Doctors
Unapproved Abbreviations
CMS (Medicare) Federal regulation PROHIBIT the use of the following unapproved abbreviations and symbols. These apply to ALL healthcare providers and ALL clinical documentation.
DO NOT USE: |
USE: |
Q.D. |
"daily" OR "q 24 hours" |
Q.O.D. |
"every other day" |
U or u |
"unit" |
IU |
"international unit" |
A.S./ A.D. / A.U. |
"left ear", "right ear", or "both ears" |
O.S./ O.D. / O.U. |
"left eye", "right eye", or "both eyes" |
T.I.W. |
"3 times weekly" OR "three times weekly" |
ug |
"mcg" |
Trailing zero |
NEVER write a zero by itself AFTER a decimal point |
Decimal point first |
ALWAYS use a zero BEFORE a decimal point |