Parts of a Prescription
PRESCRIPTION
- An order of medication issued by a
physician, dentist, or other properly licensed
medical practitioner
- Designates a specific medication and
dosage to be prepared by a pharmacist*
and administered to a particular patient.
TYPES OF A PRESCRIPTION
Those written for a single component
1 or prefabricated product and not
requiring compounding
Those written for more than a single
2 component and requiring
compounding
PHARMACY COMPOUNDING
Involves the mixing, assembling,
packaging and labeling of a medication
Extemporaneously prepared product
Parts of a Prescription
*Pharmacists are
counter-checkers
of the prescription
Prescriber’s information and signature
1
2 Patient information
3 Date prescription was written
4 Rx symbol (Superscription), means “take
thou”, “you take” or “recipe”
5 Medication prescribed (Inscription)
Dispensing instructions to the
6 pharmacist (Subscription)
7 Directions to the patient (Signa)
8 Special instructions
Medication Order
- Instructions written by the physician in
hospitals and other institutions
R.A 6675
GENERICS ACT of 1988
Approved September 13, 1988
- An act to promote, require and
ensure the production of an
adequate supply, distribution, use
and acceptance of drugs and
medicines identified by their generic
name
Generic Awareness
Month is celebrated
every September
 R.A 6675
GENERICS ACT of 1988
Statement of Policy
To promote, encourage, and require
the use of generic terminology in the
importation, manufacture, distribution,
marketing, advertising and promotion,
prescription and dispensing of drugs
To ensure the adequate supply of drugs
with generic names at the lowest
possible cost and endeavor to make
them available for free to indigent
patients
To encourage the extensive use of
drugs with generic names through a
rational system of procurement and
distribution
To emphasize the scientific basis for the
use of drugs, in order that health
professionals may become more
aware and cognizant of their
therapeutic effectiveness
To promote drug safety by
minimizing duplication in
medications and/or use of drugs
with potentially adverse drug
interactions
Generic Name (Generic Terminology)
- The identification of drugs and medicines
by their scientifically and internationally
recognized active ingredients or by their
official generic name as determined by
BFAD (now, FDA) of the Department of
health
R.A 6675
GENERICS ACT of 1988
Generic Drugs
- Drugs not covered by patent
protection and which are labeled
solely by their international non-
propriety or generic name
Brand name
- The propriety name given by the
manufacturer to distinguish its
product from those of competitors
R.A 9502
Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality
Medicines Act of 2008
Approved June 6, 2008
- An act providing for cheaper and
quality medicines, amending for the
purpose R.A. 8293 or the Intellectual
Property Code, R.A. 6675 or the Generic
Act of 1988 and R.A. 5921 or the
Pharmacy Law and other purposes.
Section 38
- Amended Section 6 (“Who Shall Use
Generic Terminology”) of RA 6675
- (e) There shall appear prominently on the
label of a generic drug the following
statement: THIS PRODUCT HAS THE SAME
THERAPEUTICAL EFFICACY AS ANY OTHER
GENERIC PRODUCT OF THE SAME NAME.
SIGNED:BFAD
 ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER
NO. 62 S.1989
Rules and Regulations to Implement Prescribing
Requirements under the Generics Act of 1988
Prescription (Ethical) Drugs
- Pharmaceutical products or drug
preparations that are to be dispensed only
upon written order of a validly-registered
licensed physician, dentist or veterinarian
for the management or treatment of a
condition or disease
Non-Prescription (Over-the-Counter) Drugs
- Can be dispensed even without the
written order of a validly-registered
licensed physician, dentist or veterinarian
for the prevention or symptomatic relief of
minor or self-limiting ailments
- brand name enclosed in parenthesis
Dangerous Drugs
- Refer to either prohibited drugs or
regulated drugs, which require a special
prescription form (S2), the use of which
is monitored by Dangerous Drug Board
Generic Prescribing
- Prescribing of drugs or medicines using their
generic name/s or generic terminology
Generic Dispensing
- Dispensing the patient’s/buyer’s choice
from among generic equivalents
□ Same Active ingredient/s
□ Same dosage form
□ Same strength of the drug
DOH A.O. No. 56, S. 1989
Contains guidelines on prescribing medicines
pursuant to the Generics Act of 1988
Generic Prescribing
 Generic names shall be used in all
prescriptions for (1) drugs with a single
active ingredients (2) drugs with two or
more active ingredients.
 The generic name must be written in full
but the salt or chemical form may be
abbreviated
 The generic name of the drug ordered
must be clearly written on the
prescription immediately after the Rx
symbol, or on the order chart.
In addition to the generic name, brand names
may also be indicated, the ff. shall be
observed.
 If written on the prescription pad, the

shall be written below the generic name
If written on patient’s chart, the brand
name enclosed in parenthesis shall be
written after the generic name
 Only the product shall be prescribed on
one prescription form
The prescriber must ensure that the following
information are accurately written on the
prescription:
 The generic name of the active
ingredient/s and the specific salt or
chemical form
 The manufacturer
 The brand name (if so desired)
 The strength or dose level using units of
metric system
 The delivery mode or delivery system:
quick-dissolve, sustained release, and
the corresponding frequency of dose
intervals

