prescription

In medicine, an order written in a recognized form by a practitioner of medicine, dentistry, or veterinary surgery to a pharmacist for a preparation of medications to be used in treatment.

By tradition it used to be written in Latin, except for the directions addressed to the patient. It consists of (1) the superscription recipe (‘take’), contracted to Rx; (2) the inscription or body, containing the names and quantities of the drugs to be dispensed; (3) the subscription, or directions to the pharmacist; (4) the signature, followed by directions to the patient; and (5) the patient's name, the date, and the practitioner's name.

In the USA, prescription drug retail costs rose by almost US$21 billion in 2000 to US$132 billion.

In the USA, prescription drugs can be advertised in popular magazines (since 1985) and on television and radio (since August 1997). In Europe such drug advertising is limited to medical journals.