routes of medication administration abbreviations

"inh" for inhaled (like an asthma rescue inhaler) 9. Below is an alphabetical list of the route abbreviations used in the VetGRAM lists. Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Updated June 2019. Mahumud A, Phillips J, Holquist C. Stemming drug errors from abbreviations. Drug Administration and Drug Mathematics. Parenteral route, on the other hand, refers to any routes of administration that do not involve drug absorption via the gastrointestinal tract (par = around, enteral = gastrointestinal), including injection routes (e.g., intravenous route, intramuscular route, subcutaneous route etc. Common abbreviations are often used for modified-release types of technology for prescription drugs, although no true standard exists for this terminology. doi:10.1258/jrsm.99.12.645, Thompson CA. Administration within the peritoneal cavity. Programs to Become a Patient Advocate or Navigator, Insight Into Quality of Prescription Writing - An Instituitional Study, It's time to throw out old-fashioned Latin abbreviations, Medication errors: prescribing faults and prescription errors, Poor handwriting remains a significant problem in medicine, JCAHO issues 'do-not-use' list of dangerous abbreviations, Prohibited abbreviations: seeking to educate, not enforce, "inh" for inhaled (like an asthma rescue inhaler), "SC" or "SQ" for subcutaneous (like an insulin injection), "q.d." Numbers can lead to confusion and drug dosing errors, too. Many drugs exist in special formulation as tablets or capsules - for example as ER, XR, and SR - to slow absorption or alter where the dissolution and absorption occurs in the gastrointestinal tract. Some of the typed or computer-generated abbreviations, prescription symbols, and dose designations can still be confusing and lead to mistakes in drug dosing or timing. Facts About the Official “Do Not Use” List of Abbreviations. Routes can also be classified based on where the target of action is. Glassman P. The Joint Commission's “Do Not Use” List: Brief Review (NEW) In: Making Health Care Safer II: An Updated Critical Analysis of the Evidence for Patient Safety Practices. serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, Use caution as "SC" can be mistaken for "SL," meaning sublingual per FDA, sliding scale (insulin) OR 1/2 (apothecary; obsolete), Use caution; can be misinterpreted; better to spell out "sliding scale" or "one-half", sliding scale regular insulin OR selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, Spell out; can be confused with TID (three times a day), Mistaken as the number "0" (zero), the number "4" (four), or "cc". Accessed July 17, 2019 at, The Joint Commission. ). Absorption via this route is slow but conducive to producing long-lasting effects. Drugs administered orally are placed in the mouth and swallowed. We comply with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information -. Can be confused to mean BID (twice daily) and QID (four times daily); pharmacists should clarify abbreviations with DVM, if needed. But there may be more to know about this shorthand than meets the eye. When writing out a dose, do not use a trailing zero and do use a leading zero. 2012;65(4):294–299. Can Discount Prescription Drug Cards Really Help You Save? According to JCAHO, for the following abbreviations, doctors must write the full word and not the abbreviation on any order or medication-related document that is handwritten (including computer forms where there is free text) or pre-printed forms. When your doctor hands you a prescription for a medication, you may think some of it is written in another language—maybe because of its bad handwriting and/or perplexing abbreviations and symbols.. The rectal mucosa is capable of absorbing many soluble drugs into the circulation. or "QD" for daily, "qod" or "q.o.d." or "QOD" or "Q.O.D." Rectal route can also be preferred when the patient has persistent vomiting or is unable to swallow. 2003;60(24):2540–2542. or bid (twice daily) 3. t.i.d. Synonymous with the term subdermal or hypodermal. 2006;53(1):1–2. The local route is the simplest mode of administration of a drug at the site where the desired action is required. What are the risks vs. benefits of medications? Required fields are marked *. Available for Android and iOS devices. Report adverse events that stem from medication errors or abbreviations errors to the FDA; these events can be used to further inform and expand recommendations for safety. Injection routes of drug administration are usually employed where: The most important factors or requirements in all injection routes are the surrounding tissue or site must be as clean as possible, and all instruments used must be clean and sterile. Sign up for our Health Tip of the Day newsletter, and receive daily tips that will help you live your healthiest life. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. A few examples include: In good practice, your doctor should write out medical instructions fully on a prescription, including the medication name, frequency of intake, and route of administration—like Ciprofloxacin 250mg by mouth once daily. They mainly involve introducing the drug in form of solution or suspension into the body at various sites and to varying depths using syringe and needle. This results in rapid onset of action. "po" for by mouth 10. doctors must write 0.5mg instead of .5mg), "cc" be written as "mL" or "milliliters," as "cc" can be mistaken for "U" for units, micrograms should be written as "micrograms" or "mcg" and not "μg", avoiding the symbol "@," as this can be confused for a "2. Pharmacists should be included in teams that develop or evaluate EMRs and e-prescribing tools. Transdermal patches also provide less absorption problems in the gastrointestinal tract that are commonly experienced by patients who take oral medications. Kuhn, I.F. Administration within or into a vein or veins. It may not be used in medication orders or other medication-related documentation. Drugs are applied topically, that is to the skin or mucous membrane of the eye, ear, nose, mouth, vagina etc., mainly for local action. rapid effect is urgently needed as in emergency situations; the patient is too ill or unconscious for oral route to be employed; the drug is orally ineffective due to its being destroyed or not absorbed from the gut; an injection is the only way for the drug to reach its require site of action; there is need to maintain a steady blood level of a drug. (Evidence Reports/Technology Assessments, No. Route of administration has not yet been assigned. or prn(as needed) 8. June 12, 2019. The Joint Commission notes an exception to the Trailing Zero warning. 