CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION OF PRESCRIPTION
PARTS OF PRESCRIPTION TYPES OF PRESCRIPTION
LEGAL REQUIREMENT FOR VALID PRESCRIPTION
HANDLING OF PRESCRIPTION
ERROR IN PRESCRIPTION
ABRIVIATIONS

INTRODUCTION:
Prescription is an order written by a physician,
dentist or any other registered medical practitioner
to a pharmacist to compound and dispense
A specific medication for the patient. The order is
accompanied by directions for the pharmacist that
what type of preparation is to be prepared and how
much is to be prepared. It is also accompanied with
the directions for the patient that how much
medicament is to be taken, how many times
It is tobe taken or at what time and how it is to be
taken.
The prescription provides a common link of mutual
interest between the physician, the pharmacist and
the patient. It is the duty of the pharmacist t o serve
the medication needs of the patient according to
the intention of the prescriber. It is not sufficient
that the pharmacist should only compound the
specific medication but he should make the patient
understand about the proper administration of the
drug and ensure that the patient sticks to these
instructions. At the same time the pharmacist must
maintain and respect the confidentiality of both the
physician regarding the treatment given as well as
that of the patient regarding the nature of his illness
and the medication taken by him.
The prescriptions are generally written in the
language of the area in which they originate but
Latin words are frequently used in the prescription
writing because in the olden days the medicines
were writen ni Latin language which was
understood all over the world. Still the use of Latin
abbreviations in the prescription writing is very
common, specially in dosage instructions.
PARTS OF PRESCRIPTION:

Acomplete prescription should have the following

parts :
1. Date
2. Name, age, sex and address of the patient
3. Superscription
4. Inscription
§. Subscription
6. Signatura
7 Signature, address and registration number of
prescriber.

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 nsi si be, Per dai. The
prescriptions should e tied waniti ring dange time
after it is written. If the prescription is brought for
filling after two or three days from the date when it
was written then the pharmacist must question fi
the intention of the prescriber and the needs of the
patient can still be met

2. Name, Age, Sex, and Address of the Patient

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nselshouldakthe 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 other 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 specially in the case of
children helps the pharmacist in checking the
medication and the dose. Therefore there wil
Be less danger of its 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 superscription 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
understoodasanabbreviationof the Latin word
recipe, meaning “take thou” or “you take”
4. Inscription
This is the main part o f the prescription. It contains
the names and quantities of the prescribed
ingredients. The names of the ingredients are
written each on a separate line, folowed by the
quantity ordered and the last item writen si
generaly the vehicle or diluent. In complex
prescriptions containing several ingredients the
inscription si divided into three parts (a) the base or
the active medicament which si intended to
produce the therapeutic effect; (b) the adjuvant
which is included either to enhance the action of
the medicament or to make the product more
palatable: (c) the vehicle which is either used ot
dissolve the solid substances and/or ot increase the
volume of the preparation for ease of
administration.

Now a days only a few prescriptions are

compounded by pharmacists. A majority of
prescriptions are written for medications already
prepared into dosage forms by industrial
manufacturers. The pharmacists are only required t
o dispense the ready-made dosage form of drugs
which has eliminated the compounding of
prescriptions.
5. Subscription
This part of the prescription contains prescriber’s
directions to the pharmacist regarding the dosage
form to be prepared and number of doses to be
dispensed. Since now-a-days only a few
prescriptions are compounded therefore such
directions are less frequent.
 6. Signatura
It is usually abbreviated 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, how 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. These instructions must be transferred to
the label of the container in which the medicament
is to be dispensed and ensure that the patient
follows these instructions carefully.
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 eliminates the
danger of dispensing medicament on a spurious
order and it authenticates the prescription. The
prescriptions containing narcotic or other habit-
forming drugs must bear the address and
 registration number of the prescriber. This
identifies the special licence which a prescriber
must have to prescribe the narcotic and other
habit-forming drugs.

Handling of Prescription
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2. Reading and checking
3. Collecting the materials
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5. Compounding
6. Finishing.

1. Receiving
The prescription should be received from the
patient by the pharmtryacistot himself. Under no
circumstances an unauthorised person should
receive or read the prescription.
An Example of a Typical Prescription General Hospital
Date 13/12/1982
Name RAMAN KUMAR
Age 40 YEARS
Sex MALE
Address8 1 7 , Sector-20 Chandigarh
Rx (Superscription)
Potassium Bromide 8 gm
Tincture Nux Vomica 8 ml
Chloroform Water q.s. 120 m l
(Inscription)
Fiat mistura (Subscription)
Sig. Cochleare magnum ter in die post cibos sumenda.
(Signatura) (Signature of the Prescriber) S.C. Aggarwal
M.D.
Regd. No. 10234
2. Reading and Checking
A brief examination of each prescription should be
made immediately upon receiving it from the
patient. This will tell the pharmacist about the
nature of the dosage form to be prepared and he
can estimate the time required for preparing it. If a
long time is needed for compounding the
prescription then he must tell the patient about the
time required for filling the prescription so that he
may wait or return after some time. In some cases
the patient’s name, age and addres may not be
writen on the prescription. In such cases these
informations should be enquired from the patient
and put down on the prescription.
Careful examination of the prescription should be
made only behind the counter, so that if there is any
doubt regarding the prescription ingredients or
directions or there in any error in writing the
prescription, the patient should not come to know
about it. If there is any doubt the pharmacist should
consult the other pharmacists or the prescriber.
Every prescription should be read and understood
completely before compounding it. Every word and
abbreviation must be interpreted correctly. He
should never guess about the méaning of an
illegible or confusing word. It may lead to serious
consequences. If there is any doubt he should
consult the fellow pharmacists or the prescriber.
As the number of drugs available in the market are
increasing, the mistakes, due to the similarity or
pronunciation and spellings are also increasing. In
such cases a pharmacist has to take a great care
specially

When the prescriptions are received orally.

