This document provides information about prescriptions, including: 1. Definitions of key terms like "prescription" and an overview of the parts of a prescription such as the date, patient information, directions for use, and prescriber signature. 2. Descriptions of different types of prescriptions and methods of prescribing, both traditional compounding by pharmacists and modern dispensing of pre-made medications. 3. Details on properly receiving, reading, and handling prescriptions, including checking for errors and collecting ingredients accurately. Calculations for dispensing are also covered.

1. Prescription
9/11/2021
1
Prepared by
Ms. Nisha S. Mhaske
M.Pharm (Q.A.T)
Lecturer, PRES’s COPD, Chincholi.
Email : nisha.mhaske@pravara.in

2.  Learner will be able to understand
 What do you mean by prescription
 Parts of prescription
 Handling of prescription
 Modern methods of prescribing
 Calculations involved in prescription
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3.  Definition
 Types of prescription
 Parts of prescription
 Handling of prescription
 Modern method of prescribing
 Care required in dispensing prescription
 Calculations involved in dispensing
 Imperial system
 Metric system
 Proof spirit
 Percentage calculations
 Calculations of doses for children
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4.  The word “prescription” is derived from the Latin term praescriptus which
made up of two Latin words Prae a prefix meaning ‘before’ and Scribere
meaning ‘to write’.
 Definition- “Prescription is an order written by a physician,
dentist or any other medical practitioner to the pharmacist
to compound & dispense a specific medication for individual
patient.”
 Prescription is accompanied by direction for pharmacist and for
patient.
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5.  Prescription is a direct link between physician, pharmacist &
patient.
 The prescriptions are generally written in the English
language but Latin words or abbreviations are frequently used
in order to save time.
 So, its become necessary for a pharmacist, to become familiar
with the common Latin terms and abbreviations used by the
physician.
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6.  Pre compounding prescription
 Prescription for already prepared drug (by pharmaceutical
companies) e.g. Cap. Ciprofloxacin (500 mg) etc.
 Extemporaneous prescription
 The pharmacists prepare the medication according to the drugs
and dosages directed by the physician (nowadays not in
practice)
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7.  A typical prescription consists of following parts:-
1. Date
2. Name, age, sex, body weight and address of the patient
3. Superscription
4. Inscription
5. Subscription
6. Signatura
7. Renewal instructions
8. Signature, address and registration number of the prescriber.
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Parts of prescription
A- Heading
a. Date
b. Personal data of patient
B- Body
a. Superscription
b. Inscription
c. Subscription
C- Closing
a. Signature of patient
b. Signature of physician

9.  It helps a pharmacist to find out the date of
prescribing and date of presentation for
filling the prescription.
 Written on the prescription by prescriber.
 To know when the medicines were last
dispensed.
 To prevent the misuse of the drug by the
patients.
 The prescription which prescribe narcotic or
other habit forming drug, must bear the date,
so as to avoid the misuse of prescription if it
is presented by the patient, a number of
times for dispensing.
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10.  Name, age, sex and address of the patient must be written in the
prescription because it serve to identify the prescription.
 In case, if any of these information is missing in the prescription,
the same may be included by the pharmacist after proper enquiry
from the patient.
 Age and sex of the patient, especially in case of children, help
the pharmacist to check the prescribed dose of medication.
 In some cases the weight of the patient may also be required in
order to calculate the appropriate dose.
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11.  It is represented by a symbol Rx (℞).
 Rx is the abbreviation of Latin word
recipe, meaning ‘take thou’ or ‘You
Take’.
 In older days, the symbol was considered
to be originated from the sign of Jupiter,
God of healing.
 This symbol was employed by the ancient
in requesting god for the quick recovery of
the patient.
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12.  Inscription gives the information about the name of the drug (Generic
or trade name), its formulation and unit dosage either in English or
Latin language.
 The name of each ingredient is written on a separate line along with
its quantity.
 In complex prescriptions containing several ingredients the
inscription is divided in to following parts:
a. Base- The active medicaments which are intended to produce the
therapeutic effect.
b. Adjuvant- are the agent which enhance the action of medicament
or to improve the palatability of the preparation.
c. Vehicle- to increase solubility of solid ingredients and to increase
volume of the preparation.
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13.  Nowadays, the majority of the drugs are prescribed which are
already in a suitable formulation.
 The pharmacist is required to dispense the ready-made form of
drugs.
 So, compounding of prescription is almost eliminated.
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14.  This part contains the prescriber’s directions to the pharmacist .
 It includes
 Type dosage form to be prepared
 No of doses to be dispensed
 These days, the prescribers are omitting the specific instructions
to the pharmacist because the majority of the prescriptions are
not compounded and dispensed.
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15.  It is usually written as ‘Sig’ on the prescription.
 It consist of the direction to be given to the patient regarding
the administration of the drug.
 The instruction may include the following:-
1. The quantity of medicament
2. The frequency of administration or application
3. The route or mode of administration
4. The special instructions such as dilution direction.
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16.  The prescriber indicate on every prescription order,
whether it may be renewed and if so, how many times.
 It is very important particularly in the prescription
containing the narcotic and other habit forming drugs to
prevent its misuse.
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17.  The prescription must bear the signature of the
prescriber along with its registration number and
address.
 It is very important particularly in the prescription
containing the narcotic and other habit forming drugs, to
prevent its misuse.
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1. Receiving
2. Reading And checking
3. Collecting & weighing the materials
4. Compounding, Labelling &
Packaging

