The Joint Commission's Do Not Use List
All healthcare facilities accredited by The Joint Commission are required to maintain a “Do not use” list—a list of abbreviations that should never be used in any form (upper- or lowercase, with or without periods) in clinical documentation because they're confusing and subject to misinterpretation.
Official “Do not use” list
These abbreviations must appear on a “Do not use” list and should be avoided in all orders and medication-related documentation that is hand written (including free-text computer entry) or on preprinted forms.
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*Exception: A “trailing zero” may be used only where required 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/tube sizes. It may not be used in medication orders or other medication-related documentation.
Additional abbreviations
These abbreviations, acronyms, and symbols may represent a risk to patient safety. They are not part of the official “Do not use” list but are reviewed annually for possible inclusion.
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