A prescription is a legal document as much as a clinical one. It must identify the prescriber, the patient, each medicine with its strength, dose, route, frequency and duration, and carry the doctor's signature and registration number. This tool gives registered medical practitioners, clinics, dental surgeons and veterinary doctors a clean, printable prescription layout with a letterhead, patient details, vitals, diagnosis, a structured medicine table and follow-up notes — exported as PDF or printed on A5/A4. It runs entirely in the browser, so no patient data leaves the device. It is a formatting tool for licensed prescribers; it does not generate medical advice and must not be used by anyone who is not authorised to prescribe.
What Indian rules require on a prescription
The NMC's Registered Medical Practitioner (Professional Conduct) Regulations and state pharmacy rules expect:
| Element | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Doctor's name, qualification, registration number, clinic address, phone | Registration number is mandatory |
| Patient name, age, sex, weight (for paediatric dosing) | Weight matters for mg/kg calculations |
| Date | Chemists may refuse old prescriptions for Schedule H/H1/X drugs |
| Diagnosis or provisional diagnosis | Increasingly expected by insurers |
| Drug name — generic name in capitals, legibly, with brand if needed | NMC guidance favours generic prescribing |
| Strength, dosage form, dose, route, frequency, duration, quantity | e.g. TAB. AMOXICILLIN 500 mg, 1 tab, oral, TDS × 5 days |
| Instructions | Before/after food, warnings, allergy note |
| Signature and stamp | Digital signature acceptable for e-prescriptions |
Schedule H1 drugs (many antibiotics, some psychotropics) require the chemist to keep a register with the prescriber's details; Schedule X drugs need the prescription in duplicate. The layout leaves room for a "Schedule H1" marker.
How to use the generator
- Enter your letterhead once: name, qualifications, registration number, clinic address, timings, logo. It is saved in your browser.
- Add the patient: name, age, sex, weight, contact, and any known allergies — the allergy line prints in red near the top.
- Record vitals and the diagnosis or complaint.
- Add medicines in the table: generic name, brand (optional), strength, form, dose, frequency (OD/BD/TDS/QID/SOS/HS), duration and total quantity. The tool computes quantity from dose × frequency × days.
- Add advice, investigations ordered and the follow-up date; sign digitally or print and sign.
- Export PDF for the patient's WhatsApp, or print on A5 for the counter.
E-prescriptions and telemedicine
Under the Telemedicine Practice Guidelines (2020) a doctor may issue a prescription after a video, audio or text consultation, subject to the drug lists (List O, A, B) — List A drugs only after a video consult, and prohibited-list drugs (narcotics, Schedule X) never. E-prescriptions must be signed — a scanned signature image is common practice, though a DSC or Aadhaar eSign is stronger; the options are compared in Digital signatures in India. Patients increasingly want the PDF on WhatsApp; make sure it is sent from the clinic's number and stored in your records for at least three years (longer for medico-legal cases).
Good prescribing habits the layout encourages
- Generic names in capitals with strength on every line, no abbreviations of drug names.
- Route and frequency written out for non-standard schedules ("1 tab at 8 am and 8 pm").
- Duration and total quantity so the chemist dispenses exactly what is intended.
- Allergies at the top, not in a footnote.
- Legible, dated, signed. A prescription without a date or registration number can be refused by the pharmacy.
Related tools
- Letterhead generator — matching clinic stationery for referral letters and certificates.
- Digital signature maker — a transparent PNG of your signature for e-prescriptions.
- Payment receipt — consultation fee receipts for insurance claims.
- Business days calculator — follow-up dates that avoid holidays.
- Award certificate designer — for CME and clinic staff recognition.