Unethical Prescriptions
Erroneous prescriptions
Violative prescriptions
Impossible prescriptions
Erroneous Prescriptions
The brand name precedes the generic
name
The generic name is in the parenthesis
The brand name is not in parenthesis
More than one drug product is prescribed
on one prescription form
What to do?
 Erroneous prescriptions shall not be filled
 Such prescriptions shall also be kept and
reported by the pharmacist of the drug
outlet or any other interested party to the
nearest Department of Health office for
appropriate action
Violative Prescriptions
Generic name is not written
Generic name is not legible and a brand
name which is legible written
Brand name is indicated and instructions
added, which tend to obstruct, hinder or
prevent proper generic dispensing.
Violative Prescriptions
What to do?
 Violative prescriptions shall not be
filled
 Such prescriptions shall also be kept
and reported by the pharmacist of
the drug outlet or any other
interested party to the nearest
Department of Health office for
appropriate action
 The pharmacist shall advise the
prescriber of the problem and/or
instruct the customer to get the
proper prescription
Impossible Prescriptions
Only the generic name is written but
it is not legible
Generic name does not correspond
to the brand name
Both generic and brand names are
not legible
Drug product is not registered with the
BFAD
What to do?
 Impossible prescriptions shall not be
filled
 Such prescriptions shall also be kept
and reported by the pharmacist of the
drug outlet or any other interested
party to the nearest Department of
Health office for appropriate action
 The pharmacist shall advise the
prescriber of the problem and/or
instruct the customer to get the proper
prescription
 Prescription
Tamper-Resistant Prescription Pads
 To prevent the unauthorized copying,
modification or counterfeiting of
prescriptions
 Mandated for hand-written prescriptions
for outpatient drugs covered by
Medicaid
E-Prescribing/e-Prescriptions
 Use of electronic means for the generation
and transmission of prescriptions
Interpreting prescription and
medication order
Abbreviations and symbols are common in
prescriptions and medication orders
Joint commission on Accreditation of healthcare
Organizations (JCAHCO)
Requires healthcare organizations to
develop an approach to standardizing
abbreviations, acronyms and symbols, as
well as to create a list of those that should
not be used
Institute for Safe Medication
Practices (ISMP)
ISMP’s List of Error-Prone Abbreviations,
Symbols and Dose Designations
 The use of these should be avoided;
however they are still being used so their
definitions to be understood
 Periods may or may not be present in
between letters
Common use abbreviations that should be
avoided
Do not use trailing zeros for doses
expressed as whole numbers
Use a zero before a decimal point when
the dose is less than a whole unit
Use commas for dosing units at or above
1,000 or use such words such as “100
thousand” to improve readability
Place adequate space between the
dose and unit of measure
Place adequate space between the
drug name, dose and unit of measure
Prescription/Medication Order
Calculations
Doses
- Includes the quantity of prescribed dose,
the total number of doses prescribed, and
the number of days the prescribed
medications will last.
Compliance (Adherence)
- The patient’s or caregiver’s compliance
in meeting the prescribed directions for
dosing.
- “The extent to which a person’s
behavior-taking medication, following a
diet, and/or executing lifestyle changes,
corresponds with agreed
recommendations from a health care
provide” (WHO)
 Non-Adherent Behaviors
 Missing doses
 Taking drug holidays
 Taking extra doses when not feeling well
 Changing time of doses
 Inconsistently taking medication
Reasons for Non-Adherence
 Unclear or complex instructions
 Treatment or asymptomatic disease
 Side effects of medications
 Presence of cognitive impairment
 Inadequate follow-up or discharging
planning
 Patient’s lack of belief in the benefit of
the treatment
 Poor insight into the illness
 Poor provider-patient relationship
 Cost of medication
 Presence of barriers to medical care or
medications
Prescription/Medication Order
Calculations
Drug Concentration
- Quantity of an active therapeutic
ingredient to use to achieve the desired
drug concentration
Rate of drug administration
- Quantity of drug administered per unit time
to meet prescribed dosing schedule(e.g.
mg/min, drops/minute or mL/hr)
Compounding
- Quantities of active and inactive
components to use in the
extemporaneous preparation of a
pharmaceutical product, including the
use of stock solutions and/or
prefabricated dosage units in the process
Prescription/Medication Order
Calculations
Chemical-physical factors
- including calculations to make solutions
isotonic, iso-osmotic, equimolar or buffered
pharmacoeconomics
- Including medication costs, cost-benefit
analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis,
alternative treatment plans, and
medication pricing
Medication should be
1. Therapeutically appropriate for the
patient
2. Prescribed at the correct dose
3. Dispensed in the correct strength and
dosage form
4. Correctly labeled with complete
instructions for the patient caregiver
5. For the patient in a hospital or other
health care facility, each medication
must be administered to the correct
patient, at the correct time,, and by the
correct rate and route of administration
Medication scheduling
- The frequency and duration of a drug’s
prescribed or recommended use.
- Influenced by
o Physical, chemical or biological
characteristics
o Dosage formulations
o Patient’s physical conditions
o Nature or severity of the illness or
condition being treated
 Patient’s Compliance
- Patient understanding and adherence to
the directions for use
- Includes taking medication
o At the desired strength
o In the proper dosage form
o At the appropriate time of day
and night
o At the proper interval for the
duration of treatment
o With proper regard to food and
drink and consideration of other
concomitant medications and
For density and specific gravity
herbal products
**Refer to the PowerPoint/PDF given
by Sir Sig 

Patient’s Non-Compliance
- Failure to comply with a practitioner’s or
labeled direction in the self-
administration of any medication
- May include:
o Underdosage or overdosage
o Inconsistent or sporadic dosing
o Incorrect duration of treatment
o Drug abuse or misadventuring
with medications

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