A prescription is a legal document written by a medical practitioner that authorises a patient to be issued with a medicine or treatment. It is an instruction from a prescriber to a pharmacist.

Prescriptions can be written manually or electronically, but the principles of writing are the same. A prescription should be written legibly. All information should be filled up accurately and completely. A poorly written prescription may cause medication errors. Patients may take the medication wrongly leading to side effect that may cause harm to the patients.

Please watch this video showing how a prescription functions as a communication tool in the dispensing process.