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Dictionary · Abbreviation

qhs

Every night at bedtime, from the Latin quaque hora somni.

kyoo-aych-es (said as letters) abbreviation

What it means

A timing abbreviation on medication orders, such as "zolpidem 5 mg PO qhs." ISMP's 2024 list warns that a handwritten mixed-case "Qhs" can be misread as "qhr," every hour, and advises writing it as QHS or qhs, or simply "nightly at bedtime." The similar "qn" (nightly) is on the list too.

For the nurse

Give the dose at the client's usual bedtime. If the writing could be read as an hourly dose, clarify it.

At a glance

Also writtenq.h.s., QHS

Related terms

PRN

As needed: an order for a drug or treatment to be given only when the client needs it, within set limits.

qn

An abbreviation for "nightly" that ISMP advises against; write "nightly" or "at bedtime."

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