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allied
academies
International Conference on
FAMILY MEDICINE AND FAMILY PHYSICIANS
October 16-17, 2017 | Toronto, Canada
Arch Gen Intern Med 2017 | Volume 1 Issue 3
Use of abbreviations and acronyms among healthcare workers in a resource limited setting
Billy M Tsima, Deogratias O Mbuka Maxwell Mungisi
and
Eva Lephirimile
Department of Family Medicine & Public Health, University of Botswana School of Medicine
Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital
Corresponding author, Private Bag 0022, Gaborone, Botswana
Context:
Abbreviations and acronyms (A&A) are commonly
used in both general and clinical settings to simplify and
facilitate communication as well as means of saving time,
space and effort. However, the use of abbreviations has been
linked to patient safety issues. District hospitals operate with a
heterogeneous community of healthcare workers presumably
with diverse set of A&A in use. The use of A&A in these settings
assumes that all have common understanding regarding the
A&A used in patient records. We therefore aimed to assess
the frequency, nature and healthcare workers’ understanding
of the meaning of the abbreviations and acronyms used in
medical records at a district hospital in Botswana.
Methods:
A cross-sectional study was conducted over one
month using inpatient medical charts at a district hospital
in Botswana to produce a self-administered questionnaire
assessing healthcare workers’ understanding of abbreviations.
Results:
A total of 57 charts were included in the study. The
total count of abbreviations, acronyms and symbols was
1693 representing 86 different groups. The score of correctly
identifiedabbreviationswas different among the threecadres of
healthcare workers (P=0.001) assessed. Overall, the healthcare
workers correctly identified 73% of the abbreviations. In fifty
of the collated abbreviations (58,1%), participants suggested
alternative meaning of the abbreviation.
Conclusion:
There is evidence that abbreviations are frequently
used in medical notes at a district hospital in a resource
limited setting. There is need to standardize abbreviations and
acronyms used in clinical care to minimize the potential danger
of compromised patient safety in district hospitals and similar
settings.
e:
billy.tsima@mopipi.ub.bw