FAHMI  BIN  HASSAN  11  June  2012    fahmibinabad@gmail.com  

  Recognize  different  abbreviations  of  dosage  forms  found  in  inscription,  subscription  or  signa.  

  Recognize  the  abbreviations  related  to  the  directions  for  the  pharmacists.  

  Recognize  the  abbreviations  used  in  the  directions  to  the  patients  or  instructions  to  care  providers.  

  Recognize  the  abbreviations  frequently  used  in  the  prescription  formula  

  Recognize  the  abbreviations  used  in  the  directions  to  the  patients  or  instructions  to  care  providers  concerning  dose  and  dosing  frequency.  

   Recognize  the  abbreviations  used  to  indicate  route  of  administration  or  administration  site.  

  An  abbreviation  (from  Latin  brevis  "short")  is  a  shortened  form  of  a  word  or  phrase.  

   The  use  of  this  sort  of  shorthand,  while  perhaps  time  saving  for  the  writer,  has  been  criticized  because  of  possibility  of  confusion  or  misinterpretation.  

   PT  must  have  appropriate  knowledge  and  understanding  of  specialized  word  phrases  abbreviations  and  symbols  used  in  pharmacy  medicine  to  communicate  precisely  with  other  health  care  professionals.  

  A medical prescription (℞) is an order (often in written form) by a qualified health care professional to a pharmacist or other therapist for a treatment to be provided to their patient.

 

  Superscription  -­‐  The  date  when  the  prescription  order  is  written;  the  name,  address  and  age  of  the  patient;  and  the  symbol  Rx  (an  abbreviation  for  "recipe,"  the  Latin  for  "take  thou.”  

  Inscription  -­‐  The  body  of  the  prescription,  containing  the  name  and  amount  or  strength  of  each  ingredient.  

  Subscription  -­‐  The  directions  to  the  pharmacist,  usually  consisting  of  a  short  sentence  such  as:  "make  a  solution,"  "mix  and  place  into  10  capsules,"  or  "dispense  10  tablets.”  

  Signatura  -­‐  From  the  Latin  "signa,"  meaning  "write,"  "make,"  or  "label,"  this  sections  contains  the  directions  to  the  patient.  These  should  always  be  written  in  English;  however,  physicians  continue  to  insert  Latin  abbreviations,  e.g.  "1  cap  t.i.d.  pc,"  which  the  pharmacist  translates  into  English,  "take  one  capsule  three  times  daily  after  meals."  Since  the  pharmacist  always  writes  the  label  in  English,  the  use  of  such  abbreviations  or  symbols  should  be  discouraged.  

THE MEDICATIONS

DISPENSING ORDER (DOSE, FREQUENCY,)

Serial No

PRESCRIBER (NAME, SIGN.

OFFICIAL STAMP

Rx

Name

Age

IC / RN

Date

Diagnosis

PATIENT’S INFORMATION

         

     HOSPITAL  KUALA  KUBU  BARU      Name:  Daniel  Choo  Add:  15  Jalan  Kubu  3,  Kuala  Kubu  Baru.          

   Rx                  Metfomin  tablet  500mg    

         Mitte:  3/12        Sig;  1  tds                Signed    

         Dr.  Athirah                Date  

 

 Who  can  write  a  prescription?   Medical  Doctors    Dentists    Veterinary  Doctors   Medical  Asisstants    Nurses  

  What quantity is to be dispensed?  The word ‘mitte’ or its abbreviation ‘M’ is used.  Typical prescription details are as follows:

▪  Rx : Tablet Paracetamol ▪  mitte 50 ▪  sig. 1 t.i.d.

▪  Some prescriber indicate the quantity to be dispensed by writing the total number of tablets/capsules, the length of treatment e.g. 30 days, 2 weeks

▪  Some abbreviations are used here.

  Example 1: Cap. Amoxycillin Sig. 500mg t.d.s. x 5 days

  Example 2: Tab . chlorpheniramine 4 mg t.i.d x 6/7

  Example 3: Tab.Atenolol 50mg Sig.1 b.d. x 4/52

  Example 4: Cap. Amoxycillin 250mg Sig. 2 t.d.s. x 5/7

Table 2: Abbreviations for length of time to be dispensed Days

3/7, 5/7

Weeks

1/52, 3/52, 8/52

Months

2/12, 3/12, 6/12

  A.T.C. – around the clock   B.M/ B.O. – bowel movement/ bowels open   B.S. – blood sugar   B.S.A. – body surface area   Cr – cream   D5W – Dextrose 5% solution   D5NS – Dextrose 5% in normal saline (0.9%)   D/C – discontinue   D.W. – distilled water   Elix. – elixir   Emuls. – emulsion   e.o.d. – every other day/ alternate day   Ex. Aq – in water   Fld., fl – fluid   IM – intramuscular

  Inj. – injection   IP – intraperitoneal   IV – intravenous   N.M.T. – not more than   NS – normal saline; ½ NS – half normal saline (0.45%)   R/L – Ringer’s Lactate   Soln. – solution   Supp – suppository   Susp. – suspension   Syr. – syrup   Tab. – tablet   Tbsp – tablespoon   Tsp – teaspoon   Top. – topical   Tinc. – tincture

