Prescription Medicine

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• Prescription Medicine Introduction
• Historical Background
• What to Do Before Your Appointment
• What to Do at the Doctor's Office
• Generic Medications
• Making Sense of Abbreviations
• What to Do at the Pharmacy
• What to Do at Home
• Synonyms and Keywords
• References
• Authors and Editors

Prescription Medicine Introduction

All medications sold in the United States can be divided into two categories:

• Prescription medications that require a prescription to be sold
  
  
• Nonprescription or over-the-counter medications that do not require a directive from a doctor

Prescription medications are generally more potent than those sold over-the-counter (OTC) and may have more serious side effects if inappropriately used. Therefore, these medications are only sold under a doctor’s direction. These directions are written on a prescription by your doctor, then double-checked, packaged, and sold to you by a pharmacist.