211.) 2009;67(6):624–628. Practitioners, including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, physician assistants and nurse practitioners, should be very familiar with the abbreviations used in medical practice and in prescription writing. Drug Topics. Most drugs that are given orally are absorbed into the circulation from the gastrointestinal tract very efficiently within the limits of the physicochemical properties of the drug concerned. When the systemic absorption of a drug is desired, medications are usually administered by two main routes: the enteral route and the parenteral route. Br J Clin Pharmacol. This website uses cookies. Tabers Online. In 2005, the Institute of Medical Practices, or ISMP, also created a list of medical abbreviations that can cause errors. This list is much larger that the JCAHO list. or hs (at bedtime) 5. p.c. It's time to throw out old-fashioned Latin abbreviations. However, discrepancies between structured and free-text fields in electronic prescriptions are common and can lead to medical errors and possible patient harm. Medical Conversions - How many ml in a teaspoon? They state that a “trailing zero” may be used only where needed to demonstrate the level of precision of the value being reported, such as for laboratory results, imaging studies that report size of lesions, or catheter or tube sizes. Timed-release technology allows drugs to be dissolved over time, allows more steady blood concentrations of drugs, and can lower the number of times a drug must be taken per day compared to immediate-release (IR) formulations. Apothecary prescription abbreviations, like the ones you might see written by your doctor on your prescription or a hospital medication order, can be a common source of confusion for healthcare providers, too. July 1, 2002. These routes however are not suitable for bitter preparations. In this route of administration, the drug is placed under the tongue (sublingual route) or between gums and inner lining of the cheek (buccal route). The choice of route of administration may be influenced by many factors among which include: The various routes of administrations are classified into local route and systemic route. A Microgram of Prevention is Worth a Milligram of Cure: Preventing Medication Errors in Animals. Of course, if you suspect an error on your prescription please notify your doctor and pharmacist right away—even with the new abbreviation guidelines, errors do occur. The drug is rapidly absorbed through the mucosa into circulation, thereby bypassing the portal circulation and, thus, the first-pass metabolism in the liver. doi:10.4212/cjhp.v65i4.1160, Overview of Abbreviations on Prescriptions, Ⓒ 2020 About, Inc. (Dotdash) — All rights reserved. As an example, a prescription for “furosemide 40 mg Q.D.” (40 mg daily) was misinterpreted as “QID” (40 mg four times a day), leading to a fatal medical error. Visit our. Drugs may be inhaled as gases (e.g., nitrous oxide) and enter the bloodstream by diffusing across the alveolar membrane. Routes of administration are generally classified by the location at which the substance is applied. Regulations, Guidelines and Clinical Trials, Abbreviations Commonly Used In Prescriptions and Medication Orders. Unlike the oral route, drugs with irritant or unpalatable nature can be administered through the rectum. Data sources include IBM Watson Micromedex (updated 2 Nov 2020), Cerner Multum™ (updated 2 Nov 2020), ASHP (updated 23 Oct 2020) and others. See the table for timed-release technology abbreviations. Accessed July 17, 2019 at, FDA Consumer Updates. Drugs administered through this route must be highly lipophilic. Many abbreviations on a prescription pertain to how often a person should take a medication, like before a meal, or the route of administration, like inhaled versus by mouth.2 Some examples include: 1. a.c. or ac ( before meals) 2. b.i.d. Prescriber should instead spell out "unit" per Joint Commission's "Do Not Use" List of Abbreviations, μg or mcg can be misinterpreted as "mg", better to spell out 'microgram'. For a drug to produce its desired therapeutic effect, it must come in contact with the tissues of organs and cells of tissues by one way or the other; and for this to take place the drug must be administered in the appropriate manner. Am J Health Syst Pharm. A route of administration in pharmacology and toxicology is the path by which a drug, fluid, poison, or other substance is taken into the body.. Medical terminology is difficult enough, but how do you interpret these prescription directions written in code? Is pill splitting a safe way to save on prescription drug costs? Chapter 5. Some of the typed or computer-generated abbreviations, prescription symbols, and dose designations can still be confusing and lead to mistakes in drug dosing or timing. Enteric-coated formulations, such as enteric-coated aspirin, help to protect the stomach by allowing the active ingredient to bypass dissolution in the stomach and instead dissolve in the intestinal tract.