Medical prescription

A medical prescription (℞) is a written order by a medical doctor to a pharmacist for a treatment to be provided to the doctor's patient.

Non prescription drug prescriptions

Prescriptions are also used for things that are not strictly regulated as a prescription drug. Doctors will often give non-prescription drugs out as prescriptions because drug benefit plans may reimburse the patient only if the over-the-counter medication is taken under the direction of a doctor. Conversely, if a medication is available over-the-counter, doctors may ask patients if they want it as a prescription and possibly incur a pharmacist's dispensing fee or whether they want to get it themselves at a lower price. If the patient wants the medication not under prescription, the doctor is usually careful to give the medication name to the patient on a blank piece of paper to avoid any confusion with a prescription. This is applied to non-medications as well. For example, crutches, and registered massage therapy may be reimbursed under some health plans, but only if given out by a doctor as a prescription.

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Doctors will often use blank prescriptions as general letterhead. A "doctor's note" for absent days from school or work for minor illnesses will often be written on a blank prescription.

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Legislation may define certain equipment as "prescription devices"http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?FR=801.109. Such prescription devices can only be used under the supervision of authorized personnel and such authorization is typically documented using a prescription. Examples of prescription devices include dental cement (for affixing braces to tooth surfaces), various prothesis, gut sutures, sickle cell tests, cervical cap and ultrasound monitor.

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In some jurisdictions, hypodermic syringes are in a special class of its own, regulated as illicit drug use accessorieshttp://www.legis.state.il.us/legislation/ilcs/ch720/ch720act635.htm separate from regular medical legislation. Such legislation will often specify a prescription as the mean by which one may legally possess syringes.

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