acronyms.
II. PATIENT CHART
• A patient chart also known as medical chart is a complete
record of a patient’s key clinical data and medical history,
such as demographics, vital signs, diagnoses,
medications, treatment plans, progress notes, problems,
immunization dates, allergies, radiology images, and
laboratory and test results.
• A patient/ medical chart is comprised of medical notes
made by a physician, nurse, lab technician or any other
member of a patient’s healthcare team. Accurate and
complete medical charts ensure systematic
documentation of a patient’s medical history, diagnosis, IV. MEDICATION ORDER
treatment and care. • A medication order written or prescribed by doctor must
• Below is an example of a patient chart. There are hand contain not just the name of the drug and the amount.
writings of doctors and nurses in which medical terms and • In addition to the name and amount of a drug to be given,
abbreviations were used. As pharmacists doing the rounds some additional information that would be necessary to
and checking these patient charts, you must also know determine how to give the dosage would be the route of
how decode the information written. administration or the frequency of doses.
5 REQUIRED INFORMATION FOR EVERY
MEDICATION ORDER
1. Name of the drug (Generic or Brand Name)
2. Amount of the drug (with the specific unit)
3. Route of administration
4. Frequency with which the medication is to be
administered
5. Other specific additional info.

V. IMPORTANCE OF MEDICAL ABBREVIATIONS

AND TERMINOLOGIES
• Medical abbreviations and terminologies are important if
you work in the healthcare field especially when you are in
a hospital setting.
• These abbreviations can be the basis for all that you will
do. They are used to describe symptoms, diagnoses, tests
 UNIT 5: MEDICAL TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

that need to be ordered and ran, and special medical VI. MEDICAL ABBREVIATIONS
equipment. ACTIVITY 1
• The abbreviations and terminologies are spoken and 1. ACTH Adrenocorticotrophic hormone
written in charts so you must learn to say, spell, and read 2. AFB Acid fast bacilli
these medical terms. 3. AAA Abdominal aortic aneurysm
1. MEDICAL ABBREVIATIONS ALLOW ALL 4. ABG Arterial blood gasses
MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS TO UNDERSTAND 5. Abx Antibiotics
EACH OTHER AND COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY 6. BKA Below the knee amputation
7. BP Blood pressure
• Understanding medical terminology can improve your job
8. bpm Beats per minute
performance.
9. Bx Biopsy
• When everyone in the health care team (doctor, nurse, 10. BCG Bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccine
pharmacist, etc.) understands what a condition, medicine, (tuberculosis vaccine)
or procedure is, they are able to fulfill their roles 11. bid Twice daily
accordingly. 12. BBB Bundle branch block
• It allows all healthcare workers to communicate in one 13. BSA Body surface area
language. 14. BPH Benign prostatic hypertrophy
• If you have to get your medical dictionary out every time 15. c̅ With
you get asked to do something, you will be wasting 16. CBC Complete blood count
valuable time. Nurses, doctors, and other health care 17. COPD Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
professionals do not have time to waste, especially in an 18. CXR Chest x-ray
emergency situation. 19. CSF Cerebrospinal fluid
2. BETTER PATIENT SAFETY 20. cc Cubic centimeter
• One small mistake can make a big difference in the health 21. CVA Cerebrovascular accident (stroke)
care field. You could give the wrong medication or just give 22. D/C Discontinue, discharge
the right medication the wrong way. It can be the difference 23. dil Dilate
between ordering the right test or the wrong one! You need 24. DM Diabetes mellitus
25. D5W 5% dextrose and sterile water
to understand medical terms.
26. D5RL 5% dextrose and lactated ringers
• Quality communication among all members of a healthcare
27. ECG Electrocardiogram
team improves patient safety by reducing the number of
28. ea Each
mistakes.
29. Etoh Ethanol
• For instance, if a physician knows the patient’s full medical 30. ENDO Endoscopy
history, including procedures or prior conditions, it helps
that physician prescribe a safe, effective treatment for that ACTIVITY 2
patient. 1. FBS Fasting blood sugar
• If someone confuses the terminology, putting the wrong 2. FC Foley catheter
condition or procedure into the chart, this can make a huge 3. FeSO4 Ferrous sulfate
difference in the care the patient receives. Treatment may 4. fl oz Fluid ounce
be less effective, or in some cases, dangerous. 5. Fx Fracture
3. MORE EFFICIENT CARE AND BETTER PATIENT 6. FUO Fever, unknown origin
EXPERIENCE 7. G Gravida, gram
• Common abbreviations are used in patient records. This 8. G/E Gastroenteritis
helps doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health care 9. gr Grain, grains (dosage
professionals write quickly and efficiently in the records so 10. gtts Drops
that they can be onto the next patient. 11. gm Gram
• It also allows you to read and understand the records 12. GSW Gunshot wound
quickly. When all members of a team know medical 13. GN Glomerulonephritis
14. GERD Gastroesophageal reflux disease
terminology, they can also help the patient learn what
15. HA Hearing aid, headache
those terms mean.
16. Hct Hematocrit
• Patient education helps patients become a more active
17. HBP High blood pressure
part of their care team, leading to improved satisfaction. 18. hs At bed time; hour of sleep
Knowing medical terminology can also help you avoid 19. HZV Herpes zoster virus
making coding or billing mistakes that a patient may have 20. hr Hour, heart rate
to call to correct which is a major patient dissatisfier. 21. hgb Hemoglobin
22. I & O Intake & output
23. IBD Inflammatory bowel disease
24. IBW Ideal body weight
25. IVP IV push
26. IUD Intrauterine device
27. inj Injured, injection
28. jt Joint
29. JRA Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis
30. JVP Jugular venous pulse

