SVA Prescription Template Guidelines 2023

The Singapore Veterinary Association is glad to announce the completion of one of SVA’s new initiatives.

Over the years, we have received feedback from the ground about the discrepancies and inconsistencies in printed prescriptions provided by vet clinics for pet owners.

There were also instances where a veterinary clinic set its own standards and was not willing to fulfil a prescription from another vet clinic unless the other clinic oblige by their prescription standards.

We have also received feedback that human retail pharmacies rejected specific prescriptions by veterinary clinics.

So we have created a prescription template that veterinary clinics and veterinarians can follow.

We wanted a prescription that would be recognised and fulfilled by both veterinary clinics and human retail pharmacies.

We thank AVS for their help and for their insights on this template.

AVS played a pivotal role in pushing this project into reality.

They also sought input from Health Sciences Authority (HSA) on the prescription template as HSA is the competent authority licensing retail pharmacies.

HSA advised that it is good practice for pharmacies not to accept prescriptions dated more than a year since patients’ health conditions will change over time. As such, we have added a note under the “Prescription valid till” field to indicate that this should not be more than 12 months from the date the prescription is written.

You can find the prescription template here:

Comments:

• The template states “clinic/company” to cater to vets not working for vet clinics, such as those operating housecall services.
• There are specific fields for food-producing animals, to cater to vets who consult for food animal farms. However, we note that this template will mostly be used by vets in vet clinics and therefore these fields will not be applicable in that case. You can choose to remove this portion if suitable.

We would also like to thank Dr Chia Siu Yi, a fellow SVA member, who volunteered and laid the groundwork for crafting this prescription template guideline by comparing current international standards.

Regards,

SVA Committee 2023
19 May 2023