There are 4 parts to the prescription writer
1. freehand area at the top - you can write anything you like in here - it is laid out like the traditional handwritten forms. Below the  text entry area there is a check box for regular prescriptions, a popup for special prescriptions and an “Add to Script” button.

2. Formulary Page - which attempts to write a prescription for you from the pharmac database - more on this later.

3. Regular Scripts/Old Scripts Page. This page is designed to allow you to easily repeat a prescription that has been made in the past - see below for more on using this page.

4. Sensitivities Page. This has a list of all recorded sensitivities for this patient. If any exist the tab will have red writing. You can add new information through this tab. At this time the script writer cannot automatically check that you have not prescribed a drug which this patient is known to be allergic to, so YOU must check this for yourself.

What is the special popup for?
If you are writing an item freehand you may wish to identify it as a contraceptive or hospital pharmacy item.(or IMMP item, but this function is not yet implemented) This would mean that it would be printed on a separate page as this is required by pharmac. Items that are added to the prescription are using the formulary are automatically coded.

What is the “reg” checkbox for?
If an item is checked with the “reg” checkbox the next time you open the prescription writer it will appear on the regular scripts page. It will also appear on the clinical summary page in the clinician form and in the letter writer - insert clinical data.
Sometimes people find that they have the same drug appearing more than once on the regular scripts page, how does this happen?
If you use the regular scripts tab to add an item to today’s prescription, it will mark the one prescribed today as the regular item, and unmark the one that was prescribed previously. So…. if you use the formulary or freehand area to write a new item and mark it as “reg” and there already was an entry for that drug from another consultation you will end up with 2 entries for that drug in the regular scripts tab (and the clinical data summaries). 
How to make this work for you.
Use the regular tab to add regular items to the script. (“Repeat all Regulars” will put all regulars on the prescription, double clicking on an individual item will put it into the freehand edit box, you could modify it then “Add To Script”). Say you need to do a special “one off” prescription for something that is a regular item ie Frusemide 40 mg 20 tabs because the patient lost part of their supply - use either the formulary or the regular tab to generate this item, but make sure it is not marked as “reg” and then it won’t interfere with the regular scripts system.
What to do if you get 2 entries for the same regular medication?
1. Check both entries are essentially the same ie same dose and quantity. You can check these details by double clicking each item and viewing the details in the edit area, but not “Adding to Script”.
2. If they are the same click on the one with the earliest date and click the “Unreg!” button. Unregging is a little complex and may take a few seconds to complete.
If they are different choose the “incorrect” one and Unreg as above.

How do I get rid on an item that I printed and then decided not to prescribe?

1. Go to the regular scripts page.
2. Click the “Show All Scripts” button.
3. Click on the offending item.
4. Click the “Delete this Item” button.

This solution applies to a number of similar scenarios.

1. I wrote a prescription and sent it to the printer, but there was a printer problem and although the computer saved the script I never got a printed one to give the patient.
1. In this case I do 1 and 2 above, then
2. double click each item from the lost script to move them into the edit area and move them across with the “Add to Script” button.
3. Delete the “lost” items from the old scripts list
4. Print the prescription (hopefully successfully this time!)
2.  
3. The nurse printed the prescription but I manually changed the instructions and/or quantity.
1. Do steps 1 and 2 of the original example
2. double click each item which you have manually changed to move them into the edit area make the changes you require and move them across with the “Add to Script” button.
3. Delete the “wrong” items from the old scripts list
4. Save the prescription by clicking the “save” rather than “print” button.

Using the formulary
MedCen uses the pharmac database. Unfortunately changes are made to the database every month, and preparing the formulary from the pharmac database is a large and tedious task, which is currently done about every 6 months. So I apologise for the fact that some items are out of date, however until we can source better data at a reasonable cost this is how it is. At some time in the future you will be able to customise the formulary with your personal instructions, however at present if you can make changes to the entries in the Formular.dbf, but when we send out a formulary update your changes will be lost. If you want to fiddle with the formulary you should contact me for personal instructions!

For most items you prescribe the formulary is however up to date and very helpful. To prescribe an item using the formulary, first look at the drug list. When the script writer opens it is pointing to the formulary list and if you start typing it will send you through the list trying to match your input. (It is an incremental search list that works the same as the Contact List) The formulary list can show trade names or generic names. Use the button at the bottom of the list to toggle between the two as required.

When you find the drug you want to prescribe, double click on it (or press Enter) and MedCen get the formulation information from the formulary. The form popup will then have details on all the different formulations available for this drug. As you make choices as to the formulation, instructions and frequency these are reflected in the Edit area at the top.
Note: Once you start editing manually in the area don’t go back to the formulary to adjust the script because changes you have typed in the edit/freehand area will then be lost.

Restrictions Button:
If there are pharmac restrictions connected to a particular drug a restrictions button appears on the right hand side of the formulary page. Clicking on this button will reveal the restrictions, which vary between Retail Pharmacy - Specialist, to a detailed explanation of protocols for prescribing the newest anti-epileptics. 

Problems
I can’t find penicillin in the generic or trade lists?
Unfortunately penicillin is listed in the pharmac database as Phenoxymethylpenicillin (Penicillin V) so it appears in the generic list as that. (It’s trade name is compocillin.)

I prescribed Metamucil Sachets but my pharmacist tells me they don’t exist.
At the of generation of the current formulary pharmac had this listed as an available formulation. Times change too fast- blame pharmac!

When I prescribe Pamol the quantity it suggests is 1L - rather more than I prescribe.
Sorry - this is the unit size in the pharmac database.