A prescription needs to have various features to be considered valid. The following criteria are those given by the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy.
General criteria - The prescription should:
(1) be dated as of and on the day when issued (viz not filled out in advance)
(2) contain the full name and address of the prescriber (may be manually printed, typewritten or pre-printed)
(3) give the telephone number where the prescriber can be reached during normal business hours
(4) indicate the full name and address of the patient
(5) indicate the name of the drug and its strength; for a compounded prescription this should indicate the trade or generic names of the drug(s)
(6) indicate the quantity to dispense
(7) indicate the appropriate directions for use
(8) specify the number of times or the period of time for which the prescription can be refilled
(9) not be coded in such a manner that would prevent it being dispensed by any pharmacy of the patient's choice
(10) not violate any applicable federal or state laws, rules or regulations
(11) be manually signed on the day issued by prescriber in the same manner as he or she would sign a check or legal document
Criteria for controlled or dangerous drugs - The prescription should:
(1) not specify refills for a Schedule II controlled substance
(2) authorize refills for Schedule III or IV controlled substances only as permitted by section 3719.05 of the Revised Code
(3) not authorize a refill beyond 1 year from the date of issuance for a Schedule V controlled substance
(4) not authorize a refill beyond 1 year from the date of issuance for a dangerous drug other than a controlled substance
