D/C (discharge)
Formal Definition
A common clinical abbreviation with two distinct meanings depending on context: (1) "D/C" as discharge — to release a patient from the hospital or to safely cease a therapy ("D/C home with follow-up", "D/C the Foley catheter", "D/C the antibiotic on day 7"); (2) "D/C" as discontinue — to stop something ("D/C metoprolol" or "the metoprolol was D/C'd"); in EHR documentation, both are common and context determines meaning.
How It's Used on the Ward
"D/C" or "DC" — depending on context, this means either discharge (patient leaving the hospital, "DC'd home") or discontinue (stopping a medication or therapy, "DC'd the IV"); ambiguity is common — context resolves it ("DC'd home on ASA" means discharged home on aspirin; "DC'd ASA" means stopped aspirin).
Example
""Resident on rounds: 'Patient is medically stable, tolerating PO, ambulating well, pain controlled. Ready to DC home today. We'll DC the Foley and DC the IV antibiotics since she's been afebrile 36 hours and WBC is back to normal. Continue home oral antibiotics to complete the 7-day course. Family meeting at 1400 to review discharge instructions.'""
Clinical Context
Common D/C scenarios in inpatient care: (1) D/C home — discharge home; (2) D/C skilled nursing facility — discharge to SNF for continued rehab; (3) D/C hospice — discharge to home hospice or inpatient hospice; (4) D/C to rehab — LTAC (long-term acute care), acute rehab, subacute rehab. D/C in medication context: D/C something means stop it (often after a defined course, e.g., antibiotic). Always clarify in documentation whether the same abbreviation was used to avoid confusion. Patient records sometimes use "D/C'd" as past tense. Some institutions prefer "discharge" or "discontinue" spelled out to avoid ambiguity, especially in medication contexts where confusing D/C with "decrease" (e.g., "D/C metoprolol" misread as "decrease metoprolol") could be dangerous. Joint Commission "do not use" abbreviation list: while D/C is not universally on this list, many institutions include it and prefer spelled-out forms. Safer alternative: write "discharge" or "discontinue" explicitly.