Doctors' slang for patients on way out

File photo / APN

Derogatory doctors' slang is on the way out as more medical practitioners become aware that their notes may be seen by patients.

Acronyms on patients' files, including FLK for funny-looking kid, DGT (drunk, got thumped), LOBNH (lights on but nobody home) and Father Ted, to describe a confused elderly patient have long been used by doctors but once medical files are stored on a national electronic system, they are expected to become extinct, the Dominion Post reported.

The slang has come increasingly under the microscope as information became widely shared and available in electronic form, Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff said.

With requests under the Privacy or Official Information acts, doctors were well advised to keep their humorous comments to themselves, Ms Shroff said.

Doctors were also censoring their notes in the event they have to read them out in court and explain the acronyms in litigation cases.

The practice was common in British hospitals where terms like "ex-arbor" (out of their tree) and "oligoneuronal" (not too smart) had been in use.

Wellington GP Chris Kalderimis said he was aware of cases of slang use, but had not seen its use for some time.

- NZPA