The use of potentially dangerous terminology, abbreviations and dose expressions when communicating about medicines, contributes significantly to medication errors. Standardisation has been identified as a key strategy in reducing these errors.
The 'Recommendations for terminology, abbreviations and symbols used in medicines documentation’ promote patient safety through clear and unambiguous communication of medicines information. These recommendations include:
A list of error prone abbreviations, symbols and dose designations to be avoided can be found in the Spell it Out standards.
These principles and recommendations apply to:
Although these standards provide recommendations they are not all inclusive.
There may also be specific circumstances where other terminology may be considered safe. Before deciding to include such terminology in local policies, consider the principles outlined in the Recommendations.
The Spell it out: Standardised terminology, abbreviations and symbols to be used when communicating about medicines Policy (PDF 116KB) aims to promote patient safety through the use of clear and unambiguous communication of medicines information.
Further information on the standardised terminology, abbreviations and symbols to be used when communicating about medicines, contact Medicines and Technology Policy and Programs.
In 2008, the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care proposed the use of a document prepared by NSW Therapeutic Advisory Group as a national standard for terminology, abbreviations and symbols. This standard was endorsed by Health Ministers for release and implementation from January 2009.
In 2016, the Commission produced an updated document 'Recommendations for terminology, abbreviations and symbols used in medicines documentation, December 2016'.
