Abbreviations, acronyms, and brief forms are often used in medical dictation to speed up communication, but they frequently create confusion instead. While the originator may think that dictating the abbreviation AML is the fastest way to communicate acute myelocytic leukemia, medical transcriptionists know better. They face the dilemma: Does AML mean acute monocytic leukemia, acute myeloblastic leukemia, acute myelocytic leukemia, acute myelogenous leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, or perhaps even some less common alternative? In the numerous publications devoted to translating medical abbreviations, abbreviations with a single meaning appear to be in the minority.
Clarity of communication is essential. Avoid the use of abbreviations, acronyms, and brief forms except for internationally recognized and accepted units of measure and for widely recognized terms and symbols. Do not use any that readers will not immediately recognize. Unless the abbreviations, acronym, or brief form is so widely used that it has in essence become a term in its own right, use the expanded term first, followed by its abbreviated form in parentheses. Then use the abbreviated form throughout the remainder of the document.
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Monday, August 4, 2008
Medical Transcription Abbreviations and Acronyms
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