PRESCRIPTION

• Over-the-counter (OTC) veterinary drugs


  Also known as non-prescription veterinary drugs or self-service veterinary drugs (SS), refer to drug preparations that can be approved for animal use, even without the written order of a duly-licensed veterinarian
• Over-the-counter veterinary drugs

  • dewormers (e.g. pyrantel)
• Prescription veterinary drugs


  Also known as ethical veterinary drugs and products, refers to any drug preparation that is to be dispensed only upon written order of a duly-licensed veterinarian for the treatment of a condition or a diagnosed disease of animals
• Prescription veterinary drugs

  • systemic antibiotics
• Dangerous drugs

  Refer to either prohibited drugs or regulated drugs which require a special prescription form
• Prohibited drugs

  • Natural or synthetic preparations made from opium and its derivatives (e.g. heroin and morphine)
  • Coca leaf and its derivatives (e.g. cocaine)
  • Hallucinogenic drugs (e.g. lysergic acid diethylamide, LSD) and other substances producing similar effect
  • Indian hemp and its derivatives
• Regulated drugs

  • Sleep-inducing sedatives (e.g. secobarbital, phenobarbital, barbital, amobarbital and other drugs which contain a salt or derivative of a salt of barbituric acid)
  • Any salt, isomer or salt of an isomer of amphetamine, or any drug which produces a pharmacologic action similar to amphetamine
  • Hypnotic drugs (e.g. methaqualone) or any other compound producing similar pharmacologic effects
• Generic name


  Nonproprietary name, official identifying name of the drug, pertains to the active drug(s) in the product, written using lowercase letters
• Brand name

  Trade name or proprietary name, usually written in capital letters or begins with a capital letter
• Chemical name

  Drug name based on the rules of nomenclature of chemical compounds
• Veterinary prescription

  A prescription for a veterinary medicinal product that is issued by a licensed veterinarian, it provides a means for learning, including an appreciation of drugs and their actions, indications, and dosages, it is an important transaction between a client & a veterinarian, and it is a legal document
• Who can prescribe veterinary drugs?

  • Only duly-licensed veterinarians, whether in private practice or employed in a private institution/corporation or in the government, are authorized to prescribe drugs
• Veterinary prescriptions must contain the following information


  • name of prescriber, office and address
  • professional registration number (Lic #)
  • professional tax receipt number (PTR)
  • patient's/client's name
  • date of prescription
  • species and number of animal treated
  • name (in generic), strength, unit size and quantity of the veterinary drug product to be delivered/dispensed
• Rx

  Traditional symbol for prescription, it means "take this medicine"
• Inscription

  Prescribed medication, includes the name, strength and dosage form of the veterinary drug product to be dispensed

  
• Subscription

  Instruction to the pharmacist on what to do with the drug, includes the number of doses to be supplied
• Signa

  Contains the directions or instructions for giving the drug to the patient
• The signa should include the route of administration, frequency of dosing, duration of dosing, purpose of medication, and withdrawal period (if the patient is a food animal)
• Signature of the veterinarian

  Should appear on the prescription as required by law to make it a legal document
• When prescribing, write the generic name in full immediately after the Rx symbol, the brand name enclosed in parenthesis may be written after the generic name
• Generic prescribing refers to the prescribing of veterinary drugs and products or medicines using their generic name(s) or generic terminology
• Write clearly and avoid erasure, avoid misspelled drugs, do not prescribe excessive doses, and express units in the metric system
• Do not use abbreviations for the drug/s prescribed unless the abbreviation is official, veterinary practitioners may use/insert Latin abbreviations in the inscription and subscription
• To avoid forged prescriptions, keep all blank prescription pads and minimize the number in use, do not sign prescriptions in advance, use one prescription form for each prescription, write in ink, and write out the amount prescribed in addition to the numerical number
• Prescriptions are filled by the pharmacist
• A veterinary prescription can be filled at drugstores and pharmacies
• Extralabel drug use (ELDU)

  The use of a drug in a manner that is not in accordance with the approved labeling
• ELDU allows veterinarians to prescribe extra-label uses of approved animal and human drugs when the health of an animal is threatened or suffering or death may result from failure to treat animals

  
• How ELDU came about

  • To provide veterinarians with flexibility given the relatively few numbers of veterinary drugs available in the market
  • Many species of animals have few to no drugs approved for various indications
• Examples of ELDU

  • Use of a drug in another species
  • Use of a drug for a different indication
  • Use of a drug at a different dose or frequency
  • Use of a drug via a different route of administration
• Prescribing regulated drugs

  A licensed veterinarian can prescribe regulated drugs but must have an S2 license and use the special dangerous drugs board prescription
• VCPR (Veterinarian-client-patient relationship)

  A written agreement between the client and veterinarian wherein the veterinarian has sufficient knowledge of the animal(s) to initiate at least a general or preliminary diagnosis, has assumed the responsibility for making clinical judgments, and the client has agreed to follow the veterinarian's instructions

  
• VDO (Veterinary drug order)

  A written instruction (prescription) to pharmacist or veterinary drug establishment to fill a veterinary prescription of large quantities of a specific veterinary drug and product provided that there is an accompanying VCPR letter from the prescribing veterinarian
• Violative prescription

  • The generic name is not written
  • The generic name is not legibly written but the brand name is legible
  • Brand name is indicated and instruction "no substitution" is added
• Erroneous prescription

  • Brand name precedes the generic name
  • The generic name is the one in parenthesis
  • The brand name is not in parenthesis
• Impossible prescriptions

  • The generic name is not legibly written
  • The generic name does not correspond to the brand name
  • The prescribed drug is not BFAD/BAI registered