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Outpatient prescriptions

Sections of the Prescription

  • Top (patient details)
    • Name
    • Address
    • Age (in years and months if <5 years)
    • Date of birth
  • Middle (medication details)
    • Drug prescription blank box
  • Bottom (prescriber details)
    • Prescriber’s signature
    • Date
    • Prescriber’s name and address (usually pre-printed) 

Filling in the drug prescription box

Divide into 3 lines:

  1. DRUG: include strength (e.g. 40mg) and preparation (e.g. tablets)
  2. DOSING INSTRUCTIONS: write patient-friendly dose in numbers (e.g. ‘1 tablet’) followed by frequency in words (e.g. ‘four times a day’)
  3. QUANTITY: write quantity to be dispensed in numbers (e.g. ‘28 tablets’)

Examples of outpatient drug prescriptions

DrugDosing instructionsQuantity
Simvastatin 40mg tablets 1 tablet once a day at night28 tablets 
Co-codamol 8/500 tablets2 tablets as required every 4-6 hours (maximum 8 tablets in 24 hours)28 tablets
Flucloxacillin 250mg capsules2 capsules four times a day 20 capsules
Clobetasone butyrate 0.05% ointmentApply thinly twice a day to affected area for 2 weeks30g tube
Beclometasone 100micrograms/puff inhaler2 puffs twice a day1 inhaler

General points

  • If you want anything extra to be on the drug label, write it in inverted commas, e.g. ‘strong painkiller’
  • Cross out any unused space in the prescription box

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