Prescriptions

A prescription is a written document which details which medicine and which quantity of this medicine your doctor has advised you to take; your doctor will give you a prescription, if necessary, at the end of your consultation.

A prescription must include details of both the patient, such as their first name, surname, sex, age and weight if necessary, and the doctor, such as their name, address, level of qualification, phone number, signature, and a contact number in case of emergency. A prescription will include the name of each prescribed medicine as well as individual instructions for use and the required dosage.

Every patient in France is issued with an electronic 'carte vitale'; this card essentially replaces medical claim forms, usually issued to a patient alongside a prescription in order for the patient to reclaim the prescription charge. Today the system is computerised: the doctor will issue a medical claim form only if a patient has forgotten their card.

The doctor typically issues two prescriptions: one for the pharmacist and the other for the patient, on which is written 'duplicata ne permettant pas la délivrance de médicaments', which means that this is a duplicate copy, but does not entitle you to medicine on its own. The patient keeps the duplicate in order to keep track of medicines they have taken or are taking. If the doctor issues only one copy, another one will be available from the pharmacist.

The patient must go to a pharmacy with their prescription and their 'vitale' card to collect their medicine. You should always respect the advice written on the prescription, and in particular the dosage of the medicine prescribed, in order to ensure that the treatment is not ineffective, and avoid an overdose.