Prescription Writing

Question 1

Who does the legal responsibility of a prescription lie with ?

Answer 1

The practitioner signing the prescription as per the Human Medicine Regulations 2012 and DoH

Question 2

Name 8 Things a prescription must have (General) to make it legible.

Answer 2

– Be written or printed legibly in ink
– State the name and address of the patient
– Dated
– Address of the prescriber
– Indication of the type of prescriber
– Signed in indelible ink by the prescriber
– State the age of a child under 12
› If under 5 years, state years and months of age

Question 3

What details of medicine must be included on a prescription

Answer 3

– Name of medicine in full
› Generic name unless specific brand/ MR preparation
– Formulation (e.g. tablets, oral suspension)
– Strength (e.g. 5mg for tablets or 125mg/5ml for an oral suspension)
– Dosage
– Frequency
– Quantity to be supplied (e.g. 56 tablets)

Question 4

Other than medication prescription, what are some other treatment options?

Answer 4

• No intervention
• Health education and advice
• Wellbeing/ lifestyle changes
• Social prescribing
• Psychological interventions
• Complementary/ herbal therapies
• Optimisation of current medication
• Prescribe
• OTC/ prescription
• Refer
• A combination of the above

Question 5

What patient factors must you consider with prescribing ?

Answer 5