21.  The prescription should be received by pharmacist himself/herself.
 It includes
 Reading the prescription
 Checking the prescription
 While receiving a prescription, a pharmacist should not change his
facial expression which gives an impression to the patient that he
is surprised or confused after seeing the prescription.
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22.  Prescription should be completely and carefully read from top to bottom.
 Nature of dosage form and time required for preparing.
 If long time is needed for compounding must tell the patient to wait.
 Careful examination of the prescription should be made only behind the
counter.
 Any doubt or direction or any error in writing, patient should not come to
 know about it and should consult the other pharmacist or prescriber.
 Every word and abbreviation must be interpreted correctly.
 Never guess about the meaning of illegible or confusing word.
 Prescription should be checked for any incompatibility.
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Material
Left side
Right
Side
Balance
Collected Weighed

24.  While compounding, the label of every stock bottle should be
read at least three times in order to avoid any error-
1. When taken from the shelf or drawer
2. When the contents are removed for weighing and measuring
3. When the containers are returned back to its proper place.
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Compounding
Packaging
Labelling
Only one prescription
Accuracy, cleanliness &
proper techniques
Suitable Containers
Quantity to be dispensed
Glass, Plastic & metal
containers
Size of label
Good quality paper, adhesive
Information & special directions

26. Related to Latin Term Abbreviation Meaning in English
Time
Anti cibos a.c. Before meals
Post cibos p.c. After meals
Inter cibos i.c. Between meals
Times per day
Semel in die sem in die Once a day
Bis in die, bis die b.i.d., b.d. Twice a day
Ter in die t.i.d., t.d. Three times a day
Quarter in die q.i.d., q.d. Four times a day
Parts of the body Oculis dexter o.d. To right eye
Os, oris o.s. To mouth
Hour time Omni hora o.h. Every hour
Different time of the
day
Primo mane prim.m. Early in the morning
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35.  Nowadays, the majority of the drugs are available in the market as
ready-made formulations manufactured by different pharmaceutical
companies.
 There is no need to dispense the drugs by the pharmacist.
 In the present days, the role of pharmacist is to hand over the ready-
made preparations to the patients and provide advice if demanded
regarding its ROA, dose schedule, drug interactions and adverse
reactions etc.
 The drugs should be prescribed by its official (Generic) name and
not by its proprietary or trade name.
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37.  There are certain advantages and disadvantages of prescribing the drugs by
its proprietary names.
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Sr. No. Advantages Disadvantages
1 It is easy to remember proprietary names
beacause they are very catchy.
Eg- Crocin (paracetamol)
It is cheaper to prescribe the
drugs by its official name.
2 It is easy to communicate with the patient It becomes difficult for a
pharmacist to dispense the
substitute of the drug which
is available in the stock.
3 The continuity can be maintained by prescribing
the same proprietary name every time.
4 The bioavailability of drugs changed with the
change of adjuvant used in drug formulations
manufactured by different manufacturers. So
only those proprietary drugs can be prescribed
which have a better bioavailability.

