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Prescription Writing - How to Write a Good Prescription

Prescription writing is a reflection of a doctor's overall competency, knowledge, and proficiency. To write a good prescription and especially complicated prescriptions, a doctor must have knowledge of:

the disease and the medicines,
the drug-drug interactions,
complications of the disease,
the patient's socioeconomic status and
the attitude of the patient.

How to write a good prescription?

The following are a few of the key points to consider before writing a good prescription:

1. Legible writing:

The prescription should be written in legible writing.
It should be written with a pen or otherwise but should not be erasable.
A non-medical person should be able to read the prescription without difficulty and there shouldn't be any spelling errors.

Don't write like this

2. Patient and Doctor's profile:

The prescription should state the name and address of the doctor, name and age/ date of birth of the patient.
It should be signed in ink by the doctor.
In children aged 12 years or less, the weight of the patient should be mentioned.

prescription writing

3. Details of the medicines prescribed:

The doctor should write the strength of the tablets, capsules, lozenges or syrup.
Strengths of syrups should be mentioned as mg/5ml or mg/ml etc.

4. Avoid decimals:

The use of unnecessary decimals should be avoided.
For example, 5 mg should not be written as 5.0 mg.
Dosages above 1000 mg should be written in grams (example: 1.5 gms instead of 1500 mg), dosages between 1 mg and 1 gram should be written in milligrams (example: 500 mg instead of 0.5 gms) and dosages below 1 mg should be written in micrograms (example: 50 micrograms instead of 0.05 mg).
Decimal is however allowed between 500 mg and 1 gm. Furthermore, micrograms and nanograms should not be abbreviated.
When decimals cannot be avoided, zero should precede the decimal point (example: 0.5 mg instead of .5 mg)

prescription writing

6. Use ml instead of CC:

Where syrups or liquids are mentioned, ml should be used instead of cubic centimeters (c.c.) or cm3.

7. Mention the dose and frequency:

The dose of the medicine and the frequency of dosages should be mentioned.
Where medicines are to be taken when required, the minimum dosage interval should be mentioned.

8. Write the dose instead of the volume:

In children, write the dose instead of the volume of the syrup.
The volume of the syrup may be mentioned in brackets (Example: 125 mg three times daily, instead of 5 ml three times daily).
Tablets and capsules may be written as one or two tablets daily.

9. Avoid abbreviations:

Write the name of the drug clearly.
Abbreviations should not be used.
The quantity of the medicines or the duration of treatment should be mentioned.

10. Write instructions in the local language:

Patients should be given instructions in local language regarding specific meals to take or avoid, exercise, any danger signs he/ she should be more careful about and when to come back for a repeat check-up.

11. Above all, Be Professional.

Do not extra medicines and extra investigations.
Don't fill the whole page,
Don't cheat the patient by changing brand names
Write the medicines in groups (example: write antihypertensives first, then write anti-diabetic medicines, and so on)