Examples of such drugs which look alike or sound
alike are given below :
Apresoline Compocillin Daricon
Digoxin Indocin
Prednisone Qinine
Priscoline
Ampicillin Darvon
Digitoxin Lincocin Prednisolone Quinidine
Before the start of compounding the prescription,
the pharmacist must ensure that what he is going to
do and what type of finished product he will obtain.

3. Collecting and Weighing the Materials

Materials to be used in compounding the
prescription should be collected on the left hand
side of the balance and arranged in the order in
which they are to be mixed. The materials which are
weighed should be shifted to right hand side of the
balance. This gives a mechanical check of
ingredients which has been weighed. The label on
every stock bottle should be read at least three
times :
(a) When taken from the shelf or drawer.
(b) When the contents are removed for weighing or
measuring. (c) When the containers are returned
back to its proper place.
4. Compounding
This is the most important phase in handling the
prescription. In this case proper drug is dispensed in
a suitable form. This can be achieved only if
accuracy, cleanliness and proper techniques are
observed ni the preparation of any medication. Only
one prescription should be compounded at one
time. If two or more prescriptions are dispensed at
the same time, one is likely to make serious
mistakes by dispensing wrong drugs. Attention
should not be diverted by talking to friends,
attending the telephone or engaging in other
directions.
Now a days majority of the prescriptions are written
for the pre- compounded dosage forms supplied by
the pharmaceutical manufacturers which require no
compounding or mixing by the pharmacist. When a
prescription requiring compounding is received the
pharmacist, should decide the calculations, special
adjuvants and order of mixing then he should
proceed further as described above.
5. Finishing
The compounded medicaments should be filled in
suitable containers depending on the quantity of
the medication to be dispensed and the

Method of its use. Various types of containers used

in pharmacy are : round vials used for filling the unit
dosage forms such as tablets and capsules; oval
prescription bottles used for filling liquids of low
viscosity; wide mouth bottles used for filling the
liquids of high viscosity, large quantities of tablets or
capsules and bulk powders; ointment jars and
collapsible tubes used for filling the ointments,
creams or semisolid dosage forms; dropper bottles
used for dispensing the eye drops, ear drops or
other liquids to be administered by drops; sifter top
containers used for dispensing the powders meant
ot be applied externally by sprinkling etc. The
container should be selected approximately of the
same volume as that of the medication to be
dispensed.
Most of the containers are available in various sizes,
shapes, colours and compositions. They may be
made up of glass, plastic or suitable metal. Most of

the glass containers are made from colourless or

amber coloured glass. The latter being used for
dispensing light sensitive medications. Plastic
containers and collapsible tubes are also widely
used for dispensing various types of dosage forms.
The filled containers are suitably labelled. A good
quality of paper and adhesive should be used for
labelling the containers. The size of the label should
be proportional to the size of the container and
should be neatly hand-written or preferably typed.
The following information should be written on all
labels :
1. Name of the prescription
2. Name of the patient, age and sex
.3 Registration number 4. Date of dispensing
5. Directions for its use
6. Expiry date, if any
7. Storage conditions
8. Name and address of the pharmacy.
The label should be placed almost in the centre
leaving equal space from the bottom and top of the
bottle. On collapsible tubes it should be placed near
the top to avoid concealment and wrinkling as the
tube is rolled up from the bottom during its use.
Special adhesives should be used for fixing the
labels on the collapsible tubes.
Some containers like ophthalmic ointment tubes,
eye drop and ear drop bottles and other small
containers which lack sufficient surface area for
attaching the label may be labelled with the serial
number and packed in bigger container which I s
properly labelled. Special directions like “For
external use only.” And “Shake the bottle before
use.” Must be attached to the bottle as secondary
label.
After preparing and labelling, the compounded
prescription should be thoroughly examined to
ensure accuracy, quality and safety of the
Prescription. The checker should first check the
written prescription and then the contents of the
container for colour, odour or any other indication
for the correctness and quality of the medication. If
the checker finds that the compounded prescription
is correct then he must put his signatures on the
prescription. Before the prescription is handed over
to the patient the container must be thoroughly
polished so as to remove the finger prints.
Latin Terms and Abbreviations Commonly
Used in Prescription Writing
Latin term abbreviation English meaning
Ad Ad. To,up to
Ad libitum [Link]. To pleasure
As desired
Admove Admov Apply
Capiat Cap. Let him take
Cibos. Cibos. Food,meals
Dexter Dext. Right
Liquor Liq. Solution
Omni hora. Omn. Hor o.h. Every hour