Prescribing PRN (take-as-needed) medications (new prescriber)

Note: This information applies to the new prescriber (see New prescriber).

When you prescribe a PRN (take-as-needed) medication, for example, a pain medication or an inhaler, you do not need to specify a duration as long as you enter a quantity. You must, however, specify a dose, route, and frequency (unless the prescription type is adjust-as-directed). In the Other Directions area, you can also enter detailed information such as:

In what situations or cases patient is to take the medication

What dose should be administered depending on the situation

The maximum amount of medication the patient can take in a day

The minimum amount of time required between doses

Steps

1.

Start a prescription similar to how you would a basic prescription. See step 1 to step 11 in Creating basic prescriptions (new prescriber). For PRN prescriptions, in the Prescription SIG Directions area:

a)

Select the PRN check box.

b)

Enter the dose, frequency, and optionally duration details in the fields provided.

c)

In the Frequency list, if none of the options are appropriate, select OTH (other) and then, in the Other Frequency field, enter the frequency. For example, you can enter “Up to 8x/day”.

d)

In the Other Directions area, enter any explicit directions on when to take the medication. For example, you can enter “Take 15 min prior to exercise”.

2.

If you did not enter a duration, in the Dispense Quantity field, enter a quantity. The EMR cannot calculate a quantity without duration information.

3.

Print or save the prescription. See step in Creating basic prescriptions (new prescriber).