Hi, state certified pharmacy technician here. I’m the guy that receives and types prescriptions. Shorthand is absolutely a thing; “tk 2 t po q 8 h” is a pretty reasonable example that translates to “take two tablets by mouth every 8 hours.” Legibility is a completely separate issue. If I can’t read it, I take it to the pharmacist. If they can’t decode it, we skip it, file it, and request a new one. When the patient comes to get it, we tell them we need a new script, and that we’re waiting for the prescriber to get back to us. But, sure, go ahead and tell me that illegible scripts aren’t real and can’t hurt patients.
Hi, state certified pharmacy technician here. I’m the guy that receives and types prescriptions. Shorthand is absolutely a thing; “tk 2 t po q 8 h” is a pretty reasonable example that translates to “take two tablets by mouth every 8 hours.” Legibility is a completely separate issue. If I can’t read it, I take it to the pharmacist. If they can’t decode it, we skip it, file it, and request a new one. When the patient comes to get it, we tell them we need a new script, and that we’re waiting for the prescriber to get back to us. But, sure, go ahead and tell me that illegible scripts aren’t real and can’t hurt patients.