Reference table
Dosing vocabulary
A reference table of the dosing terms the platform uses for routes, frequencies and units, with the meaning of each term.
This page lists the dosing terms the platform uses and gives the meaning of each. A medication order builds its schedule from these terms, so a prescriber picks from a fixed set rather than typing free text.
The terms below travel from the order into the schedule unchanged. Forge records them on the order, and Quest turns the frequency and duration into the doses that fall due.
Dose frequencies
A frequency sets how often a dose falls due across the day.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| OD | Once a day. |
| BD | Twice a day. |
| TDS | Three times a day. |
| QID | Four times a day. |
| QDS | Four times a day, the same as QID. |
| HS | At bedtime. |
| Every set hours | A dose at order time, then repeated at a fixed interval, such as every six hours. |
| STAT | A single dose, given at once. |
| SOS | As needed. |
| PRN | As needed, the same as SOS. |
Dose routes
A route sets how the dose is given. The route may differ from the drug's usual route where the order calls for it.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Oral | By mouth. |
| Sublingual | Under the tongue. |
| Intravenous | Into a vein. |
| Intramuscular | Into a muscle. |
| Subcutaneous | Under the skin. |
| Inhaled | Breathed in. |
| Topical | Onto the skin. |
| Rectal | Into the rectum. |
| Nasal | Into the nose. |
Units and quantities
A dose is a quantity paired with a unit, such as milligrams, micrograms, millilitres or units. The order carries the amount given at each administration.
A course can carry a different quantity at each slot, so a reducing regimen reads as one order rather than several. Clinical quantities may run to decimals, such as a weight-based dose in milligrams for each kilogram.
As-needed doses
An as-needed dose, marked SOS or PRN, schedules on demand rather than in advance. It carries the reason to give it and the limits that hold it in check.
| Field | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Indication | The reason to give a dose, such as pain, fever, nausea, agitation or a breakthrough seizure. |
| Minimum gap | The shortest time to leave between two doses. |
| Daily limit | The most doses to give in a day. |
Course duration
A scheduled course carries a length in days, and the schedule runs that far. A single immediate dose, marked STAT, carries no duration and falls due once.
One vocabulary, read the same everywhere
Because these terms are a fixed set, a schedule reads the same across the platform. Quest builds due doses from the frequency and duration, and every surface that shows the schedule reads from the same terms.
Common questions
What does an every-set-hours frequency carry?
An interval in hours. A dose falls due at order time, then repeats at that interval, such as every six hours, until the course runs out.
Are QID and QDS different?
They mean the same, four times a day. In the same way, SOS and PRN both mean as needed.
Can a route differ from the drug's usual one?
Yes. The order carries its own route, so a drug given by a route other than its default records the route you chose.
See how these terms become due doses in medication schedules.