Prescription

In this blog we discussing about what is the prescription, how many parts of it contain. What to keep in mind while writing a prescription? So be sure to read the blog till the end to find out.

prescription


What is called prescription?

A prescription is a doctor written order that authorizes a pharmacist to supply a specific medication for a patient, with instructions on its use. 
• It says who can take the medication, in what amount, and for what length of time.
• prescription is an order written by a registered medical practitioner directing the pharmacist to compound and dispense or dispense prefabricated Pharmaceutical product to the patient under his treatment. 
• prescription is written by a registered medical practitioner after diagnosis of the patient. 
•  prescription follow a definite pattern in order to facilitate it's interpretation and is written on a special form called as prescription back. 
• Used exactly according to a doctor's instructions. 
• Prescription drugs are usually safe and effective. 

How to write a prescription in 7 steps:

1. Date:

  •  Date must be written on the prescription by the prescriber at the same time when it is written.
  • The date on the prescription helps a pharmacist to find out the cases where prescription is brought for dispensing long time after it's issue. 
  •  Prescription containing is narcotics or other habit-forming drugs must bear the Date.

2. Details of patient: 

  •  Name, age and address of the patient must be written on the prescription. If it is not written then, the pharmacist himself should ask the patient about these particulars and put down at the top of the prescription. This avoids the possibility of giving the finished product to a person than the one it is meant for. 
  • Patient's full name must be written instead of surname or the family name.
  • Age and sex of the patient especially in the case of children helps the pharmacist in checking the medication and the dose. Therefore, there will be less danger of it's being administered to the wrong member of the family or the hospital ward having similar names. 
  • The address of the patient is recorded to help for any reference at a later stage, to contact the patient or to deliver the medication personally.

3. Superscription:

  •  The suspension is represented by a symbol, Rx, which is always written at the beginning of the prescription.
  • In the days of mythology and superstition the symbol was considered as a prayer to Jupiter, the God of healing, for quick recovery of the patient but now this symbol is understood as an abbreviation of the Latin word recipe, meaning "take thou" or "you take". 

4. Inscription:

  •  This is the main part of preparation. It contains the names and quantities of the prescribed ingredients.
  • The Name of the ingredients are written each on a separate line, followed by the quantity ordered and the last item written is generally the vehicle or diluents. 

In Complex prescriptions containing several ingredients the inscription is divided into three parts : 
a.  the base or the active medicament which is intended to produce the therapeutic effect.
b.  The adjuvant which is included either to enhanced the action of the medicament or to make the product more palatable.
c.  The vehicles which is either used to dissolve the solid substances and to increase the volume of the preparation for ease of administration.

5. Subscription:

  •  This part of the prescription contains prescriber's direction to the pharmacist regarding the dosage forms to be  prepared and number of doses to be dispersed. 
  • Since, nowadays only a few prescriptions are compound, there for such direction are compound, therefore such direction are less frequent. 

6. Signatura / signature:

  •  It is usually abbreviation as "sig" on the prescriptions and consists of the directions to be given to the patient regarding the administration of the drug. 
  • It usually indicates the quantity of medicament or number or dosage units to be taken, many times in a day or at what time it should be taken and the manner in which it is to be administered or applied.

7. Signature, Address and registration number of the prescriber : 

All other parts of the prescription may be printed or type-written but the prescriber's name must be hand-written and should be signed with ink. 

  • This eliminations the danger of dispensing medicament on a spurious order and it authenticates the prescription.
  •  The prescription containing narcotic or other habit-forming drugs must bear the Address and registration number of the prescriber. 
  • This identifies the special license which a prescribe the narcotic and other habit-forming drugs