Prescriptions

A complete guide to the Prescriptions module — creating, managing, and tracking patient prescriptions including medication, dosage, pharmacy details, and inventory linking.

Written By Dev010

Last updated 19 days ago

The Prescriptions module allows doctors to create and manage medication prescriptions for patients. Prescriptions can be linked to a specific appointment, reference an inventory item, and include full pharmacy and dispensing details.

Accessing the Module

Sidebar → Prescriptions

Direct URL:

https://yourdomain.com/dashboard/prescriptions

Who can access:

Action	Admin	Doctor	Receptionist	Nurse
View prescriptions	✅	✅	❌	✅
Create prescription	✅	✅	❌	❌
Edit prescription	✅	✅	❌	❌
Delete prescription	✅	❌	❌	❌

Prescriptions List

The main prescriptions page shows a paginated, searchable list of all prescriptions across the clinic.

Each row displays:

Patient name
Medication name
Dosage
Frequency
Duration
Issuing doctor
Issued date
Action buttons (edit, delete)

Search

The search bar filters prescriptions by:

Patient name
Medication name
Doctor name

Results update as you type.

Creating a Prescription

Click the New Prescription button on the prescriptions list page.

Direct URL:

https://yourdomain.com/dashboard/prescriptions/new

Required Fields

Field	Notes
Patient	Search and select from registered patients
Doctor	Select the prescribing doctor
Medication	Name of the medication being prescribed
Dosage	Dose amount and unit (e.g. 500mg, 10ml)

Optional Fields

Clinical Details:

Field	Notes
Appointment	Link to a specific appointment visit
Instructions	How the patient should take the medication
Frequency	How often (e.g. twice daily, every 8 hours)
Duration	How long to take it (e.g. 7 days, 2 weeks)
Drug Interactions	Known interactions to flag

Inventory Link:

Field	Notes
Inventory Item	Link to a specific item in the clinic inventory

Linking to an inventory item allows the prescription to reference the exact stock item being dispensed. This is useful for tracking which medications from inventory are being used in prescriptions.

Linking an inventory item does not automatically deduct stock. Inventory quantities must be updated manually in the Inventory module.

Pharmacy Details:

Field	Notes
Pharmacy Name	Name of the dispensing pharmacy
Pharmacy Address	Pharmacy location

Issued At:

Field	Notes
Issued At	Date and time the prescription was issued — defaults to now

Saving the Prescription

Click Create Prescription to save. The prescription appears immediately in the list and is attributed to the selected doctor with the issued timestamp recorded.

Editing a Prescription

Click the Edit button on any prescription row to update the record.

All fields from the creation form are editable including medication, dosage, instructions, pharmacy details, and the linked appointment or inventory item.

Only Admin and Doctor roles can edit prescriptions. Nurses have view-only access and cannot modify records.

Deleting a Prescription

Click the Delete option from the prescription row action menu.

A confirmation dialog appears before deletion. Deleting a prescription is permanent and cannot be undone.

Only Admin accounts can delete prescriptions. Doctor accounts can create and edit but not delete.

Viewing Prescriptions Per Patient

Prescriptions for a specific patient can be viewed without filtering the main list in two ways:

Option A — Full Profile Sheet:

Sidebar → Patients
Find the patient → View Full Profile
Navigate to the Prescriptions tab

This shows all prescriptions for that patient in one place alongside their appointments, invoices, and medical records.

Option B — Search by patient name:

Sidebar → Prescriptions
Type the patient name in the search bar
All prescriptions for that patient appear in the filtered list

Linking Prescriptions to Appointments

Prescriptions can optionally be linked to a specific appointment. This creates a clear connection between a patient visit and the medication prescribed during that visit.

When a prescription is linked to an appointment, it appears in context when reviewing that appointment's records — making it easy for doctors and nurses to see what was prescribed during each visit.

