John Dentler, writing in Hospitals & Health Networks, weighs in on sloppy healthcare language:

“When there are a lack of rules guiding definitions, spelling and acronyms or initialisms of words used in an organization, the result is an inconsistent lexicon that can negatively affect planning, operations, communication and credibility.

“At the low end of concern is when inconsistencies make a project more challenging or frustrate new staff trying to learn their jobs. Of much more concern is when inconsistencies and varying vocabularies change the meaning of policy, cause erroneous calculations in financial projections or cause patient information to become lost or confused.”

He lists as particularly problematic:

• “Cases and procedures”.
• “Integrated and integrative care”.
• “Quality improvement, quality assurance and performance improvement”.
• “Cost and price.”
• “3M”

To read Mr. Dentler’s article, please hit this link.