PRESCRIPTION WRITING

Melissa C. Munar-Abado
PARTS OF A PRESCRIPTION

1. Prescriber information: contains the doctor's name,

address and phone number should be clearly written (or
preprinted) on the top of the prescription form.
 not recommended that you preprint your licenses
number on the prescription pad
2. Patient information

 should include at least the first and last name of the patient
and the age of the patient
 should include the complete name and address to help
distinguish patients with similar names
 address is required on schedule II controlled drugs and should
be included on prescriptions for any controlled substance
 When the exact age is unavailable the word "adult" may be
used in the age slot
 Children and the elderly may need the weight listed when
oral medications are prescribed.
3. Date prescribed

 part of the legal document confirming when the prescription was written.
 Pharmacists are often presented prescriptions with dates that are well past
the prescribing date
 Some patients elect to save prescriptions for future use
4. Superscription

 Rx symbol on the prescription form that designates the

written document to be a prescription
 Rx: abbreviation for a Latin phrase that means "take
thou.”
5. Inscription

 includes the drug name, concentration and type of

preparation
 Drug names should not be abbreviated and correct
spelling is important to assure that the correct
medication is dispensed
 Specify which preparation you wish the patient to use.
 It is good practice to always specify the concentration,
even if the drug comes in only one concentration
because that drug may come in other concentrations in
the future
 Concentration and preparation form should be written
just to the right of the drug name
 Use the metric system of weights and measures.
 To avoid misinterpretation of the preparation strength,
follow this standard in writing percentages: If the percent
is less than one, always precede the decimal with a
zero, such as 0.1% or 0.05%. If the percent is greater than
one, with no fraction, do not use a zero after the
decimal, such as 1%. Writing 1.0% could easily be
misread as 10%.
6. Subscription (Disp)

 Historically, this was an instruction to the pharmacist to

compound medications
 indicates the quantity of medication (number of
capsules or tablets) or the size of the bottle to be
dispensed (5 mL, 10 mL, 15 mL).
7. Signatura (Sig)

 The doctor's instructions to the pharmacist

 should be as specific as possible to ensure patient
compliance and proper use of medication.
 These are the doctor's instructions to the pharmacist
indicating how the patient should use the medication.
 Latin or English abbreviations are used to provide
specific instructions translated by the pharmacist for
patient use
 Poor instructions given in the office and on the
prescription lead to poor compliance and often
improper use of the medication
 write what the medication is being prescribed for in the
signatura to let the patient know the indications for the
medication
8. Refill data

 Provide the number of refills the patient should need to

complete the cycle of drug treatment
 Most antibiotic and steroid prescriptions need no refills or
one refill
 Glaucoma medications usually have three refills, which
allows the patient enough medication for 3 to 6 months,
depending on the size of the bottles dispensed.
 Schedule II controlled substances have no refills.
 Schedule III through V controlled substances can have
five refills or can be refilled for a maximum of 6 months,
whichever comes first
 In eye care there is seldom a reason to have more than
one refill on these controlled drugs.
9. Substitution permitted

 Marking "Yes" allows the pharmacist to substitute a

generic form of the medication prescribed
 Some health plans request that the generic drug be
used to save money
 When writing the drug names remember that generic
names are not capitalized and brand names are
capitalized: Pred Forte (Allergan) or prednisolone
acetate 1%.
10. Signature

 Your signature and degree finalize the legal document.

 A signature stamp can be used for noncontrolled
substances
 Prescriptions for controlled drugs require a handwritten
signature and License number.
Points to remember

 Keep good records of medications prescribed, dates

written, length of treatment, concentration of
medication and your diagnosis of the condition.
 Explain specifically to the patient how to use the
medication and why it should be used.
 When possible, explain dosage, diagnosis and the
reason for the treatment to the available care giver of
the patient (spouse, parent, child, friend, nurse).
 Give written instructions to the patient in the office when
the dosage schedule is complicated
 When multiple medications are prescribed and tapering
of dosage is needed, written instructions are especially
important to achieve compliance.
 Illiteracy is the forgotten reason for noncompliance
 If you suspect the patient cannot read or may not be
able to understand written instructions, check for
understanding by having the patient repeat the
instructions verbally after you have explained how to use
the medication
 If possible, explain the dosage and treatment plan to a
family member.
Parts of a prescription
1) Prescriber information
2) Patient information
3) Date prescribed
4) Superscription
5) Inscription
6) Subscription (dispensing)
7) Signatura
8) Refil data
9) Substitution permitted
10) signature
END OF BASIC PRINCIPLES