pcal

• Prescription


  Order for medication issued by physician, dentist or other properly licensed medical practitioner
• Prescription


  • Usually written on forms containing the traditional symbol Rx
  • Rx means 'To take with great care'
• Medication order


  • In hospitals and other institutions, forms are somewhat different and are referred to as medication orders
  • Compared to prescription, this is more specific on the way the drug is supposed to be taken, they also include patient parameters that may be absent from regular prescriptions
• Parts of Prescription


  • Name and address
  • Date
  • Age
  • Doctor's info
  • Superscription (Rx symbol)
  • Inscription (main body of prescription)
  • Subscriptions (special instructions to pharmacy)
  • Signa (instructions to patient)
  • Special Instruction (area for refills etc.)
  • Prescriber's license number
• Generic name


  International non proprietary name or the chemical name of the drug
• Brand name


  Proprietary name of a drug, a name of drug that is owned by a company
• Generic prescribing guidelines (RA 6675)


  • Generic name should be written first
  • Brand name should be below the generic name in between parenthesis
  • Use of special instruction "No substitution" is prohibited
  • It is allowable that only the generic name is written. It is violative if only the brand name is written
• Types of prescription based on generic prescribing guideline

  • Erroneous (format wrong but both generic and brand name present)
  • Violative (DO NOT DISPENSE, report to DOH - generic dispensing hindered)
  • Impossible (DO NOT DISPENSE, report to DOH - dispensing doubtful or not possible)