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Prescription writing
Shared care
In its guidelines
on responsibility for
prescribing
(circular EL (91) 127) between hospitals and general
practitioners, the Department of Health has advised
that legal responsibility for prescribing lies with the
doctor who signs the prescription.
Prescriptions
1
should be written legibly in ink or other-
wise so as to be indelible
2
, should be dated, should state
the name and address of
the patient,
and should be
signed in ink by the prescriber
3
. The age and the date of
birth of the patient should preferably be stated, and it is
a legal
requirement
in the case of
prescription-only
medicines to state the age for children under 12 years.
The following should be noted:
(a)
The unnecessary use of
decimal
points should be
avoided, e.g.
3 mg,
not 3.0 mg.
Quantities of 1 gram or more should be written as
1 g etc.
Quantities less than 1 gram should be written in
milligrams,
e.g. 500 mg,
not 0.5 g.
Quantities less than 1 mg should be written in
micrograms,
e.g. 100 micrograms,
not 0.1 mg.
When decimals are unavoidable a zero should be
written in front of the decimal point where there is
no other figure,
e.g.
0.5 mL,
not .5 mL.
Use of the decimal point is acceptable to express a
range,
e.g.
0.5 to 1 g.
(b)
‘Micrograms’ and ‘nanograms’ should not be abbre-
viated.
Similarly ‘units’ should not be abbreviated.
(c)
The term ‘millilitre’ (ml or mL)
4
is used in medicine
and pharmacy,
and cubic centimetre,
c.c.,
or cm
3
should not be used.
(d)
Dose and dose frequency should be stated;
in the
case of
preparations to be taken ‘as required’
a
minimum dose interval should be specified.
When doses other than multiples of 5 mL are pre-
scribed for
oral
liquid preparations
the
dose-
volume will
be provided by means
of
an oral
syringe,
see p.
2 (except for preparations intended
to be measured with a pipette).
Suitable quantities:
Elixirs,
Linctuses,
and Paediatric Mixtures (5-
mL dose),
50,
100,
or 150 mL
Adult Mixtures (10-mL dose),
200 or 300 mL
Ear Drops,
Eye drops,
and Nasal Drops,
10 mL
(or the manufacturer’s pack)
Eye
Lotions,
Gargles,
and
Mouthwashes,
200 mL
(e)
For suitable quantities of
dermatological
prepara-
tions,
see section 13.1.2.
(f)
The names of
drugs and preparations should be
written clearly and not abbreviated, using approved
titles only (see also advice in box on p.
3 to avoid
creating generic titles for modified-release prepara-
tions).
(g)
The quantity to be supplied may be stated by
indicating the number of days of treatment required
in the box provided on NHS forms.
In most cases
the exact
amount
will
be supplied.
This does not
apply to items directed to be used as required—if
the dose and frequency are not
given then the
quantity to be supplied needs to be stated.
When several items are ordered on one form the
box can be marked with the number
of
days of
treatment
provided the quantity is added for any
item for which the amount cannot be calculated.
(h)
Although directions should preferably be in English
without abbreviation,
it
is recognised that
some
Latin abbreviations are used (for details see Inside
Back Cover).
(i)
Medical
and dental
practitioners
may prescribe
unlicensed medicines (i.e.
those without marketing
authorisation) or withdrawn medicines. The prescri-
ber should inform the patient or the patient’s carer
that the product does not have a marketing author-
isation.
For a sample prescription,
see below.
1.
These recommendations are acceptable for prescription-
only medicines (A).
For
items
marked C see also
Controlled Drugs and Drug Dependence,
p.
8.
2.
It is permissible to issue carbon copies of
NHS prescrip-
tions as long as they are signed in ink.
3.
Computer-generated facsimile signatures do not meet the
legal
requirement.
4.
The use of
capital
‘L’
in mL is
a printing convention
throughout the BNF;
both ‘mL’
and ‘ml’
are recognised SI
abbreviations.
BNF 61
Prescription writing
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Prescription writing