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Medicines Act

(Chapter 176, Section 29)

Medicines (Prescription Only) Order

O 15

REVISED EDITION 1995

(10th November 1995)

[10th November 1995]

Citation

1. This Order may be cited as the Medicines (Prescription Only) Order.

Definitions

2.—(1) In this Order —

“maximum daily dose” or “MDD” means the maximum quantity of a substance contained in an amount of a medicinal product for internal use which it is recommended should be taken or administered in a period of 24 hours;

“maximum supply” or “MS” means the maximum quantity of the medicinal product that may be sold or supplied at any time;

“prescription only medicine” means a medicinal product of a description or class specified for the purposes of section 29 of the Act and referred to in paragraph 4;

“product licence” means a product licence which is granted under section 5 of the Act;

“sell” means sell by retail as defined in section 2(2) of the Act and “sale” has a corresponding meaning;

“supply” means supply in circumstances corresponding to retail sale as defined in section 2(2) of the Act.

(2) In the First Schedule, the following abbreviations are used:

“g” for gram;

“iu” for international unit of activity;

“mcg” for microgram;

“mg” for milligram;

“ml” for millilitre;

“%” for percentage;

“w/w” for weight in weight;

“v/w” for volume in weight;

“v/v” for volume in volume.

Appropriate practitioners

3. For the purposes of section 29 of the Act (medicinal products on prescription only), doctors, dentists and veterinary surgeons shall be appropriate practitioners in relation to all prescription only medicines.

Medicinal products on prescription only

4. A medicinal product is a medicinal product specified for the purposes of section 29 of the Act (prescription only medicine) if it is of the description set out in the first, second, third and fourth columns of Part I or II of the First Schedule.

Prescriptions

5.—(1) For the purposes of section 29(2)(a) of the Act, a prescription only medicine shall not be taken to be sold or supplied in accordance with a prescription given by a practitioner unless the conditions specified in sub-paragraph (2) are fulfilled.

(2) The conditions are that —

(a)

the prescription shall be in writing and signed by the practitioner giving it with his usual signature and dated by him;

(b)

the prescription shall contain the following particulars:

(i)	the address of the practitioner giving it;
(ii)	where the practitioner giving it is a doctor or dentist, the name and address of the person for whose treatment it is given;
(iii)	where the practitioner giving it is a veterinary surgeon, the name and address of the person to whom the prescription only medicine is to be delivered;
(iv)	where the practitioner giving it is a dentist or a veterinary surgeon, a declaration by the practitioner that the prescription is “For dental treatment only” or “For animal treatment only”, as the case may be; and
(v)	indicate the total amount of the prescription only medicine to be supplied and the dose to be taken;

(c)

in the case where the prescription does not specify whether it is a repeatable prescription or not, the prescription shall not be dispensed more than once;

(d)

in the case of a repeatable prescription that does not specify the number of times it may be dispensed, it shall not be dispensed more than 3 times;

(e)

in the case of a repeatable prescription that does not specify the time period between which the next dispensing may take place, it shall not be dispensed more than once in 3 days;

(f)

at the time of dispensing, the person dispensing the prescription shall note on the face of the prescription, above the signature of the practitioner, the name and address of the person dispensing it and the date on which the prescription is dispensed; and

(g)

in the case of a repeated prescription, if the prescription is being dispensed for the last time, it shall be retained after dispensation by the person dispensing it.

(3) The restrictions imposed by section 29(2)(a) of the Act (restrictions on sale and supply) shall not apply to a sale and supply of a prescription only medicine which is not in accordance with a prescription given by an appropriate practitioner by reason only that a condition specified in sub-paragraph (2) is not fulfilled, where the person selling or supplying the prescription only medicine, having exercised all due diligence, believes on reasonable grounds that that condition is fulfilled in relation to that sale or supply.

