Doctor Prescription Pad Format: What to Put on Your Letterhead (with Example)

A prescription pad is often the first thing a patient takes home from your clinic, and the first thing a pharmacist reads. A clear, well laid out pad makes the clinic look professional and reduces calls from the pharmacy asking what a line means.

This guide explains the standard prescription pad format used by doctors in India, what to print on the letterhead, and how to lay out the rest of the page.

This guide is for general information only. It is not legal advice. Requirements can differ by state and specialty, so check current guidance from the National Medical Commission and your State Medical Council.

What does a doctor prescription pad look like?

Most prescription pads in India follow the same layout from top to bottom:

1. Letterhead: clinic and doctor details
2. Date and patient details: name, age, gender and OPD number
3. Complaints or diagnosis
4. Rx section: the list of medicines with dose, frequency, duration and instructions
5. Advice and follow-up
6. Doctor's signature

In practice, the clinic name and address usually sit on the left of the letterhead, with the doctor's name, qualifications and registration number on the right. A line separates the letterhead from the patient details, and the "Rx" symbol marks the start of the medicines.

What should be printed on the letterhead?

The letterhead is printed on every page, so it should carry everything that identifies the doctor and the clinic.

Doctor details

• Full name with the title "Dr."
• Qualifications, such as MBBS, MD or MS, as registered
• Registration number and the council that issued it. Medical ethics regulations in India expect the registration number to be shown on prescriptions.
• Specialty, if you practise one

Avoid adding claims, titles or qualifications that are not recognised by the medical council. The NMC's rules on what doctors may advertise also apply to letterheads and signboards. See our guide to the NMC advertising guidelines for doctors.

Clinic details

• Clinic or hospital name
• Full address
• Phone number, and email if you use it
• Consultation timings and closed days

Timings are useful because patients keep the prescription and look at it when they plan a follow-up visit.

How should the patient section be laid out?

Keep the patient details in one or two lines just below the letterhead:

• Date of the consultation
• Patient name
• Age and gender, which help the pharmacist check doses
• OPD or registration number, so the visit can be found again
• Weight, especially for children, if doses depend on it

Leave enough space for a short note on complaints or diagnosis. A pharmacist doesn't need the full history, but a one-line diagnosis helps them understand the prescription.

How should the medicine section be laid out?

This is the most important part of the pad. A table with fixed columns works better than free lines, because it reminds the doctor to fill in every detail for every medicine:

• Medicine: name, strength and form, such as tablet or syrup
• Dose: how much to take each time, such as 1 tablet or 5 ml
• Frequency: how often, such as 1-0-1 or twice daily
• Duration: how many days
• Instructions: before or after food, at bedtime, or only if needed

Write each medicine on its own row. Missing strength and missing duration are two of the most common reasons a pharmacist calls the clinic. For more detail on writing each line and common abbreviations, read how to write a medical prescription.

What goes at the bottom of the pad?

• Advice: diet, rest, investigations and warning signs
• Follow-up date
• Doctor's signature

Leave clear space for the signature above a printed line. A printed prescription is not complete until the doctor signs it.

Printed pad, or printed prescription?

Many doctors still order printed pads from a local press and write the prescription by hand. This works, but handwriting is still the most common cause of dispensing errors.

The alternative is to print the whole prescription, letterhead and medicines together, for each patient. The page looks the same every time, every medicine has all its columns, and there is no handwriting to misread.

How to make a prescription pad for free

Doctopath's free doctor prescription pad follows the format above and prints on A4:

1. Enter the date, patient name, age, gender and OPD number.
2. Add complaints or diagnosis.
3. Add each medicine with its dose, frequency, duration and instructions. A new row appears as you fill the last one.
4. Add advice and follow-up instructions.
5. Click Generate Prescription and enter your clinic name, address, phone, email, doctor name, qualification and registration number.
6. Print the prescription or save it as a PDF.

No account is needed. Your doctor and clinic details can be remembered in your browser for next time, while patient details and medicines stay in your browser and are not sent to Doctopath.

When is a free prescription pad not enough?

A free pad is ideal for preparing a single prescription. If you write prescriptions for many patients every day, you may want each patient's earlier prescriptions, reusable medicine lists and follow-ups in one place. Read free prescription pad vs clinic software to decide which suits your practice.