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William S. Reveno, MD
Southfield, Mich

JAMA. 1981;245(8):823.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

Many will sympathize with the plaint in "Alphabet Soup" by William O. Robertson, MD (1980;244:1902), about the increasing use of abbreviations or acronyms in medical records. This is related to InterNlingua, a form of shorthand in hospital use before present-day recording of patients' records. The fad has spread to many communications, perhaps to reduce word count, with a supposedly clearer picture presented and a presumed saving in typographic costs.

This profusion of acronyms, "acronymia," is a no-gain fad, since the time saved by the writer must be spent by the reader to decipher the message and the saving in typography spent in enlarging available glossaries. . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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