Most of the time, when you get a new prescription from the doctor, you might not be able to understand his handwriting, and so you find it hard to know how to take your new medicines. Sometimes people go to the extent saying the handwriting of their doctor is bad if they cannot read anything at all. This is when you need to visit a good pharmacist and take his help to understand which medicines have been prescribed to you and how should you take them correctly.
Nabil Fakih- Understand the different parts of the prescription
Nabil Fakih is a popular pharmacist and the owner of Dearborn Heights Pharmacy in the USA. He says there are some pieces of medical information that doctors include in their prescriptions, and most people will not be able to read a doctor’s prescription as they use abbreviations in Latin and other medical terminology you will not know. This is why when you get a new prescription, you should take it to your pharmacist, who will help you to understand what your doctor has written when it comes to prescription drugs and their correct dosage.
Know the contents of your prescription
You will find the name of the medicine as well as its dose and how each of these doses should be taken. The pharmacist needs to determine how much of the medicine is prescribed to you, and if you are given a liquid medicine that needs a fill, he will recommend how many times in a month or week you need to refill it. Your doctor signs with the date at the bottom of the prescription to verify that is has been signed by a medical professional.
Prescription for controlled substances
When it comes to controlled substances like the ones the government states has the potential for “dependence” or “abuse” like methadone or morphine, the doctor needs to write down some extra requirements on the prescription. The doctors should write the number of refills on the prescription, and it should be signed. There are special forms that the doctor uses. For instance, there might be boxes that will indicate the number of refills that needs to be signed every time a refill is issued. Again, some doctors might send their prescriptions to the pharmacy you have selected. This is convenient for them and reduces the occurrence of an error.
He says that the doctor will prescribe the name of the drug and sometimes might even use its generic name. Here, you do not have to worry if you cannot understand what it means. Your pharmacist will explain it to you and guide you correctly on how many times you should take medicine and its requisite concentration. He says you must choose a pharmacy that is credible and trustworthy like Dearborn Heights Pharmacy. The professionals should be service-oriented and friendly to help you read the prescription of your doctor correctly. They will also explain the do’s and donts of medicine so that you consume it safely without adverse side effects at all.
