Doctor's prescription

A doctor's prescription is an order coming from a health care professional prescribing a certain kind of medical treatment for a patient, such as administration of drugs, dietary or behavioral recommendations, medical laboratory tests, radiology, etc. Prescriptions are usually given in a form of a written order and often must follow certain formal rules.

Common forms of prescriptions are

• Medical prescription, for medicines (prescription drugs) or medical/assistive devices. In common parlance, "doctor's prescription" usually means this form of prescription.
• Eyeglass prescription, contact lens prescription
• Treatment prescription (e.g., drug regimen, radiotherapy, etc.)
• Physical regimen prescription (bed rest, toilet regimen, massage, etc.)