One of the skills that a doctor must have is prescribing drugs. Doctor's prescription writing aims to facilitate health services and reduce the risk of errors in drug administration.
A doctor's prescription is a legal document containing a written request from a doctor to a pharmacist, to prepare and administer medication to a patient. This prescription is made according to the patient's needs, after the doctor conducts a medical examination and determines the diagnosis. By law, only general practitioners, specialists, and dentists are authorized to write prescriptions.
Element-Unsur in Doctor's Prescription
The correct doctor's prescription is a prescription that is written clearly, easy to understand, and in accordance with the rules of prescription writing. The prescription sheet or prescription form from the doctor must contain the following:
- The identity of the doctor who wrote the prescription
Doctor's name, practice license number (SIP), practice address, doctor's telephone number, name of the city of practice, date of prescription writing, and initials of the doctor who gave the prescription. Can also be equipped with days and hours of practice. This information is usually printed on the prescription form.
- Patient identity
This includes the patient's name, age, gender, weight, address and telephone number. The format of this information is usually already listed on the prescription form.
- Drug information
This is the core of the drug prescription which is divided into two parts, namely:
- The symbol R/ which is defined as recipe (“take” in Latin), includes the name of the drug, the dose of the drug, the form of the drug (capsules, tablets, syrup, or ointment), and the amount of the drug to be administered.
- The symbol S, includes the way and the rules for using the drug, such as when to take the drug (morning or evening), the drug is taken before or after meals, the number of times the drug is taken (eg 3 times a day or every 2 hours), the dose of consumption (eg 5 ml). , 1 tablespoon, or 1 tablet), how to use the drug (taken by mouth), and any other information needed (eg the drug must be finished, or it needs to be discontinued if the symptoms disappear). Information about drugs is usually written using abbreviations or codes in Latin.
- Legality
Official doctor's prescriptions are marked with a closing line accompanied by the signature of the doctor who wrote the prescription.
There are prescriptions from this doctor that may be repeated, meaning that the prescription can be reused to redeem the drug, and there are also those that cannot be repeated, meaning that the prescription is only for one time taking the drug.
Every patient has the right to request a copy of the prescription, but the patient is advised to still consult the doctor who prescribes the drug if he wants to redeem the drug with a copy of the prescription.
Doctor's Prescription Service Flow
The prescription service procedure must be preceded by a consultation with a doctor. After the examination and diagnosis is made, the doctor will write a prescription according to the patient's condition.
Furthermore, this prescription will be sent to the pharmacy or drug counter for processing by the pharmacist, with the following procedure:
- Recipe check
Check the completeness of the elements and the validity of the recipe. If a discrepancy is found, the pharmacist must contact the prescribing physician.
- Dispensing
Dispensing consists of the preparation, compounding, and administration of drugs. Included in drug preparation are preparing drugs according to prescriptions, dispensing drugs if requested, giving labels or labels on drug packaging, and putting drugs into containers.
Before the medicine is handed over to the patient, the pharmacist returns to check to make sure the prescription and the medicine made are appropriate. The delivery of the drug must be accompanied by a re-examination of the patient's identity and the provision of information on how to use the drug, the benefits and side effects of the drug, and how to store the drug.
If necessary, the pharmacist can make a copy of the prescription according to the original prescription from the doctor. A copy of this prescription will be initialed by the pharmacist. Pharmacists also have to make sure the medication is given to the right person. The patient's name and telephone number can be requested to be equated with the patient's personal data.
Case-HThings to Pay Attention to
There are several important things to know about doctor's prescriptions, namely:
- Recipes are confidentialA doctor's prescription is a confidential legal document. In addition to the doctor and the patient concerned, the prescription may only be shown to the person caring for the patient (nurse, family, or ). caretaker) and pharmacists. In order to prevent misuse of prescription drugs, patients are prohibited from giving prescriptions to other people, even though they have the same complaint, or repeat prescriptions without the doctor's knowledge. Don't put or leave prescription blanks anywhere.
- Responsible partyin charge of recipesDoctors and pharmacists are responsible for the prescriptions written and the drugs given to patients. If there is an error in writing or administering the drug, the party may be subject to sanctions. Legal sanctions in the form of verbal warnings, written warnings, temporary cessation of practice, to revocation of licenses can be given to related parties if they are proven to have violated the rule of law.
Understanding information about doctor's prescriptions is one of your efforts as a patient to ensure that the drugs given are in accordance with the doctor's request, and to avoid medication errors.
Make sure you understand the information about the use of drugs in your doctor's prescription. If necessary, you can record it in a booklet or feature note in WL You. If you receive a prescription with information that is unclear or not understood, be sure to ask the pharmacist or doctor who made the prescription again.