Re: [Gnumed-devel] Prescription printing in arbitrary countries

[J Busser]

At 11:51 PM +0200 5/29/05, Karsten Hilbert wrote:
> Let's be very precise here and make sure we talk about the
> same things:
>
> prescription:
>
>  - the database equivalent of the finished (paper) form a
>    patient is given to carry to a pharmacy

Can we legitimize some (possible) differences of meaning - it may be 
a matter of the level of breadth at which to define.

To prescribe is to advise (e.g. a medicine) especially by an 
authorized (written) prescription. So at an encounter and its 
components (encountlets) we have the possibility of a treatment plan 
with many elements. Some will be simple things the patient can do by 
themselves e.g. lifestyle change, over-the counter medicine which do 
not require any "authorization" by the doctor. Yet we can argue a 
value to being able to print the entirety of a patient's current 
treatment plan *including* those things that do not require the 
doctor's authorization. Yes?

However we *can* constrain "prescription" to mean those parts of a 
treatment plan that require authorization by a doctor, yes? And 
physiotherapy can be a good example of a treatment for which the 
physiotherapist (and/or financially responsible health payer) may 
require authorization i.e. a prescription.

So though when we talk about "prescription" we typically mean *drug* 
prescription we really should be specifying *drug* prescription 
because there are non-drug prescriptions that need to be supported.

So far we have a hierarchy of

- treatment plan elements
        - treatments that the patient can do on their own
                - can include non-prescription drugs!
                - can of course include non-drugs
        - treatments that require a "prescription" (doctor authorization)
                - non-drug items
                - drug items

I am spawning an offshoot thread
        "Treatment plans more generally".

We will be interesting to see whether we resolve the authorization 
(prescription) non-drug items in this "prescription" thread.