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BOGNOT, T.A.
 UNIT 5: MEDICAL TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

ACTIVITY 3 ACTIVITY 5
1. KUB Kidney, ureter, bladder (x-rays) 1. U/A Urinalysis
2. kg Kilogram 2. UGI Upper gastrointestinal
3. KCl Potassium chloride 3. ung Ointment
4. kcal Kilocalorie 4. ut dic As directed
5. LDL Low density lipoprotein 5. u/o Under observation for, urine output
6. l/min Liter per minute 6. URD Upper respiratory disease
7. LRQ Lower right quadrant 7. UTI Urinary tract infection
8. liq Liquid 8. URI Upper respiratory infection
9. lt Left, light 9. vacc Vaccine, vaccination
10. LMP Left mentoposterior, last menstrual period 10. vent Ventilation, ventilator, ventricular
11. mcg Microgram 11. VD Venereal disease
12. meq/L Milliequivalents per liter 12. vit Vitamin, vitreous
13. MAO Monoamine oxidase 13. V/H Visual hallucinations
14. MAO-I Monoamine oxidase-inhibitor 14. VSS Vital signs stable
15. MN Midnight 15. VC Vocal cord, vital capacity
16. MRSA Methicillin resistant staph aureus 16. vd Venereal disease
17. mm/hr Millimeters per hour 17. V & T Volume and tension (pulse)
18. MDI Metered dose inhaler 18. VMA Vanillymandelic acid
19. N&A Not applicable 19. VE Expired minute volume
20. NGT Nasogastric tube 20. V/Q Ventilation/perfusion
21. NKA No known allergies 21. WB Whole blood
22. noc Night 22. wk Week
23. NPO Nothing by mouth 23. w/ With
24. NSS Normal saline solution 24. WD & WN Well developed & well nourished
25. NPH Neutral protamine hagedom 25. WFL Within functional limits
26. NSAIDS Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs 26. x Except
27. OD Right eye 27. XRT Radiation therapy
28. OS Left eye 28. 1° Primary or first degree
29. OPD Outpatient department 29. W/A While awake
30. OCP Ova, cysts, parasites 30. OCP Ova, cysts, parasites
31. WBC White blood cells, white blood count
ACTIVITY 4 32. wt Weight
1. pc After meals 33. VF Visual fields, ventricular fibrillation
2. PCO2 Carbon dioxide concentration 34. 3° Tertiary or third degree
3. PRN As often as necessary 35. ā Before
4. pulv Powder 36. µg Microgram
5. PCN Penicillin 37. @ At
6. PET Positron emission tomography 38. ≠ Not equal to
7. p After, pulse 39. ℥ Ounce
8. po By mouth 40. β Beta
9. pp Postprandial (after eating), postpartum
10. pr Per rectum Good luck and God bless, future Pharmacists!
11. PPN Peripheral parenteral nutrition References:
12. q Every Avera Education & Staffing Solutions. (n.d.). Terminology,
13. qhs Every bedtime Abbreviations, and Symbols.
14. qh Every hour JD-MD, Inc. (n.d.). Medical Abbreviations Glossary
Ma’am MVP Canaria’s Handout
15. q2h Every 2 hours
16. RA Rheumatoid arthritis, right arm, right
atrium, room air
17. RHD Rheumatic heart disease
18. R/O Rule out
19. RSO Right salpingo-oophorectomy
20. s Without
21. SBP Systolic blood pressure
22. sig Label (prescriptions)
23. stat Immediately
24. STEMI ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction
25. sl Under the tongue, sublingual
26. tr Trace
27. tx Treatment, traction
28. TIA Transient ischemic shock/attack
29. TMPSMX Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazide
30. TPN Total parenteral nutrition

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BOGNOT, T.A.