1 Prescription Foundations Free Online FlashCards

What is a prescription?

A prescription is a medication order from an authorized prescriber to a pharmacy.

What information commonly appears in a prescription?

Patient information, issue date, prescriber information, medication, directions (Sig), quantity and authorized refills, and required authentication.

What does “Sig” mean on a prescription?

The Sig is the directions for use. It should clearly state how the patient is to use the medication.

What questions help you parse a prescription’s directions?

Check the action, amount per dose, route and site, frequency and timing, and any required duration or conditions.

What does PO mean in prescription directions?

PO means by mouth.

What should you do with an incomplete or ambiguous prescription?

Pause and resolve important information that is missing, unreadable, conflicting, or open to more than one reasonable interpretation.

How should doses below one and whole-number doses be written?

Write a leading zero: 0.5 mg, not .5 mg. Do not add a trailing zero to a whole-number dose: write 5 mg, not 5.0 mg.

What does “Take 1 tablet by mouth twice daily” communicate?

It specifies the dose, dosage form, route, and frequency.

What do BID, TID, and QID mean?

BID means twice daily; TID means three times daily; QID means four times daily.

What does PRN mean?

PRN means as needed.

Does “twice daily” necessarily mean every 12 hours?

No. Twice daily does not necessarily mean every 12 hours; do not silently convert one instruction into the other.

How should a safety-relevant ambiguity be resolved?

Contact the prescriber or use the authorized clarification workflow, and document the clarification as required. Do not dispense if the ambiguity could affect safe use until it is resolved.