Vietnam: General requirements on prescription contents

Circular No. 05/2016/TT-BYT of the Ministry of Health of Vietnam specifies general requirements on prescription contents as follows:

- Complete items printed in the prescription form or medical book or long-term treatment book of the patient in a clear and accurate manner.

- Exactly specify the patient's permanent or temporary address, including house number, street, residential group or hamlet/village, commune/ward/town.

- If patient is a child aged under 72 months: specify the child’s months of age and full name of the child's father or mother.  

- Write drug names according to the international nonproprietary names (INN, generic), except for the cases where the medicine contains several active ingredients. If a trade name of drug is added in the prescription, it must be specified in the brackets next to its international nonproprietary name.

E.g.: Paracetamol

+ Drug name is specified according to the international nonproprietary name: Paracetamol 500mg.

+ If its trade name is added: Paracetamol 500mg (Hapacol or Biragan or Efferalgan or Panadol,...) shall be specified.

- Write drug name, strength/content, quantity, dosage, administration route and time for taking each type of drug.

- The quantity of narcotic drugs must be specified in words, and the first letter must be capitalized.

- The quantity of drugs: write “0” in front of the figure indicating the quantity of drug which has the only figure (i.e. smaller than 10).

- If a prescription is adjusted, the prescriber must confirm by affixing his/her signature next to the adjusted contents.

- Cross out the blank from the point under the prescription contents to the point above the prescriber’s signature; prescriber must sign and write his/her full name (or affix his/her name seal).

View details at Circular No. 05/2016/TT-BYT of the Ministry of Health of Vietnam, effective from May 01, 2016.

-Thao Uyen-

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