When your healthcare provider 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.

Common Prescription Abbreviations 

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.

The problem with medical abbreviations is that they can be misread or misunderstood by pharmacists, leading to a medication error, and this can be harmful to a patient. Bad handwriting is common, and a slip of the finger on an electronic prescription is also not far-fetched.

Banned Medical Abbreviations

 To prevent these medical errors, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals (JCAH) created a “Do Not Use” list of abbreviations in 2003.

According to JCAH, for the following abbreviations, healthcare providers 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.

More Error-Prone Abbreviations

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. Below are just a few examples.

Bottom Line

In good practice, your healthcare provider should write out medical instructions fully on a prescription, including the medication name, frequency of intake, and route of administration—like ciprofloxacin 250 mg by mouth once daily. This ensures clear communication to the pharmacist and/or nurse and optimizes safety for you as a patient.

If you suspect an error on your prescription please notify your healthcare provider and pharmacist right away—even with the abbreviation guidelines, errors do occur. Trust your gut and your keen eye. You don’t want to become a casualty of medical error.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What does p.r.n. mean in medication?
  • The abbreviation p.r.n. or prn on a prescription means as needed. It stands for the Latin phrase pro re nata, which translates to “as the circumstances arise.”
  • What does b.i.d. mean on a prescription?
  • Twice a day. B.i.d. or bid is an abbreviation for bis in die, a Latin phrase that translates to two times a day.
  • What does t.i.d. mean on a prescription?
  • Three times a day. T.i.d. or tid is the abbreviation for ter in die, a Latin phrase that translates to three times a day.
  • What does SQ mean?
  • SQ is a medical abbreviation for subcutaneous, meaning under the skin. It commonly refers to injections administered with a short needle to deliver medication to the fatty tissue under the skin. Insulin, for example, is given as a subcutaneous injection.
  • What does p.o. mean on a prescription?
  • Oral route. P.o. or po on a prescription means the medication is taken by mouth. It is an abbreviation of the Latin term per os, which means by mouth. It is sometimes noted as per oral.

The abbreviation p.r.n. or prn on a prescription means as needed. It stands for the Latin phrase pro re nata, which translates to “as the circumstances arise.”

Twice a day. B.i.d. or bid is an abbreviation for bis in die, a Latin phrase that translates to two times a day.

Three times a day. T.i.d. or tid is the abbreviation for ter in die, a Latin phrase that translates to three times a day.

SQ is a medical abbreviation for subcutaneous, meaning under the skin. It commonly refers to injections administered with a short needle to deliver medication to the fatty tissue under the skin. Insulin, for example, is given as a subcutaneous injection.

Oral route. P.o. or po on a prescription means the medication is taken by mouth. It is an abbreviation of the Latin term per os, which means by mouth. It is sometimes noted as per oral.

  • Dyasanoor S, Urooge A. Insight into quality of prescription writing - an instituitional study. J Clin Diagn Res. 2016;10(3):ZC61–ZC64. doi:10.7860/JCDR/2016/18011.7472

  • Weaver JM. It’s time to throw out old-fashioned Latin abbreviations. Anesth Prog. 2006;53(1):1–2. doi:10.2344/0003-3006(2006)53[1:ITTTOO]2.0.CO;2

  • Velo GP, Minuz P. Medication errors: prescribing faults and prescription errors. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2009;67(6):624–628. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2125.2009.03425.x

  • Sokol DK, Hettige S. Poor handwriting remains a significant problem in medicine. J R Soc Med. 2006;99(12):645–646. doi:10.1258/jrsm.99.12.645

  • Thompson CA. JCAHO issues ‘do-not-use’ list of dangerous abbreviations. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2003;60(24):2540–2542. doi:10.1093/ajhp/60.24.2540

  • Institute for Safe Medication Practices. List of error-prone abbreviations. October 2, 2017.

  • Glassman P. Making Health Care Safer II: An Updated Critical Analysis of the Evidence for Patient Safety Practices. Chapter 5. The Joint Commission’s “Do Not Use” List: Brief Review (NEW). Rockville: Evidence Reports/Technology Assessments, No. 211, 2013.

  • Kuhn, I.F. Abbreviations and acronyms in healthcare: when shorter isn’t sweeter. Pediatric Nursing. 2007 Sep-Oct;33(5):392-8.

By Colleen Doherty, MD

 Colleen Doherty, MD, is a board-certified internist living with multiple sclerosis.

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