Ever wonder what all the parts of your prescription label ...Prescription Number (Rx being an abbreviation for prescription). This number identifies YOUR prescription . Numbers are

YOUR PRESCRIPTION LABEL

Ever wonder what all the parts of your prescription label mean? You’re not alone!

Let PANS take you on a guided tour of a typical prescription label in Nova Scotia!

Our pharmacy regulatory body, the Nova Scotia College of Pharmacists (NSCP) requires by law that certain information

appears on your prescription label. This includes the minimum amount of information for the safe and effective use of the drug.

Prescription labels vary from pharmacy to pharmacy. This is just a sample. Your label may contain other information and the

information contained may appear in a different order. If in doubt, ask your community pharmacist or pharmacy technician

to explain it to you!

Rx 8212345 Doe, John Dr.MacDonald, Joe KM 13 Feb 2012 30 TAB Coversyl 4mg Perindopril Erbumine 4mg DIN 02123282 SEV Refills: 3 TAKE ½ TABLET ONCE DAILY All Refills Expire: 12-Feb-2013

KEEP

OU

T O

F RE

ACH

OF

CHIL

DREN


KEEP

OU

T O

F RE

ACH

OF

CHIL

DREN

Pharmacy Name, address and telephone number

Pharmacy Contact Information


KEEP

OU

T O

F RE

ACH

OF

CHIL

DREN

Prescription Number (Rx being an abbreviation for prescription). This number identifies YOUR prescription . Numbers are assigned in the order they are filled at

the pharmacy. When calling in for a refill, providing this number can make for easy identification by pharmacy staff.

Prescription Number


KEEP

OU

T O

F RE

ACH

OF

CHIL

DREN

Date Filled: This refers to the date your prescription was filled (or refilled).

Date Filled


KEEP

OU

T O

F RE

ACH

OF

CHIL

DREN

Patient Name: This one should be obvious. If you get home and the name on the label isn’t yours,

call your pharmacy at once.

Patient Name


KEEP

OU

T O

F RE

ACH

OF

CHIL

DREN

Prescriber Name: You should recognize the name of the prescriber as your healthcare provider who is ordering this medication. Remember that with expanded

prescribing legislation a prescriber may be a doctor, dentist, nurse practitioner, optometrist, pharmacist or veterinarian (for your pets). RPH or PhC usually indicates

pharmacist.

Prescriber Name


KEEP

OU

T O

F RE

ACH

OF

CHIL

DREN

Directions for Use: This will be the directions your prescriber has provided for this medication. Some medications (example: Warfarin) may come with the general

instruction “Take as directed”. This usually means the prescriber has given detailed directions already or, as in the case of Warfarin will be advising you later how to take based on blood work. Don’t leave the pharmacy if the directions on the

bottle are not what you were expecting.

Directions for Use

Auxiliary Labels: These are the small labels on your prescription container with additional information. These are usually points that your pharmacist wants to be certain you remember: like Take with Food, Take until Finished

TAKE WITH FOOD

Avoid prolonged or excessive exposure to direct and/or artificial

sunlight while taking this medication


KEEP

OU

T O

F RE

ACH

OF

CHIL

DREN

Amount of Medication in your container: Very large quantities may be split in 2 or 3 containers. Check with your pharmacy if the quantity indicates the amount in one or all of the containers. Different software systems will label this differently. There are a variety of abbreviations to indicate the contents: TAB (tablet), CAP (capsule), DOS (dose, for things such as inhalers), GM (grams for topicals like creams & ointments),

ML (millilitres for liquids).

Amount of Medication


KEEP

OU

T O

F RE

ACH

OF

CHIL

DREN

Manufacturer’s Identification: This usually appears as a three letter abbreviation. Sometimes it will appear next to the chemical name of the drug and sometimes in parentheses. If your prescription is for a compound which your pharmacist must

prepare, the initials CMP, COM or CPD will indicate 'compound’.

Manufacturer’s Identification

y


KEEP

OU

T O

F RE

ACH

OF

CHIL

DREN

Drug Name: The manufacturer of a drug has a patent on it’s name for the drug (example: Coversyl, Apo-Hydro). In this case, the manufacturer’s name appears on the first line and below it is the chemical (sometimes called generic) name. The chemical

name of a drug cannot be patented. For example Hydrochlorothiazide is the chemical name of a diuretic which is made by several companies including Apotex.

