Medical Abbreviations
This 3-letter abbreviation stands for the federal law that protects patient privacy and sensitive health information.
What is HIPAA?
In a Just Culture framework, this type of error occurs unintentionally due to a slip, lapse, or system flaw and should be consoled rather than punished.
What is Human Error
This feature in Epic lets you quickly pull pre-written text, templates, or phrases directly into a clinical note using a period followed by a keyword.
What is SmartPhrase?
According to CDC guidelines, this simple action remains the single most effective way to prevent the spread of infections in a healthcare setting.
What is Hand Hygiene (or Handwashing / Using Hand Sanitizer)?
When charting a rash or swelling on a patient's body, this term is used if the issue affects both sides equally—the opposite of unilateral.
What is Bilateral?
On a patient chart, the abbreviation SOB is shorthand for this symptom.
What is shortness of breath?
Before giving an immunization or performing a lab draw, an MA verifies the patient's identity using two distinct identifiers—typically their full name and this piece of information.
What is Date of Birth (or DOB)?
On the Schedule / Appointment Desk view, double-clicking a patient's name or right-clicking to select this action opens their full clinical chart.
What is Open Chart?
When rooming a patient presenting with symptoms of a communicable respiratory illness (like persistent coughing or flu symptoms), this piece of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) should be provided to the patient immediately upon arrival
What is a Surgical Mask (or Face Mask)?
Expressed in millimeters of mercury, 120/80 is considered the standard normal reading for this vital sign.
What is blood pressure?
Written routinely on charts, encounters, and lab requisitions, this 2-letter abbreviation stands for a patient's formal medical diagnosis.
What is Dx?
JHCP staff use this dedicated electronic reporting tool to log patient safety events, near-misses, and hazardous conditions so quality teams can fix underlying workflow issues.
What is HERO
This inbox folder in Epic collects refill requests, lab results, co-signatures, and patient portal messages requiring staff action.
What is the In Basket?
Contaminated sharps like needles, scalpels, and broken blood tubes must strictly be disposed of in a rigid container marked with this color and symbol.
What is a Red Biohazard Sharps Container?
This common word root or prefix means "stomach" or "digestive system".
What is Gastro-?
MAs and MOAs use this 2-letter abbreviation when documenting a patient's past medical, surgical, or family background during rooming.
What is Hx (History)?
This brief daily meeting is held by clinic teams every morning to align on workflow, staffing, and potential safety risks.
What is a Huddle?
To delegate or route incoming patient portal messages, lab results, or refill requests to a specific MA pool or team triage folder, staff use this button located on the top toolbar of the In Basket.
What is forward?
When removing (doffing) full PPE after completing a procedure, this piece of equipment is always removed first because it is considered the most heavily contaminated.
What are gloves?
When documenting a chief complaint in Epic for a patient presenting with dizziness, an MA records Syncope if the patient reports this specific medical event occurred.
What is Fainting (or Passing Out / Temporary Loss of Consciousness)?
Derived from the Latin word statim, this 4-letter abbreviation on a provider's order means the lab, medication, or procedure must be done immediately.
What is STAT?
According to Just Culture principles, when someone consciously chooses to take a shortcut or bend a clinical safety protocol without realizing the full severity of the risk, leadership's response should be to do this rather than discipline.
What is coaching?
When a provider or staff member leaves for vacation or out-of-office care, they assign another team member to manage their incoming patient messages using this Epic feature.
What is Out of Office Coverage (or In Basket Coverage)?
This standard OSHA protocol, followed across all Johns Hopkins practices, requires treating all human blood, body fluids, non-intact skin, and mucous membranes as if they are infectious for bloodborne pathogens.
What is Standard Precautions
The iron-rich protein gives red blood cells their color and transport oxygen.
What is hemoglobin?