Ordered time Hour(s) to be given QAM 0800 QHS 2100

BD/BID 0800, 1700 Q12H 0800, 2000 Q8H 0800,1600,2400 TID 0800,1200,1700 QID 0800,1200,1700,2100 Q6H 0600,1200,1800,2400

  a.c. – ante cibum : before meals   ad – up to   alt.h. – alternis horis : every other hour   bd/b.i.d – two times daily   et – and   guttae - drops   h.s.- hora somni: at bed time   lot. - lotion   mist. – mix   mitte – mix   nocte – at night   o.d. – omni die : daily/once daily   o.m. – omni mane : every morning

  o.n. – omni nocte : every night   p.c. – post cibum : after meals   prn – pro re nata : as needed or when necessary   p.o. – per os : by mouth or orally   p.r. – by rectum   pulv. – powder   qds/q.i.d – four times a day   q.s. – quantum sufficient: a sufficient amount   Rx – recipe : take   sig – write on label   stat – statim : immediately   tds/t.i.d. – three times daily   ut.dict. – as directed   ung – unguentum : ointment

   Some  abbreviations  or  notations  have  become  notorious  because  they  are  commonly  misinterpreted  or  because  their  misinterpretation  have  serious  consequences.    

   They  should  be  avoided.    Examples:  

  Symbol  u  for  unit  when  hand  written    can  be  read  as  an  o,  with  possible  resulting  ten  fold  overdose.  Always  write  out  the  word  unit.  Mcg  is  the  acceptable  abbr  for  microgram  because  µg  can  easily  be  read  as  mg.  

   The  abbr  q.o.d,  used  to  indicate  every  other  day,  has  been  read  both  as  q.d.  for  daily  or  q.i.d.  for  four  time  daily.  To  avoid  confusion  should  write  out  every  other  day.  

     The  abbr  SC,  with  the  intended  meaning  of  subcutaneous,  could  be  misinterpreted  as  SL,  meaning  sublingual  or  sublingually.  

    The  abbr  T.I.W.,  meaning  three  times  a  week,  has  been  misread  or  misinterpreted  as  two  times  a  week.  

   The  latin  abbr  au,  as,  and  ad,  which  mean,  both  ears,  left  ear,  and  right  ear,  respectively  have  been  misread  or  misinterpreted  as  ou,  os,  or  od.,  meaning  both  eyes,  left  eye,  and  right  eye.  

   Avoid  the  symbols  “/”  and  “&”,  The  symbol  “/”  can  be  taken  as  number  1,  and  the  “&”  symbol,  when  hand  written  can  look  like  number  4.  

  A  drug  can  have  variety  of  names.     All  drugs  at  least  have  two  non  chemical  names,  an  officially  approved  (generic)  name,  and  a  commercial  (brand)  name.  

   Generic  name  is  universal.     While  a  drug  can  have  number  of  brand  names.  

   When  writing  orders  for  drug  treatment  or  prescription,  use  of  generic  names  can  make  less  confusion,  and  less  chances  of  error.  

  Drugs  have  more  than  one  name.     Major  difficulty  in  learning  pharmacology     The  three  basic  types  of  names  are:    chemical,    generic  and    trade  

  All  drugs  are  named  using  strict  nomenclature  established  by  the  international  Union  of  Pure  and  Applied  Chemistry  (IUPAC)  

  A  drugs  has  only  one  (1)  chemical  name    Chemical  name  often  convey  a  clear  and  concise  meaning  about  the  nature  of  the  drug.  

  Provides  information  about  a  substance’s  physical  and  chemical  properties  (allow  prediction  of  drug  bioavailability  and  action)  

  For  example,  norepinephrine  (4-­‐(2-­‐amino-­‐1-­‐hydroxyethyl)-­‐1,2  benzenediol)  

  Generic  drug:  The  term  "generic"  has  several  meanings:     A  term  referring  to  the  chemical  makeup  of  a  drug  

rather  than  to  the  advertised  brand  name  under  which  the  drug  is  sold.  

   A  term  referring  to  any  drug  marketed  under  its  chemical  name  without  advertising.  

   Official  name  given  to  all  new  drugs  to  be  used    therapeutically     Generic  names  appear  in  official  pharmacopeias     Example:  “Diazepam”  is  an  example  of  the  generic  

name  of  a  sedative.  It  is  marketed  by  some  companies  under  its  generic  name  and  by  other  companies  under  brand  names  such  as  Valium  or  Vazepam)  

  Also  known  as  proprietary  name,  product  name,  or  brand  name.  

   Assigned  by  the  company  marketing  the  drug  and  identifies  a  medication  by  its  slogan  name.  

   There  can  be  more  than  one  brand  name  for  the  same  drug.     Drugs  still  patent  are  usually  marketed  by  the  patenting  

manufacturer  and  will  usually  have  one  generic  and  one  brand  name.  

   Once  the  patent  expire  the  generic  name  remains  but  brand  names  proliferate  as  different  manufacturers  become  free  to  market  the  drug.