Prescription drug

A prescription drug (also prescription medication or prescription medicine) is a pharmaceutical drug that legally requires a medical prescription to be dispensed.

One of the key divisions is by level of control, which distinguishes prescription drugs (those that a pharmacist dispenses only on the order of a physician, physician assistant, or qualified nurse) from over-the-counter drugs (those that consumers can order for themselves).

A prescription drug (also prescription medication or prescription medicine) is a pharmaceutical drug that legally requires a medical prescription to be dispensed.

The term often refers to a health care provider's written authorization for a patient to purchase a prescription drug from a pharmacist.

In contrast, over-the-counter drugs can be obtained without a prescription.

Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are medicines sold directly to a consumer without a prescription from a healthcare professional, as opposed to prescription drugs, which may be sold only to consumers possessing a valid prescription.

The reason for this difference in substance control is the potential scope of misuse, from drug abuse to practicing medicine without a license and without sufficient education.

A controlled substance is generally a drug or chemical whose manufacture, possession, or use is regulated by a government, such as illicitly used drugs or prescription medications that are designated by law.

Many prescriptions issued by health practitioners in Australia are covered by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, a scheme that provides subsidised prescription drugs to residents of Australia to ensure that all Australians have affordable and reliable access to a wide range of necessary medicines.

The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) is a program of the Australian Government that provides subsidised prescription drugs to residents of Australia, as well as certain foreign visitors covered by a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement.

The reason for this difference in substance control is the potential scope of misuse, from drug abuse to practicing medicine without a license and without sufficient education.

Drug misuse is a term used commonly when prescription medication with sedative, anxiolytic, analgesic, or stimulant properties are used for mood alteration or intoxication ignoring the fact that overdose of such medicines can sometimes have serious adverse effects.

In Australia, the Standard for the Uniform Scheduling of Medicines and Poisons (SUSMP) governs the manufacture and supply of drugs with several categories:

Schedule 4 (S4) drugs and poisons, otherwise known as prescription only medicines, are substances and preparations for therapeutic use that –

The safety and the effectiveness of prescription drugs in the US are regulated by the 1987 Prescription Drug Marketing Act (PDMA).

It establishes legal safeguards for prescription drug distribution to ensure safe and effective pharmaceuticals and is designed to discourage the sale of counterfeit, adulterated, misbranded, subpotent, and expired prescription drugs.

In the United Kingdom, the Medicines Act 1968 and the Prescription Only Medicines (Human Use) Order 1997 contain regulations that cover the supply of sale, use, prescribing and production of medicines.

The Act defines three categories of medicine: prescription only medicines (POM), which are available only from a pharmacist if prescribed by an appropriate practitioner; pharmacy medicines (P), available only from a pharmacist but without a prescription; and general sales list (GSL) medicines which may be bought from any shop without a prescription.

Physicians may legally prescribe drugs for uses other than those specified in the FDA approval, known as off-label use.

Both prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs (OTCs) can be used in off-label ways, although most studies of off-label use focus on prescription drugs.

Herbal preparations, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and other food supplements are regulated by the FDA as dietary supplements.

The undisclosed additives included "unapproved antidepressants and designer steroids", as well as prescription drugs, such as sildenafil or sibutramine.

Most prescriptions are NHS prescriptions, subject to a standard charge that is unrelated to what is dispensed.

Prescription drug

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is charged with implementing the law.

The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food safety, tobacco products, dietary supplements, prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceutical drugs (medications), vaccines, biopharmaceuticals, blood transfusions, medical devices, electromagnetic radiation emitting devices (ERED), cosmetics, animal foods & feed and veterinary products.

Pill splitting

It is unsafe to split some prescription medications.

Package insert

For prescription medications, the insert is technical, and provides information for medical professionals about how to prescribe the drug.

Drug policy – policy regulating drugs considered dangerous, rather than only medicinal

Most jurisdictions also regulate prescription drugs, medicinal drugs not considered dangerous but that can only be supplied to holders of a medical prescription, and sometimes drugs available without prescription but only from an approved supplier such as a pharmacy, but this is not usually described as a "drug policy".

Pharmacy automation

The pharmacist dispensed prescriptions in tablet or capsule form with a simple tray and spatula.

Regulation of therapeutic goods

Prescription drugs ("verschreibungspflichtig" or "rezeptpflichtig")

Prescription drug prices in the United States

The high costs of specialty pharmaceuticals, in addition to the generally high costs of prescription drugs in the United States, have generated a great deal of debate.

Prices for prescription drugs vary widely around the world.

Prescription drug

The reason for this difference in substance control is the potential scope of misuse, from drug abuse to practicing medicine without a license and without sufficient education.

Prescription drugs are often dispensed together with a monograph (in Europe, a Patient Information Leaflet or PIL) that gives detailed information about the drug.

In Australia, the Standard for the Uniform Scheduling of Medicines and Poisons (SUSMP) governs the manufacture and supply of drugs with several categories:

Like in the UK, the patient visits a health practitioner, (doctor, nurse, dentist, podiatrist, etc.,), who may prescribe the drug.

When purchasing a drug under the PBS, the consumer pays no more than the patient co-payment contribution, which, as of January 1, 2018, is A$39.50 for general patients.