Writing a Drug Prescription

Hints on Prescription Writing

Prescription writing: Generic or brand?

In this context, Singal et al.[6] described an interesting study. These authors compared branded and nominally branded generic versions of the same drug manufactured and formulated by the same company [see the next section and Box 2 for definitions of terms]. The drugs selected were cetirizine, fluoxetine, ciprofloxacin, lansoprazole, and alprazolam. At the retailer level, the mark-up for brand...

Prescription drug overdoses: a review.

PROBLEM Overdoses involving prescription drugs in the United States have reached epidemic proportions over the past 20 years. METHODS This review categorizes and summarizes literature on the topic dating from the first published reports through 2011 using a traditional epidemiologic model of host, agent, and environment. RESULTS Host factors include male sex, middle age, non-Hispanic white ...

The Conundrum of Online Prescription Drug Promotion; Comment on “Trouble Spots in Online Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Promotion: A Content Analysis of FDA Warning Letters”

This commentary discusses pertinent issues from Hyosun Kim’s paper on online prescription drug promotion. The study is well-designed and the findings highlight some of the consequences of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) decision to deregulate online advertising of prescription drugs. While Kim’s findings confirm some of the early concerns, they also provide a perspective of implement...

Prescription drug misuse.

BACKGROUND Recognising and dealing with patients who seek drugs for nonmedical purposes can be a difficult problem in general practice. 'Prescription shoppers' and patients with chronic nonmalignant pain problems are the main people who constitute this small but problematic group. The main drugs they seek are benzodiazepines and opioids. OBJECTIVE To provide data on current trends in prescrip...