Medical Prescriptions
o Written order by doctor directing for drugs to be dispensed in stated
forms for a particular patient
 Doctor, dentist
o
o
o
o
o
Used as evidence in the court of law
 In PI, illegal to prescribe regulated drugs without prescription
Should be written plainly
Simple or compound
 Simple - one ingredient - parasetimol
 Compound - combo of 2 antihistamines
 Chlorephenomine/
Official
 Approved by FDA
 Not drugs that are not registered by your country (fly by night)
 List of drugs that are official --Extemporaneous - put together a compound in doses suited to
disease
 Cream or lotion by two ingredients
 Aka non official -- not usual way of prescribing it
 Doctors mix a lot of ingredients, but it's allowed; not harmful
 Anti-cough, congested --- more convenient for patient to
take it
Structure
o
o
o
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Patient's name
Age
 Will guide the pharmacist
 5 year old boy given a capsule; pharmacist feels that boy can't
take capsule; makes call to doctor and tells him the situation of
the boy's age
Address
 Pharmacist makes a mistake - don't give whole dosage that you
paid for; address makes you look for patient
Date
 Don't want to give another refill
Important because you have to identify the name
 Helpful to patient, relatives
 Mom has 3 kids; need to know which med is for which
kid
 Helpful to even the pharmacist --- who may have forgot
who the medicine is for
o
Rx - superscription
 Symbol
 Recipe in latin; take though ---this is the medicine that the
patient will be taking
 Rx pad aka prescription pad
o
Inscription
 Names - single, compound

Amount of remedial agents prescribed
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 And appropriate vehicle to be take by the patient
Basis - drugs from which dr. expects true remedial effect
 Parasetimol -- lowers body temp (true effect)
 Main factor
Adjuvant  Inc or intensify the action; several drugs that synerge
the parasetimol
 Corrective to those other drugs to minimize the
undesirable effect of basis
Flavoring agents
 Orange, banana flavors to disguise the unattractive
tastes
 But some drugs just not palatable
o
Subscription
 Embodies the Dr's direction to pharmacist as to method and of
preparation of drugs and amount of the drug
 Only preparation and number of pills dispensed
 Example --- in capsule
 SIS - Capsule can be in suspension (syrup)
 Too much to sell; should be in bottle depending on
 Two bottles of remedial agent
 Could be in cream, in solution, in lotion form, in powder form
o
Signature aka S
 If you look at prescription given, no signature given
 But some others like the one shown in manual has it
 Not dr's signature
 Direction of doctor to the patient; if child, direction to guardian,
or if patient is hospitalized, direction to hospital personnel
 To save money, some nurses sent to the house ---sig. is
given to the nurse
 Includes how the patient has to take it
 One time, with glass of water, time of administration,
frequency
 Example - take 1 capsule every 8 hours for one
week; get this when you have computed the
medication that you will prescribe; have to justify
these directions
 Not the certification by the physician - finally guar
o
Cert by Physician
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License number
Official signature that you're certifying the Rx
Different Kinds of Prescription in Philippines punishable by Law
o Violative prescription
 Instead of generic name written, you write down the brand
name
 Generic name not legible
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
Brand name is indicated, but you add another word wherein dr.
doesn't want pharmacist to change brand name ---- "no
substitution please"
Have to give patient or buyer chance to choose his own brand
name
o
Erroneous prescription
 Where brand name receives the generic name
 Ex -- write a big Amoxil 50 mg; and a tiny little amoxycilin (tiny
words)
 Generic name is in parenthesis
 More than one drug product is prescribed in order not to waste
your space on the Rx paper
 Economical
o
Impossible prescription
 When only the generic name is written but NOT legible;
pharmacist cannot read it (impossible to read); hence the
term "chicken scratch"
 Generic name doesn't correspond to the brand name
 Amoxycillin (500 mg) and you put ventolin
 You know they don't coincide; doctor should be
penalized
 When both generic and brand name are not legible
 They want you to buy in his drug store; only staff
members can read it; others can't read it
 When drug prescribed that's not registered with the BFAD
 Even if the generic name is already approved by BFAD,
but if there's no such thing as brand (not registered);
whether brand name or generic name
 Impossible = it doesn't exist
o
How to differentiate generic vs. brand name
 Generic - true name of the remedial agent
 Brand name --- name given by drug company
 Example -- amoxycilin - generic; amoxyl - brand
 Amoxycilin - comes with dozens of brand names
in some countries
 Some opinions that doctors use patients just to become
rich; losing tenderness and warmth to them
Correct Prescription
o Name of patient
o Age
o Date
o Address
o
o
Superscription
Inscription
 If you don't write brand name, it's still correct
 If you do, it should be smaller than generic and in parenthesis
 Can't be reversed (erroneous)
o
o
 Capsule - and amount
Signature
 Direction to patient
 "one capsule every 8 hours for 1 week"
 Last Tuesday, Dr. Formalino gave also abbreviations; do
not give abbreviations to patients ---- Prn (if necessary)
- Read and know all abbreviations ----- P c4
 PRN, STAT, OU
Certification
Usually prescriptions are copied; not required because you have your own index card
for each patient -- own file --- contains diagnosis that only you know and understand
o Some have blue, yellow copy -- - so that the drug company can
reimburse you for how many drugs you prescribed
o If dr. didn't indicate brand name, pharmacist can offer other brand
names to the patient; pharmacist has privilege to offer it; patient not
obligated to buy it though -- he wants a cheaper one
o Not recommended to write more than one brand name
 Dr. tells patient to buy cheaper generic one for patient to
choose written on a different Rx paper
 Ex combipack for TB or entepack -----all the same
Practical
o
o
Take a paper --A 20 year old man came to clinic due to fever and cough for 5 days
duration;
 Adult patient - use empirical
o
Pedia patient example
 8 year old boy came due to fever and cough for 5 days
 Diagnosis - bronchopneumonia

