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Study
Danger in discharge summaries: abbreviations create confusion for both author and recipient.
May 31, 2023
Coghlan A, Turner S, Coverdale S. Intern Med J. 2023;53(4):550-558.
Use of abbreviations in electronic health records increases risk of misunderstandings, particularly between providers of different specialties. In this study, junior doctors and general practitioners were asked about their understanding of common, uncommon, and rare abbreviations used in hospital discharge notes. No abbreviation was interpreted in the same way by all respondents, and nearly all respondents left at least one abbreviation blank or responded that they didn't know.