They call their version Apo-Hydro.

The drug name often causes confusion. The name may differ from the name your prescriber wrote or referred to. This is due to the availability of different brands of the same chemical. The province of Nova Scotia has a committee that determines what products with the same chemical ingredient may be interchangeable. For medications with more than one chemical ingredient or very long chemical names, shortened forms of the names may be used due to space limitations.

Drug Name


KEEP

OU

T O

F RE

ACH

OF

CHIL

DREN

Drug Strength: This refers to the strength of one unit of medication. Be careful in a case like this example: one whole tablet is 4mg. They may be split in two

for you. The directions are for ½ tablet daily (=2mg)

Drug Strength


KEEP

OU

T O

F RE

ACH

OF

CHIL

DREN

Refill Information: Usually a number of times this prescription can be refilled for the same quantity (3x30 TAB = 90 TAB). May show doses (example inhalers: 240doses).

If a ‘0’ shows in this field you have no refills left. You will need to contact your prescriber . If you have dropped off a new order for this medication, the refills may

not show here.

Refill Information


KEEP

OU

T O

F RE

ACH

OF

CHIL

DREN

Safety Advisory: Keep out of reach of Children by law must be on all prescription labels.

Safety Advisory

This completes all the information required by law. There are other pieces of information commonly included.


KEEP

OU

T O

F RE

ACH

OF

CHIL

DREN


KEEP

OU

T O

F RE

ACH

OF

CHIL

DREN

The DIN or ‘Drug Identification Number’ is a unique identifier assigned by Health Canada to each drug product. Each manufacturer of a chemical will be

assigned a different DIN for that same chemical.

DIN


KEEP

OU

T O

F RE

ACH

OF

CHIL

DREN

Initials of the pharmacist on duty at the time your prescription is filled. May be preceded by the abbreviation PhC

(Pharmaceutical Chemist or Pharmacist).

Pharmacist’s Initials


KEEP

OU

T O

F RE

ACH

OF

CHIL

DREN

Prescription Expiry Date: All prescriptions expire one year from the date they were first filled. Beyond this date, the prescription expires along with any remaining refills. Do not mistake this date for the expiry date of the contents. That information does not usually appear on the label. Prescriptions are filled with the understanding that the medication will not expire for the duration of the treatment (in this case 60 days)

Prescription Expiry Date

More Helpful Hints •Take an active informed role in your own health and wellness •To avoid waiting, you can call ahead for refills. This makes the refill process easier for your pharmacist as well.

•Keep your pharmacy informed of changes to your drug insurance plan. If you have received a new card in the mail or your coverage is expired, letting the pharmacy staff know before your prescription is processed will save time for everyone.

Helpful Hints

• Compliance or adherence are terms pharmacies use to reflect how well the directions on your prescription are followed. Pharmacy computer systems tell pharmacy staff if your refill is early or late. If your directions have changed, let your pharmacy know.

•Compliance Packaging is a term pharmacies use to describe blister packed medications used to increase compliance for patients with multiple medications or complicated regimens. Labeling for compliance packaging is different and must include a description of each medication. Most pharmacies offer these services to any patient who may benefit. Talk to your pharmacy for more information.

•Be sure to dispose of medications you are no longer taking at your community pharmacy and bring all current prescription containers to appointments and emergency room visits.

Slide Number 1Our pharmacy regulatory body, the Nova Scotia College of Pharmacists (NSCP) requires by law that certain information appears on your prescription label. This includes the minimum amount of information for the safe and effective use of the drug.Prescription labels vary from pharmacy to pharmacy. This is just a sample. Your label may contain other information and the information contained may appear in a different order. If in doubt, ask your community pharmacist or pharmacy technician to explain it to you!Slide Number 4Slide Number 5Slide Number 6Slide Number 7Slide Number 8Slide Number 9Auxiliary Labels: These are the small labels on your prescription container with additional information. These are usually points that your pharmacist wants to be certain you remember: like Take with Food, Take until Finished Slide Number 11Slide Number 12ySlide Number 14Slide Number 15 This completes all the information required by law. There are other pieces of information commonly included. Slide Number 18Slide Number 19Slide Number 20Slide Number 21Slide Number 22

Documents

Ever wonder what all the parts of your prescription label ...Prescription Number (Rx being an abbreviation for prescription). This number identifies YOUR prescription . Numbers are