This is particularly useful for:

Tracking what was prescribed at each consultation
Reviewing prescription history per visit in the Full Profile Sheet
Maintaining a clear clinical audit trail

Linking Prescriptions to Inventory

If your clinic dispenses medications directly from stock, link the prescription to the relevant inventory item using the Inventory Item field.

This gives you visibility into which inventory items are being prescribed and how frequently, helping inform restocking decisions.

To check which inventory items are running low after prescriptions have been issued:

Sidebar → Inventory
Review items flagged with low stock alerts
Reorder as needed

Drug Interactions Field

The Drug Interactions field is a free-text area for noting any known interactions between the prescribed medication and other medications the patient is taking.

This is a documentation field — CareNova does not automatically check for drug interactions. The prescribing doctor is responsible for reviewing the patient's medication history before prescribing.

To review a patient's current medications before prescribing, open the patient's Full Profile Sheet and review the Prescriptions tab for all active medications.

Database Schema Reference

prescriptions

Column	Type	Description
`id`	uuid	Unique prescription ID
`patient_id`	uuid	FK → patients (cascade delete)
`doctor_id`	uuid	FK → users
`appointment_id`	uuid	FK → appointments (set null on delete)
`medication`	text	Medication name
`dosage`	text	Dose amount and unit
`inventory_item_id`	uuid	FK → inventory (set null on delete)
`instructions`	text	How to take the medication
`frequency`	text	How often to take it
`duration`	text	How long to take it
`drug_interactions`	text	Known interaction notes
`pharmacy_name`	text	Dispensing pharmacy name
`pharmacy_address`	text	Pharmacy address
`issued_at`	timestamptz	Prescription issue timestamp
`created_at`	timestamptz	Record creation timestamp
`updated_at`	timestamptz	Last updated timestamp

Indexes are set on patient_id, doctor_id, and inventory_item_id for fast filtering queries.

Relationship to Other Modules

Module	Relationship
Patients	Every prescription belongs to one patient
Appointments	Optionally linked to a specific visit
Inventory	Optionally linked to a dispensed stock item
Medical Records	Prescriptions appear in the Full Profile Sheet alongside medical records

Workflow Examples

Prescribing medication after a visit:

Doctor completes the appointment — status set to completed
Sidebar → Prescriptions → New Prescription
Select patient and doctor
Enter medication, dosage, frequency, and duration
Link to the appointment
Add instructions and pharmacy details if dispensing externally
Click Create Prescription

Reviewing a patient's medication history before prescribing:

Sidebar → Patients
Find the patient → View Full Profile
Navigate to Prescriptions tab
Review all current and past medications and dosages
Note any drug interaction risks in the new prescription

Tracking which medications are most commonly prescribed:

Sidebar → Prescriptions
Scroll through the list or search by medication name
For inventory-level tracking, go to Sidebar → Inventory and review usage patterns

Linking a prescription to inventory for dispensing:

New Prescription form
Fill in medication and dosage
In the Inventory Item field, search for the matching stock item
Select and save
After dispensing, manually update the quantity in Sidebar → Inventory

Troubleshooting

New Prescription button missing:

Confirm your role has prescriptions.create permission in Dashboard → Permissions
Receptionist and Nurse roles do not have create permission by default

Inventory item not appearing in dropdown:

Confirm the inventory item exists in Sidebar → Inventory
Confirm the item status is active
Search by the exact item name in the inventory dropdown field

Prescription not appearing in patient's Full Profile Sheet:

Confirm the prescription has the correct patient_id linked
Hard refresh the browser
Check Supabase → Table Editor → prescriptions to confirm the record exists with the right patient

Cannot delete a prescription:

Prescription deletion is restricted to Admin role only
Doctor accounts can edit but not delete records

Drug interaction field not saving:

Confirm the field is not exceeding text limits
Check browser console for any validation errors on form submission

Next Step

Continue to the Invoices & Billing module guide to learn how to create and manage patient invoices in CareNova.