Principles of prescription

 The proper prescription consists of the superscription, the inscription, the subscription and the signa  Other necessary informations (informations about your patient, the date and information about the prescriber - signature, stamp)

Structure of the prescription  Patient identification – the full name and address, the age or preferably the birthdate of the patient

Structure of the prescription  The superscription  Preprinted symbol Rp. - abbreviation for recipe ("to take")  If the superscription is absent, the physician should introduce his or her prescribed drug with this symbol

Structure of the prescription  The inscription – 1.line  Immediately below the superscription  Contains the name, exact formulation and unit dose of the drug to be dispensed

Structure of the prescription  Only the officially approved generic name or brand name should be used  The inscription is written in nominative and in singular  Specifications of the drug form in latin - abbreviations are recommended  Capital letter at the beginning of the line

Structure of the prescription  The subscription – 2.line  This area provides directions to the pharmacist about the quantity of medication to provide to the patient

Structure of the prescription  number of requested preparations: “Expeditio originalis” (Exp. orig.) or “Dosis originalis” (Dos. orig.) with the same acceptance  number of packages is written with Roman numeral and the numeral is then in parentheses written in latin: Exp.orig. No. I (unam)

Structure of the prescription  The signa – 3.line  Signa is latin for “label” and this section is introduced by the abbreviated D.S. (Detur, signetur or Da, signa) or S. (Signetur or Signa)

Structure of the prescription  Should always be written in English, avoiding latin or other abbreviations, which are easily misinterpreted  Signa instructions tell the patient the amount of the drug to take, the frequency and possibly the precise times of day that the medication is to be taken and the route of administration  Sometimes, other instruction such as ”Shake well before using”, ”Take with food” or caution such as ”Use only externally” are included here

Structure of the prescription  The first word of the instructions should indicate the route of administration:  Take – for oral  Apply – for topical  Insert – for rectal  Place or instill – for conjunctival, nasal or external auditory canal administration

Structure of the prescription  Expressions such as ”Take as directed” and ”Take as necessary” are never satisfactory and should be avoided  If the drug is to be taken at a specific time of day or if it is to be taken three or four times a day, the exact time or times should be specified on the label – every 8 hours

Structure of the prescription  The date – is important because prescriptions for certain drugs are not valid beyond a specific period

Validity of prescription  Prescription from emergency is valid only one day (24 h)  Prescription with antibiotics is valid 7 days /one week/  Other prescriptions are valid for 14 days

Structure of the prescription  Prescriber´s identification – when all of the above are completed, the physician should sign the order form (at the bottom of the prescription form)  Stamp with the full name and address of the physician, the phone number) to facilitate communication between the pharmacist and the prescriber

Searching in drug databases - AISLP  AISLP is information system of human, homeopatic and veterinary registrated drugs for Czech and Slovak Republic  AISLP is developed for personal computers, prepared and distributed every midterm

How to search in AISLP?

Substance name F7

Drugs with name

Question No.1 Patient: Mary Green, 47 old woman ( ) from Liverpool suffers from ulcerative colitis Prescribe: one package of mesalazin suppositories, unit dose 250 mg, 10 suppositories in one package, to insert one suppository three times daily Rp. Salofalk 250 rct sup 10x250 mg Exp. Orig. No. I (unam) D.S. insert one suppository three times daily

Question No.2 Patient: Tom Lofholm, 40 years old man ( ) from London suffers from angina pectoris Prescribe: two packages of glyceroltrinitrat sublingual tablets, unit dose 0,5 mg, to put one tablet under tongue and keep close mouth Rp. Nitroglycerin-Slovakofarma Exp. Orig. No. II (duas) D.S. put one tablet under tongue and keep close mouth

Rp. Celebrex 200 mg 30x200 mg Exp. Orig. No. III (tres) D.S. take one capsule twice daily Question No.3 Patient: Mary Fox, 48 years old woman ( ) from Shefield suffers from rheumatoid arthritis Prescribe: three packages of celecoxib capsules, unit dose 200 mg, 30 capsules in one package, to take one capsule twice daily

Question No.4 Patient: John Gillman, 50 years old man ( ) from Birmingham with chronic alcohol dependence Prescribe: two packages of disulfiram tablets, unit dose 400 mg, to take four tablets as a single dose first day with reducing over five days to 100 mg daily Rp. Antabus Exp. Orig. No. II (duas) D.S. take four tablets as a single dose first day with reducing over five days to 100 mg daily

Question No.5 Patient: John Williams, 65 years old man ( ) from Boston suffers from diabetes mellitus Prescribe: five packages of gliclazide tablets, unit dose 80 mg, 20 tablets in 1 package, to take 1 tablet twice daily, before meal Rp. Diaprel 20x80 mg Exp. Orig. No. V (quinque) D.S. to take 1 tablet twice daily, before meal

Question No.6 Patient: George Blake, 70 years old man ( ) from New York suffers from prostate cancer Prescribe: 2 packages of cyproterone-acetate tablets, unit dose 100 mg, to take one tablet twice daily Rp. Androcur 100 Exp. Orig. No. II (duas) D.S. one tablet twice daily

Question No.7 Patient: Kate Bush, 58 years old woman ( ) from San Diego suffers from rheumatoid arthritis Prescribe: 7 packages of penicilamin, unit dose 300 mg, to take one tablet twice daily Rp. Metalcaptase 300 Exp. Orig. No. VII (septem) D.S. one tablet twice daily

All prescriptions should be written legibly