English for Pharmacy

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 How to write a drug label

 Label is a small piece of paper, fabric, plastic, or similar

material attached to an object and giving information about it.
For example: "the alcohol content is clearly stated on the
label"
 Drug labelling, also referred to as prescription labelling,
is a written, printed or graphic matter upon any drugs or any
of its container, or accompanying such a drug.
 Drug labels seek to identify drug contents and to state specific
instructions or warnings for administration, storage and
disposal.
 Since 1800s, legislation has been advocated to stipulate the
formats of drug labelling due to the demand for an equitable
trading platform, the need of identification of toxins and the
awareness of public health.
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 Variations in healthcare system, drug incidents and

commercial utilization may attribute to different
regional or national drug label requirements.
 Despite the advancement in drug labelling,
medication errors are partly associated with
undesirable drug label formatting.
 How to read (write) a drug label

In order to be able to read or write a drug label, you

should better understand the following steps:
 Active Ingredient and Purpose.
This section lists the ingredient that makes the drug
work. It also lists what the active ingredient does and
how much of it is in each medication dose. In this
example, the drug contains 500 mg of acetaminophen
per caplet, and its purpose is to relieve pain and reduce
fever. It is very important to check [this information]
to understand what will be the effect of the drug and to
avoid taking other drugs with the same ingredients by
mistake.
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 Uses.
This section tells you what symptoms and conditions
the drug can treat. It’s important to make sure you
are using the right drug for your symptoms.
 Warnings.
This section is typically the longest section of the
Drug Facts label. It tells you about any severe side
effects or drug interactions that can occur and
describes who should not use the drug. It tells you
when to stop using the drug and when to consult
your doctor and/or pharmacist
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 Directions.
This section of the label tells you when, how and how
often to take the drug. Keep in mind that children
may have different instructions from adults.
Do not take more than what the label says before
asking your doctor. Taking a higher dose than what it
is recommended on the drug label can be dangerous.
 Other Information.
This section tells you how to store the drug. Some
drugs may be sensitive to heat or moisture.
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 Inactive Ingredients.
In addition to the active ingredient that makes the
drug work, medications also have ingredients such as
dyes, preservatives and flavoring agents. It is
important to check this information to help avoid
ingredients that may cause an allergic reaction.
 Questions or Comments.
This section includes contact information available
to consumers with questions about the product. It
may not exist on all Drug Facts labels.
Drug label (example 1)
Drug label (example 2)
 How to write a prescription

 Prescription:
1). an instruction written by a medical practitioner that
authorizes a patient to be provided a medicine or treatment.
2). a recommendation that is authoritatively put forward.
 Every prescription consists of seven parts:
1) The prescriber’s information,
2) The patient’s information,
3) The recipe (the medication, or Rx),
4) The signature (the patient instructions or Sig),
5) The dispensing instructions (how much medication to be
dispensed to the patient or Disp),
6) The number of refills (or Rf),
7) The prescriber’s signature (including his or her National Provider
Identifier and/or Drug Enforcement Agency number).
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 Prescriber’s Information
This information is usually found at the top of the
prescription. It generally consists of the prescribing clinician’s
name, office address, and contact information (usually the
office’s telephone number).
 Patient’s Information Below the prescriber’s information
is the patient’s information. This section will include the
patient’s full name, age, and date of birth. Sometimes the
patient’s home address will be found here, as well. You should
also specify the date the prescription was written.
 Recipe (Rx) The recipe should include the medication being
prescribed, its dose, and its dosage form. For example, if you
are prescribing 650 milligrams (mg) tablets of
acetaminophen, you would write “acetaminophen 650 mg
tablets” or “acetaminophen 650 mg tabs.”
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 Signatura (Sig)
 After the recipe is the signature, which provides the
patient with instructions on how to take the
medication prescribed, this should include
information on how much medication to take, how to
take it, and how often to take it.
 For example, if you would like your patient to take
one 650 mg tablet of acetaminophen every six hours,
you would write “Take 1 tablet by mouth every six
hours” or, using abbreviations, “1 tab PO q6h.”
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 For as-needed or pro re nata (PRN) prescriptions, you

should indicate that the prescription is PRN and describe
the conditions under which your patient can take the
prescribed medication. Writing your prescription as a
PRN order essentially gives the patient the option to take
the medication when they need it.
 Let’s say that you would like your patient to be able to
take one 650 mg tablet of acetaminophen every six hours
when he or she has a headache. In that case, your
instructions would read, “Take 1 tablet by mouth every
six hours as needed for a headache” or “1 tab PO q6h
PRN headache.”
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 Dispensing Instructions (Disp)

Next comes the dispensing instructions, which let the
pharmacist know how much medication you would like
your patient to receive.
 You should include the amount of medication you would
like to be dispensed and the form in which it should be
released.
 You should also make sure to write out any numbers you
use here to minimize the risk of a medication error. For
our acetaminophen example, if you would like your
patient to receive a one week supply (or 28 tablets) of the
medication, you would write “28 (twenty-eight) tablets”
or “28 (twenty-eight) tabs.”
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 Number of Refills (Rf)

 After the dispensing instructions, specify how many
times you would like your patient to use this
prescription to refill his or her medication.
 Be sure to write out again any numbers you use. If
you do not want to prescribe any refills, write “zero
refills.” For our hypothetical acetaminophen
example, if you are prescribing one refill, you would
write “1 (one) refill.”
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 Prescriber’s Signature
At the bottom of the prescription, you should sign
your name. Oftentimes, the prescriber’s National
Provider Identifier (NPI) will be included in this
section. For controlled substances, the prescriber’s
Drug Enforcement Agency Number will also be
included.
Prescription (example)
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