Pet’s Point
prescription Medicine
A prescription,
is a core component of patient care and central to the safe use of medicines. All pharmacists will recognise the importance of a well-written prescription and its role in ensuring patient safety and legal compliance. For pharmacists, the transition from primarily checking prescriptions written by others to now increasingly writing prescriptions themselves represents a significant shift in professional responsibility. Prescriptions must not only comply with the law, but also be clinically appropriate, clearly written, ethically sound and supported by good documentation.
Our range of prescription medications is available exclusively for licensed veterinarians and veterinary clinics. Orders cannot be completed online, but our customer service team is ready to assist you with inquiries and ordering.
Patient identification,
First and foremost, the prescription must be generated for the appropriate patient and contain sufficient identifying details, such as full name, date of birth and NHS or hospital number. Only prescriptions for individuals aged under 12 years are legally required to state the age, owing to the different dosage requirements for children1. However, it is good practice to provide this information for all prescriptions. The provision of the age on a prescription improves safety, accuracy, accountability and communication, all essential components of safe and effective pharmaceutical care.
Prescribing safely,
Safe prescribing requires working within the prescriber’s scope of practice and level of competence as a prescriber. Where the clinical situation falls outside this scope, referral to a more appropriate healthcare professional is warranted. As previously discussed, evidence-based guidelines and clinical frameworks can help inform the decision-making process.
Clear, accurate documentation is essential to support continuity of care. Records should include both the decision to prescribe and the rationale for not prescribing, when relevant.
