Doctor Prescription-English Version


Prescription Note

“C/O...what all are you writing doctor? Are all these names of medicines?” asked Anumol who has been observing me writing the prescriptions after a check up. She is a nursery student and is reading letter after letter from what I have wrote.

C/O, an abbreviation for Chief Complaints is the matter of her question. Old people also make similar enquiries. They will be confused whether all what’s written on the prescription paper are the names of medicines, how are they supposed to take so many medicines at a time etc. For now let’s focus on what all are written in a prescription note.

  On a prescription paper, the header consists of the patient’s name, age, address, gender, date and time of examining etc. Though it appears silly, the name and address are actually the most important because if the names get mixed up, so will the prescriptions and obviously the medicines too. That should never happen.

Once the patient’s details are entered we can move on to Chief Complaints- the C/O in Anumol’s question. Under this heading we should write the present situation of the patient as he has informed to the doctor. For example, the things we tell a doctor like a mild stomach pain from yesterday onwards or suffering from fever for the past couple of days etc.

Next is HOPI or history of present illnesses. It is here that the details of the illness are noted. For example, when did the illness start, how much time does it usually last, does the illness gets worse at a particular time (e.g. fever during nights only), does the illness vary depending on any factors (e.g. stomach ache immediately after eating), related illnesses (E.g. a patient with vertigo having a vomiting tendency) etc should be noted in detail. Past history needs to be written next. It is about any past experience of the patient with this same illness. Then the following things need to be noted. 

Family History; has any one in his family had this same illness. This is extremely important in cases like cancer, cardiac issues etc. 

Personal History; It includes personal details including the patient’s bad habits like smoking, alcohol consumption etc. 

Drug History; It is about other medicines that the patient is currently taking. 

Treatment History; Other treatments and surgeries if any can be noted under this heading. 

If the patient is allergic to any medicines, that needs to be noted and highlighted. 


Now let’s move on to examination. First is an overall evaluation of the patient. Whether the patient is conscious, partly conscious, unconscious, does he have spatio-temporal awareness, is he reactive etc has to be noted briefly. Everyone must have noted doctors looking under the lower eyelid, looking on both sides of the palm and fingers, enquiring if there is inflammation on the leg etc. Symptoms of anaemia, jaundice, lack of oxygen in the blood, lack of proper urine movement, issues of the heart or kidneys etc can be found out during such an examination. Along with this, the patient’s heart rate, B.P. breathing rates, body temperature, etc are noted. Then the doctor moves on to detailed physical examination. Heart, lungs, digestive system, neural system etc are examined for symptoms and those that show issues are examined further. 

After the examination, the doctor decides if there is a need for blood tests, scans, ECG etc and notes it down as well as informs the patient. Required medication is noted only after the details of the illness and diagnosis are noted. Quantity and duration of the medication is noted with precision. An abbreviation “Rx” can be seen in prescriptions. It comes from a Latin word which means “to take”. This is used as the title for medicines to be taken internally. Now the reader must have understood the reasons behind Anumol’s doubts. Though there are so many details, a smart and experienced doctor can note these details down in a very short time.


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