Medications Orders

Question 1

Define prescription:

Answer 1

It is a written order for compounding, dispensing, and administering drugs to a specific client or patient, and once it is signed by the physician, it becomes a legal document.

Question 2

Parts of prescription:

Answer 2

• Patient information
• Superscription
• Inscription
• Subscription
• Signa
• Special instructions
• Signature of Prescriber
• DEA# if required

Question 3

What does patient information include?

Answer 3

• Name, address, age, weight and time.
• Age and sex of the patient, especially in the case of children, help the pharmacist check the medication and the dose.
• The address of the patient is recorded to help with any reference at a later stage, to contact the patient, or to deliver the medication personally.

Question 4

What is Superscription?

Answer 4

• It is represented by the symbol “Rx” , which is always written at the beginning of the prescription.

Question 5

What is Inscription?

Answer 5

• The main part of the prescription.
• It contains the names and quantities of the prescribed ingredients.
• The names of the ingredients are written each on a separate line, followed by the quantity ordered, and the last item written is generally the vehicle or diluent.

Question 6

What is a Subscription?

Answer 6

• This part of the prescription contains prescriber’s directions to the pharmacist regarding the dosage form to be prepared and number of doses to be dispensed.
• Quantity to be dispensed -> dispense#24
• For controlled substance write in numbers and letters -> #24 (twenty four)
• Any special compounding instructions.

Question 7

What is Signatura/Signa?

Answer 7

• Abbreviated by “Sig”
• Consist of the directions to be given to the patient regarding the administration of the drug.
• Indicates the quantity of medicament, number or dosage units to be taken, how many times in a day or at what time it should be taken, and the manner in which it is to be administered or applied.

Question 8

Instructions for the patient:

Answer 8

• Route of administration
• Number of dosage units per does
• Frequency of dosing
• Duration of dosing

Question 9

What are the special instructions?

Answer 9

• The number of times the prescription may be refilled, if any.
• The purpose of the prescription, special instructions, and warnings are followed by the signature of the prescriber.
• Special instructions (shake well, refrigerate, etc.)
• If the patient is to receive brand-name medication rather than generic, the physician enters NO SUBSTITUTIONS at the end of the prescription.
• If there are no refills to be dispensed, it is advisable not to enter the number 0, but to write None or No Refills.

Question 10

What is DEA?

Answer 10

• Drug Enforcement Administration
• All medical prescribers are required to request and receive a DEA number, which contains two letters, six numbers, and one “check digit”, before a single narcotic prescription can be dispensed.
• This is a precaution taken by the DEA to ensure that controlled substances are being prescribed by only qualified professionals.

Question 10

Why is there a need for the signature of the prescriber?

Answer 10

• Makes the prescription a legal document.
• Must be hand-written using ink.
• Eliminates the danger of dispensing medicament on a spurious order and authenticates the prescription.
• Prescriptions containing narcotics or other habit-forming drugs must bear the address and registration number of the prescriber, which identify the special license that a prescriber must have to prescribe the narcotics and other habit-forming drugs.

Question 11

What is E-prescription?

Answer 11

an electronic way to generate prescriptions through an automated data-entry process utilizing e- prescribing software and a transmission network which links to participating pharmacies.

Question 11

What are the advantages of E-prescription over the manual type?

Answer 11

• Improved patient safety and overall quality of care.
• Decreasing the risk of medication errors and decreasing liability risks.
• Warning and alert systems are provided at the point of prescribing; they can perform checks against the patient’s current medications for drug-drug interactions and drug-allergy interactions.
• Access to patient’s medical history.
• Reduces phone calls to pharmacies and faxes to pharmacies.
• Increases patient compliance and convenience.
• Full mobility.