Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Other Healthcare Shorthand via Health Literacy

Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Other Healthcare Shorthand

Health Literacy: 2.01.2020

Imagine what it’s like to be suddenly injured or ill. You or your family member calls 911. EMTs arrive and take you to the nearest ER or ED. You or someone in your family is given a lot of paperwork, including HIPAA notification. The doctors and nurses say you need an IV, MRI, EKG, and CT scan. And all this before being admitted to the ICU.

Now replay this scenario and imagine being someone who seldom, if ever, interacts with the healthcare system. Maybe you also are new to this country and speak only a limited amount of English. Not only are you dealing with pain and uncertainty, but you also must try to comprehend an unfamiliar language filled with healthcare abbreviations and acronyms.

While abbreviations and acronyms have their place as a form of shorthand, they can also lead to confusion. Based on an On Call article I wrote several years ago, here are some tips about how to communicate more clearly.

Use abbreviations and acronyms only when you really need them. Jeanne McGee, author of the Toolkit for Making Written Material Clear and Effective, says that writers often use abbreviations and acronyms out of habit rather than as deliberate tools to improve understanding. She recommends using shortened terms only when they help.

An example is using a commonly used disease name like “HIV/AIDS,” rather than “human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome.” But include all words when referring to something less publicly known such as the “National Cancer Institute” rather than “NCI,” especially when using this term just once.  READ MORE >>

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