Prescription: The word “prescription” stems from the Latin term praescriptus is made up of two Latin word parts,
prae-,
a prefix meaning before, and scriber, a word root meaning to write. So, it literally means “to write before” which reflects
the historical fact that a prescription traditionally had to be written before a drug could be mixed and administered to a
patient.
A doctor’s written order for the pharmacist to prepare and dispense or to be given to a Nurse to be administered to a
specific client or patient. Also, once signed by the physician it becomes a legal document.
Prescriber Information Subscription - dispensing direction to the
Date pharmacist on compounding a drug
Patient profile (this includes the age, sex, Inscription (principal part of the prescription
address etc.). Superscription (Rx symbol- that gives the name of the drug and the required
recipe, meaning to take or give) quantity)
Superscription – which consist of the heading Transcription (direction to the patient on how to
where the symbol Rx (an abbr for recipe, the use the drug)
latin for take thou) is found. The RX symbol Signature of the prescriber including his license
comes before the inscription. number
Reading the prescription
Pharmacy personnel rely on three things - the patient profile, inscription and the signa. Since the inscription
includes the name of the drug, they will automatically look for it. If the inscription is unreadable or lacking the generic
name, the Pharmacist or his assistant would check the drug in the drug index.
Most likely, they also ask questions about the patient’s condition. If the customer is unsure of his medicine, the
drug outlet won’t be able to fill the prescription.
They may call the prescriber but often, they would advise the customer that they should return their prescription to their
physician.
Yellow Prescription:
Used to purchase dangerous drugs. Should be filled out completely by the doctor and should present with
duplicate when trying to buy medicines in drugstore.
Dispensing dangerous drugs are very critical. Pharmacist must know the expiration date of the S2 license of the
doctor, and the S2 and license no. should be genuine.
In the Philippines, unethical prescriptions are classified into two: The Erroneous prescription and the Violative
or Impossible prescription. Erroneous prescription. This type can be filled since they only commit minor errors.
Advised: Please be advised that the following prescriptions are fabricated. The names, PTR No. and License No. are also
fancy and not true. They are made for informational purposes only.
Types of Prescription Errors
Erroneous Prescriptions
The brand name precedes the generic name
The generic name is the one in parenthesis
The brand name is not in parentheses
When more than one drug product is prescribed on one prescription form.
Violative Prescriptions
The generic name is not written
The generic name is not legible and a brand name which is legible is written
The brand name is indicated and instructions added (such as the phrase " no substitution") which tend to obstruct,
hinder or prevent proper generic dispensing.
Impossible Prescriptions
Only the generic name is written but it is not legible.
The generic name does not correspond to the brand name
Both the generic name and the brand name are not legible
The drug product prescribed is not registered with FDA
