Charting

ADL medical abbreviation

ADL means "activities of daily living".

Each meaning matched at least two public references (4 in all for ADL), checked October 23, 2026. The table lists them.

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What ADL means

Example

Sample therapy note: "ADL training."

A made-up line that shows the abbreviation in place. It is not about any patient and is not an instruction.

Related abbreviations

  • IADLinstrumental activities of daily living
  • OToccupational therapy
  • PTphysical therapy; prothrombin time
  • ROMrange of motion
  • SNFskilled nursing facility
  • BMIbody mass index

Elsewhere on Rivvi

Questions

What does ADL mean in medical terms?

ADL means "activities of daily living".

Where is ADL used?

ADL shows up in charting. Its category here is charting.

Is ADL on the Joint Commission Do Not Use list?

No. ADL is not on the Joint Commission Do Not Use list or the ISMP error-prone list as checked on October 23, 2026.

Source: NCI Thesaurus, including CDISC SDTM terminology (NCI EVS); CMS Acronyms; NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) 2026, abbreviation and acronym entry terms; Army Regulation 40-66, Appendix B: Authorized Medical Records Abbreviations. Data as of October 23, 2026. Last updated October 23, 2026. How we source data. Spotted an error? Send a correction.

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