Prescriptions

Optional module

Available only when Prescriptions is turned on in Plugins.

Prescriptions lets clinicians write a prescription in a few clicks, picking from a Medications list your clinic keeps. Prescriptions are kept on the patient’s record, can be linked to a visit, can be printed, and are shown to the patient in the patient portal.

Permissions

Permission	Allows	Starts on these roles
Read prescriptions	See prescriptions on patients and appointments.	Doctor, Nurse
Create prescriptions	Write prescriptions.	Doctor, Nurse
Cancel prescriptions	Cancel an issued prescription.	Doctor
Read medications list	Open the Medications List and pick from it while prescribing.	Doctor, Nurse
Create medications list entries	Add medications to the list.	-
Update medications list entries	Edit list entries, or make them inactive.	-

Where prescriptions appear

• A patient’s record has a Prescriptions tab: every prescription issued to them, with New prescription.
• An appointment has a Prescriptions section (“No prescriptions issued for this visit.” when empty), and an Add prescription action.

Write a prescription

1. Select New prescription on the patient’s Prescriptions tab, or Add prescription on an appointment.
2. Under Prescription details, check the Prescribed date, and optionally link the visit (Linked visit).
3. Under Medications, select Add item:
   • Search the medications list… and pick one. You can Add to prescription as is, or Use & customize to change its details first.
   • Not in the list? Select Not in the list? Add a custom medication.
4. For each medication, check:
   • Medication and Generic name,
   • Dosage,
   • Frequency, for example Once daily, Twice daily, Every 8 hours, Before meals, At bedtime or As needed,
   • Duration, for example 3, 5, 7, 10, 14, 21 or 30 days, or Ongoing,
   • Quantity,
   • Instructions, for example “Take with food”.
5. With Create medications list entries, you can tick Also save this to the medications list for next time. This is only possible while you’re working in your clinic’s default language.
6. Optionally add internal Notes. They’re for staff only and are never shown to the patient.
7. Select Issue prescription. At least one medication is needed: “Add at least one medication to issue this prescription.”

You see Prescription issued. The prescriber is always you, the person issuing it.

If you ticked Also save this to the medications list but that part fails, you see “Added to this prescription, but could not save it to the medications list.” The prescription itself is fine. Add the medication to the list separately.

What the patient sees

In the patient portal, My prescriptions lists every prescription on their record, newest first, with its status (Issued or Cancelled), the prescriber, and each medication’s dosage, frequency, duration, quantity and instructions. It also counts Active prescriptions (issued, not cancelled) and Total medications. Internal notes are not shown.

Write the Instructions for each medication with the patient in mind: they read them as written.

Prescriptions on a visit

A prescription can be linked to any of the patient’s visits, whatever its status. You only need Create prescriptions.

Cancel a prescription

Prescriptions are never deleted. They’re part of the medical record.

Selecting a prescription (on the patient’s Prescriptions tab or the appointment’s Prescriptions section) opens it in a window: its status, date, prescriber, linked visit, every medication with dosage, frequency, duration, quantity and instructions, and the internal notes. At the bottom:

Button	Shown when	What it does
Close	Always.	Closes the window.
⋯ More actions › Print	Print is on.	The printable prescription for the pharmacy, in the language you choose.
Cancel prescription	You have Cancel prescriptions, and it’s Issued.	Cancels it, after you confirm.

To cancel:

1. Open the prescription and select Cancel prescription.
2. Confirm with Yes, cancel.

It stays on record, marked Cancelled (“It stays on record, marked as cancelled.”), and the patient sees it as cancelled in the portal. Prescriptions can’t be edited after issuing: to change one, cancel it and issue a new one.

Because prescriptions are permanent, a patient who has prescriptions can’t be deleted: “This patient still has 2 prescriptions. Prescriptions are kept for the medical record and can’t be deleted with the patient.”

Troubleshooting

Situation	Cause
Add prescription isn’t in the appointment’s actions	You don’t have Create prescriptions.
“Appointment does not belong to this patient”	The linked visit is another patient’s. Pick one of this patient’s visits.
A medication doesn’t come up when searching	It’s inactive in the Medications List, or not in it. Use Add a custom medication.
Also save this to the medications list is missing	You don’t have Create medications list entries.
Also save this to the medications list is greyed out	You aren’t working in the clinic’s default language: “Available while working in …, the clinic’s default language.”

The Medications List

Catalogs › Medications List (needs Read medications list) is the curated list clinicians pick from. Each entry has a Name, Generic name, Dosage, Frequency, Duration, Typical quantity and Default instructions (used for most patients, and editable on each prescription).

• Add medication (needs Create medications list entries). While typing, Suggestions help you fill in the details.
• Edit (needs Update medications list entries).
• Untick Active to retire a medication: inactive medications stay on record but no longer show up while prescribing.

If your clinic uses several languages, each entry’s texts can be entered per language.

Printing

With the Print module on, you can print a prescription. A footer note, such as a pharmacy disclaimer, can be set in the Print settings.

Dashboard and reports

• Dashboard widget: Top Prescribed Medications.
• Report template: Most prescribed medications.
• Data sources: Prescriptions and Prescribed medications.