Give amoxycillin and parasetimol
 2 prescriptions
 Amoxycillin usually given btw range of 50-100 kg BW
(whole of total dose you give each day)
 Preparation -- 250 mg/5ml or one teaspoon
(suspension/syrup_
 Bottle -- 60 ml
 1 teaspoon = 5 ml
 25 kg
 How many teaspoons per day if use 250 mg =
2500 g
 How many ml do you need a day?

Computation
 Have 5 ml. how many do you need per
day? 10 (5ml) or 10 teaspoons
 Formula
 2,500ml/x = 250 ml/5 ml
 X = 50 ml or 10 teaspoons

1 teaspoon = 5 ml
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Can you give 3 teaspoons every 8 hours? 2
teaspoons every 8 hours? ----still in the range
Parasetimol ---->
 Give 10-20 mg per kg per dose
 Usually given every 4 hours due to fever; for
pain PRN (if necessary)
 In syrup ---at age 8
 125 mg per teaspoon (5ml)
 60 ml or 120 ml
 Also 250 mg per teaspoon (5ml)
 250/5 = x/10
 Higher volume, so cheaper
 Choose between the two
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Tablet --- 8 years
 325 mg per tablet
 500 mg per tablet
Up to you what to us
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Computation

Boy weighs 25 kg body weight
Need 10 teaspoons a day; 7 days --- need 70 teaspoons
o How to convert in bottles?
o 12 teaspoons
 6 bottles ----72 teaspoons
o
when you say
 4 times a day, you tell the patient during times he's not sleepy
 Only awake hours
 6 times, you assume patient is awake at all times
 Wake at 6, 12, 6, 12 midnight
o
Use every 6 hours
Prescription Written
E.R. Caangay, MD
Emergency Medicine
6/29/06
Name
Address
Rx
o
Subscription
i.
amoxicillin
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o
o
250 mg/5ml
60 ml bottles # 7
Signature
 2 1/2 teaspoons every 6 hours for 7 days
subscription
Certification
Parasetimol
o Name, date, address
o superscription
o Subscription
 Paracetamol 250 mg/5m
 120 ml bottlel
o
Sig

Take 1 teaspoons every 4 hours as needed