In medical shorthand, what does 'D/C' stand for?

• A. Discontinue
• B. Do Not Continue
• C. Direct Charge
• D. Daily Care

Answer: (A)

In medical shorthand, D/C is used to indicate that something should be stopped, specifically to discontinue a medication, therapy, or plan. This is why the best answer is discontinue: clinicians write D/C to signal the team to halt that drug or treatment. The other options don’t fit standard clinical usage: Do Not Continue isn’t a common brief form in orders, Direct Charge isn’t a medical term used in patient care, and Daily Care isn’t a designated abbreviation for stopping a regimen. Note that some contexts use DC to mean discharge, but when you see D/C in charting or orders, it most often means discontinue.