In medical transcription , drug names have been classified in to generic names, trade names, and chemical names.
Generic name is also called the nonproprietary name. The generic name is the established and official name given to the drug. There is no restriction in the use of generic name. The WHO (World Health Organization) is the body, which coordinates the international nomenclature for the generic names, whereas USAN (US Adopted Names Council) establishes and approves official drug names in US.
As a rule, generic names are never capitalized. For example: aspirin, propranolol.
Sometimes, it might happen that the trade name and generic name of the drug are good sound-alikes. In such case, one should always use the generic spelling. For example: prednisone (generic), Prednisone (trade); KCl (generic), KayCiel (trade).
Brand names are also called as proprietary names: As understood, they are the names given by the manufacturer.
Brand names are always capitalized and always written as supplied by the manufacturer.
Therefore, some brand names such as RhoGAM, OxyContin, Peri-Colace, pHisoHex are written as published by the manufacturer.
Chemical name is rarely used in transcription and it describes the actual chemical structure of the drug.
Chemical names are never capitalized.
Dose and Dosages:
Dose represents quantity of drug to be administered at one time.
For example: Norvasc 500 mg.
Dosage represents the regimen of the drug, which is expressed in quantity per unit of time.
For example: Norvasc 500 mg b.i.d.
Latin abbreviations are to be used while expressing drug dosages. These are transcribed in the lower case with periods in between. Moreover, these should net be translated into English or vice versa. Also the most common mistake is to mix the Latin abbreviations due to improper dictation from the doctor.
For example: q.6 hours is wrong. It should be transcribed as q.4h. or every 4 hours.
Some commonly used Latin abbreviations are:
Abbreviation In Latin In English
a.e. ante cebum before meals
b.i.d. bis in die twice a day
h. hora hour
h.s hora somni at bedtime
n.p.o. nil per os nothing by mouth
n.r. non repetatur do not repeat
o.d. onmi die everyday
p.c. post cebum after meals
p.p. postprandial following a meal
p.o. per os by mouth
p.r.n. pro re nata as needed
q. quaquae every
q.a.m. ququae ante every morning
Do’s and don’ts:
Drug names, their dosages, and instructions are never separated by commas.
For example: The patient is to take Norvasc 500 mg p.o. b.i.d. for pain .
Drugs in series: In case of a series of drugs along with their dosages and instructions, use the comma to separate the drug entities, but do not place commas between drugs and their dosages.
For example: The patient is discharged home on Zantac 150 mg b.i.d., Lasix 20 mg p.o. t.i.d., and Tenormin 50 mg b.i.d.
If drugs in the series are separated by commas, i.e. they have internal commas, semicolon is used to separate the drug entities.
For example: The patient will be on Humulin insulin 70/30, 15 units before breakfast and 15 units before dinner; Lasix 20 mg p.o. t.i.d.; and Cipro 500 mg p.o. b.i.d.
Transcribing Vitamins: Vitamin is used in the lower case unless sentence starts with it, which is then followed by space and followed by capital alphabet, and Arabic numeral if present. There should be no space between Arabic numeral and alphabet.
For example: vitamin B, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, vitamin A.
Radioactive drugs are referred to by use of isotopes. While transcribing them never place a hyphen between element and isotope number.
The isotope number is placed following the name of the element after one space on the same line. For example: technetium 99m.
If an abbreviated form of an element is dictated, then the isotope number precedes the symbol for the element on the same line without any space.
For example: 99mT technetium 99m.
If sentence starts with the isotope, it is customary to spell it out.
For example: Technetium 99m was utilized for the scan.
Follow the style of manufacturer in case of brand names of isotopes.
Generic name is also called the nonproprietary name. The generic name is the established and official name given to the drug. There is no restriction in the use of generic name. The WHO (World Health Organization) is the body, which coordinates the international nomenclature for the generic names, whereas USAN (US Adopted Names Council) establishes and approves official drug names in US.
As a rule, generic names are never capitalized. For example: aspirin, propranolol.
Sometimes, it might happen that the trade name and generic name of the drug are good sound-alikes. In such case, one should always use the generic spelling. For example: prednisone (generic), Prednisone (trade); KCl (generic), KayCiel (trade).
Brand names are also called as proprietary names: As understood, they are the names given by the manufacturer.
Brand names are always capitalized and always written as supplied by the manufacturer.
Therefore, some brand names such as RhoGAM, OxyContin, Peri-Colace, pHisoHex are written as published by the manufacturer.
Chemical name is rarely used in transcription and it describes the actual chemical structure of the drug.
Chemical names are never capitalized.
Dose and Dosages:
Dose represents quantity of drug to be administered at one time.
For example: Norvasc 500 mg.
Dosage represents the regimen of the drug, which is expressed in quantity per unit of time.
For example: Norvasc 500 mg b.i.d.
Latin abbreviations are to be used while expressing drug dosages. These are transcribed in the lower case with periods in between. Moreover, these should net be translated into English or vice versa. Also the most common mistake is to mix the Latin abbreviations due to improper dictation from the doctor.
For example: q.6 hours is wrong. It should be transcribed as q.4h. or every 4 hours.
Some commonly used Latin abbreviations are:
Abbreviation In Latin In English
a.e. ante cebum before meals
b.i.d. bis in die twice a day
h. hora hour
h.s hora somni at bedtime
n.p.o. nil per os nothing by mouth
n.r. non repetatur do not repeat
o.d. onmi die everyday
p.c. post cebum after meals
p.p. postprandial following a meal
p.o. per os by mouth
p.r.n. pro re nata as needed
q. quaquae every
q.a.m. ququae ante every morning
Do’s and don’ts:
Drug names, their dosages, and instructions are never separated by commas.
For example: The patient is to take Norvasc 500 mg p.o. b.i.d. for pain .
Drugs in series: In case of a series of drugs along with their dosages and instructions, use the comma to separate the drug entities, but do not place commas between drugs and their dosages.
For example: The patient is discharged home on Zantac 150 mg b.i.d., Lasix 20 mg p.o. t.i.d., and Tenormin 50 mg b.i.d.
If drugs in the series are separated by commas, i.e. they have internal commas, semicolon is used to separate the drug entities.
For example: The patient will be on Humulin insulin 70/30, 15 units before breakfast and 15 units before dinner; Lasix 20 mg p.o. t.i.d.; and Cipro 500 mg p.o. b.i.d.
Transcribing Vitamins: Vitamin is used in the lower case unless sentence starts with it, which is then followed by space and followed by capital alphabet, and Arabic numeral if present. There should be no space between Arabic numeral and alphabet.
For example: vitamin B, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, vitamin A.
Radioactive drugs are referred to by use of isotopes. While transcribing them never place a hyphen between element and isotope number.
The isotope number is placed following the name of the element after one space on the same line. For example: technetium 99m.
If an abbreviated form of an element is dictated, then the isotope number precedes the symbol for the element on the same line without any space.
For example: 99mT technetium 99m.
If sentence starts with the isotope, it is customary to spell it out.
For example: Technetium 99m was utilized for the scan.
Follow the style of manufacturer in case of brand names of isotopes.