SKIN 
 

March 2019     Volume 3  Issue 2 
 

Copyright 2018 The National Society for Cutaneous Medicine 149 

RISING DERM STARS® 
 

 
Understanding of abbreviations in dermatology: A survey of primary care 
providers 
 
Bethany Rohr MD1, Andrea Berger MAS, Jill Henley DO, Nichole Hossler MD, Eric Hossler MD 
 
1Department of Dermatology, Geisinger Health System, Danville, PA 
 

 
 
Background/Objectives: Abbreviations in 
medical documentation limit effective 
communication between health care 
providers. 
 
Methods: A survey containing 5 
demographic questions and 20 fill-in the 
blank questions was conducted from August 
through October of 2016. Respondents 
included physicians and mid-level providers 
in the fields of medicine, medicine-pediatrics, 
pediatrics and family practice. 
 
Results: Responses were provided by 57 
total providers in the departments of family 
medicine 39 (68.4%), internal medicine 7 
(12.3%), medicine/pediatrics 6 (10.5%), and 
pediatrics 5 (8.8%). On average, providers 
correctly answered 7.2 (36.2%) of the twenty 
dermatology abbreviations. The 
abbreviations with the highest number of 
correct responses were AK-actinic keratosis 
(91.2%), BCC-basal cell carcinoma (86.0%), 
SCC-squamous cell carcinoma (86.0%), SK-
seborrheic keratosis (82.5%) and MTX-
methotrexate (71.9%), and the lowest were 
ILK- intralesional kenalog (1.8%), AA- 
alopecia areata (1.8%), PDT- photodynamic 
therapy (1.8%), and MMS- Mohs 
micrographic surgery (3.5%). Family 
medicine providers scored better (median of 
40% correct) compared to providers from 
other departments (internal medicine and 

medicine/pediatrics combined 35%, 
pediatrics 15%) (p-value = 0.0115).  
 
Conclusion: Niche dermatologic 
abbreviations are often unrecognized by 
primary care providers and should be 
avoided in medical documentation. 

References: 
1. Politis J, Lau S, Yeoh J, Brand C, Russell 

D, Liew D. Overview of shorthand 
medical glossary (OMG) study. Intern 
Med J. 2015;45:423-427.  

2. Patel CB, Rashid RM. Averting the 
proliferation of acronymophilia in 
dermatology: effectively avoiding 
ADCOMSUBORDCOMPHIBSPAC. J Am 
Acad Dermatol. 2009;60:340-344.  

3. Shilo L, Shilo G. Analysis of 
abbreviations used by residents in 
admission notes and discharge 
summaries. QJM. 2018;111:179-183.  

4. Sinha S, McDermott F, Srinivas G, 
Houghton PW. Use of abbreviations by 
healthcare professionals: what is the 
way forward? Postgrad Med J. 
2011;87:450-452.  

5. Vale SM, Koenig K, Ailor SK, Martin K. 
Knowledge of dermatologic 
abbreviations: A survey of patients and 
physicians who are not dermatologists. 
J Am Acad Dermatol. 2017;76:362-364.