50 Must-Know Pharmacy Abbreviations!

What are pharmacy abbreviations?

One of the central responsibilities of pharmacy technicians is their ability to safely and accurately interpret prescriptions. Pharmacy abbreviations are often used on prescriptions as shorthand for how the medicine should be taken. Here, we review the primary pharmacy abbreviations you need to know for the PTCB exam.

Understanding a prescription is important.

Pharmacy technicians need to interpret the prescription and correctly input those details into a computerized patient database. Incorrectly interpreting prescriptions means that the pharmacist may inaccurately prescribe either the wrong medicine or perhaps the wrong dose/directions for use to the patient.

Technicians are not only obliged to interpret the prescription but also to be aware of any details that are missing. We have already examined the mandated details that must appear on prescriptions. Technicians must ensure that each prescription is valid and contains the details that it is legally obliged to have.

The pharmacy abbreviations tabulated below contain all abbreviations you are expected to know for the PTCB exam, but also for clinical practice. It’s imperative that you practice PTCB questions on these pharmacy abbreviations. The more practice, the better and more fluent your knowledge of this form of clinical communication.

Top 50 Pharmacy Abbreviations

If you find learning these prescription abbreviations difficult, try to learn more about the Latin derivations that underpin them.

The more Latin you know, the easier it becomes to translate what these abbreviations mean. You probably know more Latin derivations and roots than you think you do. Many clinical and pharmacy-related vocabulary, after all, also has Latin-based roots.

Take Home Message

Pharmacy abbreviations is one of the core topics of the PTCB exam.

It’s vital that you understand how to interpret each of these abbreviations – not just on their own but also as part of wider prescription instructions, too.

For instance, let’s take the following three examples:

• ii gtts ou qid ud = apply two drops to each eye 4 times daily as directed
• 1 tab pr qd prn = insert 1 tablet rectally each day as needed
• iii tab po tid x 7d = take 3 tablets orally three times daily for 7 days

Knowing prescription abbreviations, then, eliminates the risk of dispensing errors.

If you are already a member of PTCB Test Prep, please go to the section entitled ‘pharmacy abbreviations’ and take the accompanying quizzes. Through these PTCB practice exams and explained answers, this will help commit these clinical details to memory and help you master your understanding of prescriptions.

PTCB Test Prep is the leading online platform that teaches the clinical details for the PTCB exam. Check back to our PTCB blog soon for more great content on prescription abbreviations and how to accurately read prescriptions.