Basic guide for prescription writing in general practice

1. Prescription Writing
Date:
Name of the patient: Age:
Address:
RX
.............................
Sig

2. *The importance of the prescription and the need for complete understanding and accuracy
made it imperative that a universal and standard language be employed. Thus, Latin was
adopted.
*Abbreviations
Rx - recipe - take thou
Sig - Signature
o.d. - omni die - daily
o.m. - omni mane - every morning
o.n. - omni nocte - every night
b.i.d. - bis in die - twice a day
t.i.d. - ter in die - three times a day
q.i.d. - quater in die - four times a day
s.o.s. - si opus sit - if necessary
a.c. - ante cibos - before meals
p.c. - post cibos - after meals
p.o. - per os - by mouth
E.g.
1 cap t.i.d. pc - take one capsule three times daily after meals
*The directions to the pharmacist, usually consisting of a short sentence such as: "make a
solution," "mix and place into 10 capsules," or "dispense 10 tablets."
*The instruction, "take as directed," is not satisfactory and should be avoided. The directions to
the patient should include a reminder of the intended purpose of the medication by including
such phrases as "for pain," "for relief of headache," or "to relieve itching"
*The physician should designate the number of refills he wishes the patient to have.
*In recent years, some hospitals and private physicians are indicating on the prescription their
willingness or desire that the pharmacist dispense a non-proprietary or "generic-named"
preparation instead of the trade name item written on the prescription. Some have a box on the
prescription designated "N.P.P." In this way, the pharmacist can use a form of the drug which
may be less expensive to the patient.
Legend Drugs: These drugs may not be dispensed by a pharmacist without a prescription from
a physician, osteopath, dentist, etc. Federal and State drugs are "legend." Labels on these
medications carries the legend: "Caution! Federal law prohibits dispensing without a
prescription."
*Controlled Drugs: In addition to requiring a prescription, these drugs require additional
safeguards for storage. Refills are also limited. Both State and Federal government agencies
promulgate regulations regarding these drugs. The Federal agency is the Drug Enforcement

3. Administration and the State agency is the Division of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs of
DHHR.
*Over-the-Counter (OTC) Drugs: These drugs do not require a prescription.
*All written prescriptions should contain:
● Patient's full name and address
● Prescriber's full name, address, telephone number, and DEA number
● Date of issuance
● Signiture of prescriber
● Drug name, dose, dosage form, amount
● Directions for use
● Refill instructions
*Required Information on the Prescription
● Must be dated and signed on the day it is issued.
● Must have the full name and address of the patient.
● Must have the name, address, and DEA registration number of the physician.
● May be prepared by the secretary, but must be typed or written in indelible ink and
signed by the physician. The physician is respon-sible for having all the pertinent in-
formation on the prescription.
*Controlled Substance Prescriptions
● C-I Examples -- Heroin, Marihuana, LSD
● C-II Examples -- Morphine, Methadone, Meperidine (Demerolâ), Codeine, Oxycodone,
Mehthylphenidate (Ritalinâ)
● C-III Examples -- Chlorphentermine, Paregoric, Nalorphine
● C-IV Examples -- Choral hydrate, Phenteramine (Fastinâ), Diazepam (Valiumâ),
Lorazepam (Ativanâ), Phenobarbital, Clonazepam (Klonopinâ)
● C-V Examples -- Cough syrus with codeine, buprenorphine
*Prescription Drugs
● Regular - non-addictive
● Controlled substances - substances which may produce physical or psychological
dependence; special rules and regulations apply; controlled by both State and Federal
laws; established by law into "Schedules" in decreasing order of abuse potential
○ Schedule I
■Substances with no accepted medical use in the US
■Examples: heroin, LSD, peyote, mescaline, psilocybin, THC, etc.
○ Schedule II
■Substances that have a high abuse potential with severe psychic or physical
dependence liability
■This list consists of certain narcotic, stimulant, and depressant drugs

4. ■Examples: morphine, codeine, percodan
○ Schedule III
■Substances with abuse potential less than those in Schedule I and II
■Examples: preparations containing certain quantities of narcotics; derivatives
of barbituric acid (barbiturates) except those listed in another schedule,
par_egoric and others
■Due to widespread abuse, many state legislatures, including Louisiana,
placed anabolic steroids on Schedule III status
○ Schedule IV
■Substances with an abuse potential less than those in Schedule III
■Examples: barbital, phenobarbital, chloral hydrate, meprobamate (Equannil,
Miltown), diazepam (Valium), etc
○ Schedule V
■Substances with an abuse potential less than that of Schedule IV substances
■Consist of certain preparations containing limited quantities of certain narcotic
drugs generally for the antitussive and antidiarrheal purposes
■In many states, these can sold OTC by a pharmacist and certain restrictions
apply