Exemptions for limited sale or supply of prescription only medicines specified in Part II of First Schedule

6. In the case of a prescription only medicine specified in Part II of the First Schedule, the restrictions imposed by section 29(2)(a) of the Act (restrictions on sale and supply) shall not apply if —

(a)	the medicine is sold or supplied in a container or package labelled to show a maximum daily dose not exceeding that specified in the fifth column of that Part of the First Schedule in respect of the medicine;
(b)	the quantity of the medicine sold or supplied does not exceed the maximum supply specified in that column; and
(c)	the medicine is sold or supplied in a container or package labelled to show the use specified in the sixth column of that Part of the First Schedule and no other use. [S 20/2000 wef 17/01/2000]

Exemptions for emergency sale or supply

7. The restrictions imposed by section 29(2)(a) of the Act (restrictions on sale and supply) shall not apply to the sale or supply of a prescription only medicine by a pharmacist in an emergency acting on the verbal instructions of a medical practitioner who has undertaken to give a prescription, or a written order if he is a medical practitioner in a hospital, within the next 24 hours following.

Exemptions for certain persons

8.—(1) The restrictions imposed by section 29(2)(a) of the Act (restrictions on sale and supply) shall not apply —

(a)	to the sale or supply by a person listed in the first column of Part I of the Second Schedule; or
(b)	to the supply by a person listed in the first column of Part II of the Second Schedule,

of the prescription only medicines listed in the second column of Part I or II, as the case may be, of the Second Schedule in relation to that person if and so long as the conditions specified in the corresponding paragraphs in the third column of Part I or II, as the case may be, of the Second Schedule are fulfilled.

(2) Notwithstanding sub-paragraph (1), the Minister may by writing, in any case if he thinks fit and subject to such conditions as he may impose, exempt any person from the restrictions imposed by section 29(2)(a) of the Act (restrictions on sale and supply).

(3) The Minister may by writing, in any case if he thinks fit and subject to such conditions as he may impose, exempt any person from the restrictions imposed by section 29(2)(b) of the Act (restrictions on administration).

Exemptions for sale and supply in hospitals or licensed private hospitals

9. The restrictions imposed by section 29(2)(a) of the Act (restrictions on sale and supply) shall not apply to the sale or supply of any prescription only medicine in the course of the business of any ward, theatre or other section in a Government hospital or a private hospital licensed under the Private Hospitals and Medical Clinics Act [Cap. 248] where the prescription only medicine is sold or supplied in accordance with the written directions of a doctor or dentist or by a registered nurse in charge of the ward, theatre or other section of the Government hospital or licensed private hospital notwithstanding that those directions do not fulfil the conditions specified in paragraph 5.

Exemptions provided in other written law

10. The restrictions imposed by section 29 (2)(a) (restrictions on sale or supply) or section 29 (2)(b) (restrictions on administration) of the Act shall not apply to the sale or supply or administration, as the case may be, of any prescription only medicine if —

(a)	the prescription only medicine is a controlled drug;
(b)	the sale, supply or administration of such controlled drug is exempted from the relevant restrictions by the Misuse of Drugs Act [Cap. 185] or any regulations made thereunder; and
(c)	that sale, supply or administration of the controlled drug is made subject to such conditions and in such circumstances as may be specified in that exemption to the relevant written law.

Exemptions in cases involving another’s default

11. The restrictions imposed by section 29(2)(a) of the Act (restrictions on sale and supply) shall not apply to the sale and supply of a prescription only medicine by a person if —

(a)	the person having exercised all due diligence, believes on reasonable grounds that the product sold or supplied is not a prescription only medicine; and
(b)	it is due to the act or default of another person that the product is a product to which section 29 (2) (a ) of the Act applies.

Exemptions in cases of forged prescriptions

12. The restrictions imposed by section 29(2)(a) of the Act (restrictions on sale and supply) shall not apply to the sale and supply of a prescription only medicine by a pharmacist in accordance with a forged prescription where the pharmacist, having exercised all due diligence, believes on reasonable grounds that the prescription is genuine.

Relationship between this Order and other written laws

13. This Order is in addition to, and not in derogation of or substitution for, any other written law.