Here is a general summary of the prescription requirements that cover the legal requirements and other information needed for the prescription to be complete including good practice recommendations.
Firstly, the legal requirements for a prescription are provided below. They must be fulfilled for the prescription to be legal and apply to general prescriptions.
- State the name of the patient
- State the address of the patient
- State the age of the patient if under 12 years of age
- The prescription should be signed in ink by the prescriber
- The prescription should be written clearly or printed in ink or otherwise be indelible. A prescriber can issue an NHS prescription using carbon paper or a similar material, but the signature must be in ink.
- The prescription should indicate the type of prescriber that is signing the prescription e.g. doctor, dentist, community practitioner nurse prescriber
- State the appropriate date. A prescription is valid for six months from the appropriate date (except for drugs belonging to schedules 2-4).
- State the address of the prescriber
- With regards to electronic prescriptions that are sent electronically, an advanced electronic signature can be accepted. The Human Medicines Regulations 2012 (Regulations 217 and 219) sets out that the signature should be uniquely linked to the person giving the prescription, can identify the person who wrote the prescription, be created using the means that the person can maintain under its sole control and linked to the data which it relates in such a manner that any subsequent change of data is detectable. In addition to this, the prescription is sent via the electronic prescription service to the person who will dispense the prescription.
Secondly, for the prescription to be complete (these are not legal requirements) the prescription should state the following:
- Name of medicine e.g. generic name, brand name
- Dosage form e.g. tablets, capsules, m/r tablets, liquid
- Route of administration e.g. oral, subcutaneous
- Strength of medicine e.g. 50mg, 250mg/5ml
- The dose and frequency to be taken/given
- Quantity prescribed or the number of days’ treatment to dispense
Finally, it is good practice to also include the following on the prescription:
- Age of the patient
- Date of birth of the patient
- Weight of the patient (including this information allows the pharmacist to determine whether the dose is safe and appropriate for the patient’s weight)
- Patient’s NHS number
- Clinical indication for each medicine
Reference
- The Human Medicines Regulations 2012 – Regulations 217 and 219. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/1916/part/12 (Accessed 26/01/23).