38.  A Prescription should be:
 Kept simple
 Abbreviations free (if necessary
Latin abbreviations should be
used)
 Trailing zeros should be avoided,
Leading zeros must be added
 It should provide clear and
specific directions
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39.  There are four types of prescriptions which are generally
received by the retails drug store:-
 Prescription in general practice
 Private prescriptions
 Hospital prescriptions meant for ‘out patients’
 Hospital prescriptions meant for ‘in patients’
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41.  Following precautions should be taken while dispensing a prescription.
1. Always keep the prescription before you to avoid mistakes.
2. Dispensing balance should be checked before weighing ingredients.
3. Replace containers of stock preparations or drugs in their proper position
after use.
4. Keep the label in upper position.
5. In case of liquid ingredients, keep the label upward to prevent staining of
label.
6. Dispensing balance, spatula should be clean. Scale pan should be cleaned
immediately after use.
7. Those medicines for external use, should be labeled in red or against a
red background.
8. Before handing over the medicine to the patient, again check that the
correct preparation, in the correct strength, has been supplied and correct
direction has been stated on the label.
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For External Use Only

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Sources of Error
in Prescription
7.Incompatibilities
1. Abbreviation
6. Instructions
for the Patient
5.Dose
2. Name of
the Drug
3. Strength
of the
preparation
4. Dosage
form of the
drug

43. 1. Abbreviation
 Abbreviation presents a problem in understanding parts of the
prescription order.
 Extreme care should be taken by a pharmacist in interpreting the
abbreviation.
 Pharmacist should not guess at the meaning of an ambiguous
abbreviations.
 e.g.-Achro- for Achromycin ; Achrosatin.
2. Name of the Drug
 There are certain drugs whose name look or sound like those of
other drugs.
 Some of the examples of such drugs are as under:-
 Digitoxin Digoxin
 Prednisone Prednisolone
 Doridon Doxidan
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44. 3. Strength of the prescription
 The strength of the preparation should be state by the
prescriber.
 It is essential when various strength of a product are available
in the market.
 e.g.-Paracetamol-500 mg
4. Dosage form of the drug prescribed
 Many medicines are available in more than one dosage form.
 Prescriber should write prescription with correct and suitable
dosage form to the patients in order to avoid ambiguity.
 e.g.-liquid, tablet, capsule and suppository.
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45. 5. Dose
 Unusually high or low doses should be discussed with the prescriber.
 Paediatric dosage may present a problem. So pharmacist should consult
paediatric posology to avoid any error.
6. Instructions for the patient
 Instructions for the patient in the prescription sometimes incomplete or omitted.
 Instructions such as- quantity of drug to be taken, frequency, timing of
administration, route of administration should be clearly given in the
prescription so as to avoid any confusion.
7. Incompatibilities
 It is essential to check variety of incompatibilities in a prescribed preparations .
 Also check for synergistic and antagonistic effect of drugs.
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46.  In dispensing, pharmacist should have a thorough knowledge regarding
weights and measure which are used in calculations.
 There are two systems of weights and measure:-
1. The imperial system
2. The metric system
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47. Imperial System Metric System
It is an old system of weights and
measures
The metric system is used in the IP for
the measurement of weight & capacity.
Weight- is a measure of the gravitational
force acting on a body & is directly
proportional to its mass.
The metric system in India was
implemented from 1st April,1964 in
pharmacy profession.
The imperial system is divided into 2
parts for the purpose of measurement of
weight.
a. Avoirdupois system- Pound (Unit)
Weight- Kilogram (Std.Unit)
Capacity- Litre (Std.Unit)
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Imperial System
b. Apothecaries system /Troy system–
Grain (Unit)
Capacity- Gallon is a standard unit.

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Conversion Tables

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54.  Calculations based on Density
 Density is defined as the mass of a substance per unit volume. It has the
units of mass over volume.
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