Dear Paul and All,
on 07.01.2001 07.21, Paul Trusten at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
<snip>
> The best solution to this communication problem is mathematical facility
> in using decimals and in using SI, so the writer writes either 0.025 mg
> OR 25 mcg (sorry, I don't have a "mu" handy) and the reader can
> understand either notation.
A better solution is to use the recommended alternative for those without
access to a full range of characters - use lower case 'u' in place of the
Greek letter (mu). Your example would then read ' 0.025 mg OR 25 ug'.
I can't remember the number of the relevant ISO standard for this but I'm
sure that one of our colleagues can tell us.
> I must also confess that use of the SI "mu" prefix for "micro" can cause
> confusion in medication orders, since a careless writer will make the
> "mu" look like "m", so we have to read between the lines and/or call the
> prescriber to verify (time for electronic order entry in all medication
> orders!).
A campaign to substitute 'u' instead of (mu) might help here.
Cheers,
Pat Naughtin CAMS
Geelong, Australia
