The enhanced prescription: Adding value to consultations in psychiatry and other branches of medicine

In this article, we describe how a conventional prescription may be usefully enhanced by the addition of special instructions and by the provision of information relevant to the patient’s treatment plan. Content that we recommend for addition includes instructions for administration of drugs that are dosed in a special way, instructions for preparation for investigations, information about what each drug in the prescription does, documentation of discussions of medicolegal importance, and more. We provide examples for each suggestion, such as explaining how iron and thyroxine need to be taken, documenting discussions about benefits and risks of taking medicines during pregnancy, specifying the duration of weekly blood monitoring in patients prescribed clozapine, stating why higher than usual doses are prescribed, and warning about suicide risk. Medical professionals may choose what they wish to implement, based on need and context. The personalized enhancements that we suggest are easily implemented in digital prescriptions integrated with electronic health records; however, they can also be incorporated in handwritten prescriptions to the extent required. We believe that such an enhanced prescription will empower patients and caregivers and improve treatment adherence through better understanding of treatment advice.