Frequently Used Medical Abbreviations You Should Know
Medical personnel tend to use abbreviations assuming that the lay- person understands precisely what they are talking about. Have you ever visited someone in the hospital and wondered what the abbreviations on the outside of the room mean?
So often we are afraid or intimidated to ask what is meant, or we feel so overwhelmed with the medical protocols that we forget to ask. You should never feel afraid to ask, but The Care Company wants to help you in advance of any questions. Print out this guide and keep it in your Empowered Caregivers notebook. (Visit The Shop if you want to purchase this easy to use notebook.) You might even keep it in your wallet for easy reference.
Remember that an informed caregiver is an Empowered Caregiver.
- bid – two times a day
- tid – three times a day
- qid – four times a day
- q – every (q 6 hours = every 6 hours)
- AC or ac – before meals
- PC or pc – after meals
- HS or hs – hour of sleep, at bedtime
- Po – per oral, by mouth
- NPO – nothing per oral, nothing by mouth
- SOB – shortness of breath
- OOB – out of bed
- HOB – head of bed
- DNR – do not resuscitate
- CAD – coronary artery disease
- PTCA – percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty
- AAA – abdominal aortic aneurysm
- BP – blood pressure
- CABG – coronary artery bypass graft
- COPD – chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- TIA – transient ischemic attack
- HTN – hypertension
- BPH – benign prostatic hypertrophy
- CHF – congestive heart failure
- CPAP – continuous positive airway pressure
- MI – myocardial infarction (heart attack)
- CVA – cerebrovascular accident (stroke)
- DVT – deep vein thrombosis (blood clots in the legs)
- CPR – cardio pulmonary resuscitation
- IDDM – insulin dependent diabetes mellitus
- CRNP – certified registered nurse practitioner
- PA – physicians assistant
- RN – registered nurse
- LVN or LPN – licensed vocational nurse or licensed practical nurse
- CNA – certified nurse assistant
- OD – right eye
- OU – both eyes
- OS – left eye
- PVD – peripheral vascular disease
- PUD – peptic ulcer disease
- GERD – gastric esophageal reflux disease
- TURP – transurethral resection of the prostate
- UTI – urinary tract infection
- EKG or ECG – electrocardiogram
- Echo – echocardiogram (ultrasound of heart)
- STAT – immediately
- HIPAA – Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (regulates health information privacy)
- PT , PTT, INR – prothrombin time, partial thromboplastin time, international normalized ratio (blood tests used to measure how quickly blood clots form)
- EMS – Emergency Medical System
- HIM – Health Information Management (formerly known as Medical Records)
