Prescription

Prescription symbol

A prescription (℞) is a message given by a doctor to a patient saying what to do. It may say to get special medicine that is only for people with a prescription. Those drugs are often very strong, and they cannot be bought normally from a pharmacy as you could with over-the-counter drugs. Some prescription drugs, for example Oxycontin or Hydrocodone, are used illegally to become intoxicated. Using prescription drugs illegally may result in drug addiction, illness, and death. A prescription can also be a way to tell another person how to help the patient, such as for physical therapy.

Prescriptions were written on paper. Now most of them are sent electronically. This is quicker. It also means there are not so many mistakes.

Know your prescription It is important for a patient to learn about the medication that the doctor has prescribed for them. This can be done by asking the pharmacist, reading the patient information leaflet or by searching for the medication on the Internet.