What are ‘prescription medicines’?³

• Prescription medicines are those medicines or drugs* we can only obtain following a visit to the doctor, who then writes a script if you require treatment.
• Your prescription is ‘filled’ at the pharmacy, where your pharmacist or pharmacist’s assistant will explain how you should take your medicine.
• Medicines that require a doctor’s prescription are those from ‘Schedule’ 3 upwards.
• Some of these scheduled prescription drugs have a high scheduling status (Schedule 5 and 6), these include antidepressants, sleeping tablets, and strong pain medication. These are usually stored in a separate place in the pharmacy, and a register is kept of their sale, due to the fact that they are either habit-forming, or have potentially dangerous side effects if used incorrectly.
• It’s actually wise to treat every medicine with care, regardless of their scheduling.

*LEGAL drugs, of course: the correct word is ‘pharmaceutical agent’ or ‘medicine’, but ‘drugs’ is a lot shorter!

What are over the counter (OTC) medicines?

• Over-the-counter (OTC) medicines can be purchased at a pharmacy without a prescription.
• These include Schedule 0, 1 and 2 drugs, such as medication for headaches, coughs and colds, minor skin conditions, etc.
• It is always a good idea to consult the pharmacist (or assistant) when choosing an OTC product. They are trained to ask you some important questions in order to give you the individualised care you need.
  
  

  Schedule of Medicine	Available from	Example
  Schedule 0	General shop e.g Supermarket	Simple analgesics e.g. Dispirin
  Schedule 1 & 2	Available over the counter in a pharmacy	Many cough and cold preparations e.g.Sinutab
  Schedule 3 & up	Prescription only medication. Available from the dispensary in the pharmacy	Antibiotics, antihypertensives e.g. Norvasc