Recording and Managing Prescriptions

This guide walks you through recording, editing, and reviewing a patient’s prescriptions in the Clinical section of the Patient Chart.

Before you start

You’ll need to have a patient chart open. The prescriptions table lives under the Clinical section of the Chart Navigation.

Electronic prescribing, or eRx, requires an integration with Ensora.

ePrescribing with Ensora

When your practice has Ensora eRx enabled, you write prescriptions in Ensora instead of in the chart. To set it up, see Enable eRx: Ensora.

With Ensora enabled, the Prescriptions table shows Launch eRx where Add prescription would be. You see Launch eRx if you have an Ensora eRx role and the Provider, Administrator, or Superadmin EMR role.

1. Open the patient’s chart and go to the Prescriptions table.
2. Select Launch eRx. Ensora opens inside the page.
3. Write, renew, or cancel the prescription in Ensora.
4. Select Back to prescriptions to return to the chart.

Prescriptions written in Ensora sync back to the patient’s chart. The list is read-only in OpenCoreEMR, so add or change prescriptions in Ensora.

Manual prescription entry

If your organization does not use an integrated eRx vendor, you can still document prescriptions manually.

If your practice has Ensora eRx enabled, you can’t enter prescriptions manually.

1. Open the patient’s chart and go to the Prescriptions table.
2. Select Add prescription. The Add prescription form opens.
3. Enter the prescription information, including Medication, Dosage instructions, and Dispense request.
4. Select Save.

To change a manually entered prescription, select its row in the table. The Edit prescription form opens.

How to search and filter the Prescription list

• Search by name: Use the Search medication box to find a prescription by medication name.
• Filter by prescriber: Use the Prescriber filter to narrow the list to one prescriber.
• Filter by status: Use the Status filter to show one status, such as Active, On-hold, Completed, Stopped, Cancelled, or Unknown. Default view shows Active, On-hold, Unknown, Completed, and Stopped prescriptions.
• Sort: Select a column header to sort by Medication, Sig, Refills, Prescriber, Rx Date, or Status.

Understanding what you’re looking at

Prescription list columns

Column	What it means
Medication	The prescribed medication
Sig	The dosage instructions, such as how much to take and how often
Refills	The number of refills allowed
Prescriber	The person who wrote the prescription
Rx Date	The date the prescription was written
Status	The prescription’s status, such as Active, On-hold, Completed, Stopped, or Cancelled

Prescription form fields

These fields appear on the Add prescription and Edit prescription forms when you enter prescriptions manually.

Field	What it means
Medication	The medication being prescribed. Start typing to search the medication list
Status	The prescription’s status. Defaults to Active for new prescriptions
Intent	The kind of request, for example an order. Defaults to Order for new prescriptions
Authored on	The date the prescription was written. Defaults to today for new prescriptions
Requester	The practitioner who wrote the prescription
Dosage instructions	How the patient takes the medication
Dispense request	What the pharmacy dispenses, including refills
Substitution allowed	Whether the pharmacy may substitute another product
Reason	Why the medication was prescribed. Found under Additional information
Note	Free text about the prescription. Found under Additional information

How prescriptions are sorted

By default, the table sorts prescriptions by Status first: Active and On-hold, then Unknown, then Completed, Stopped, and Cancelled. Within the same status group, the newest Rx Date comes first, then prescriptions are sorted alphabetically by medication.

What the empty states mean

• “No prescriptions recorded.” No prescriptions have been recorded for this patient.
• “Additional prescriptions exist outside the default view.” The patient has prescriptions that the Default view hides, such as cancelled ones. Change the Status filter to see them.
• “No prescriptions match the current filter.” The patient has prescriptions, but none match your search or filters.

Prescriptions marked as entered in error never appear in the list.

Troubleshooting

I can’t find a prescription I know was recorded. Check the Status and Prescriber filters and any search text. The Default view hides cancelled prescriptions. Clear your search and choose a different status.

I can’t open or change a prescription. If your practice has Ensora eRx enabled, the list is read-only. Change the prescription in Ensora. If your practice doesn’t use eRx, you may not have permission to edit prescriptions. Ask your administrator.

There’s no Add prescription or Launch eRx button. See the eRx setup troubleshooting if your practice uses Ensora. Otherwise, ask your administrator whether you have permission to add prescriptions.