chemboy7
04-15-2006, 10:00 AM
Doctors really fancy the fact that the majority of people they write prescriptions for haven't the slightest clue what their abbriviations and symbols mean when written on the script. Indeed, I bet they are really fond of the fact that the mathmatics behind their DEA algorithm # remains to this day something that most people are ignorant to. I would bet dollars to shit that most of them just have their's memorized and haven't a clue how the varification process works themselves. I will try to clear some of this up for you guys. I can't stress enough that this is for INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. Falsifying scripts is stupid and you are bound to get caught sooner or later. That being said:
PO (per os) = By mouth, orally
SC, s.q., Sub-q = Subcutaneously
s.l., SL, Subling. = Sublingual
a.c. = Before meals
a.m. = Before noon
Ad Lib = At pleasure, as desired
b.i.d. = Twice daily
D.A.W. = Dispense as written, do not substitute for generic (this generally means they get perks for drug sales, not always though)
DC = Discontinue
h.s. = At bedtime
Non Rep, NR = No renewals, no refills
p.c. = After meals
p.m. = Afternoon, evening
PRN = As needed (generally for pain medication)
Q = Each, every
q.d. = daily
q.h. = Every hour
q.h.s. = Every bedtime
q.i.d. = 4 times daily
q.o.d. = Every other day
q.s. = A sufficent quantity
t.i.d. = 3 times daily
aa = of each
s (or an s with a line over it) = Without
Sig. = Label, let it be labeled
ss = One half
Now for the fun part, the DEA algorithm. Let's start with a legitimate # to work with, I will use
AS1234563
The first letter signifies the classification of the physician (I believe A if they graduated before 1980 and B for all after). The second letter stands for the first letter in the physicians last name. Simple enough huh, now to varify that the algorithm is correct... this is where alot of people get busted.
Step 1 - add the first, third, and fifth digits of the #. 1+3+5 = 9
Step 2 - add the second, fourth, and sixth digits of the # and multiply the sum by 2. (2+4+6) x2 = 24
Step 3 - add the two results from steps one and two. The last digit of this sum will be the same as the last # of the DEA # and since 9+24 = 33, we can assume that old doc smith's DEA # is legit.
I know it seems difficult, but it is actually really simple as far as algorithms go. Hope that helps. :D
PO (per os) = By mouth, orally
SC, s.q., Sub-q = Subcutaneously
s.l., SL, Subling. = Sublingual
a.c. = Before meals
a.m. = Before noon
Ad Lib = At pleasure, as desired
b.i.d. = Twice daily
D.A.W. = Dispense as written, do not substitute for generic (this generally means they get perks for drug sales, not always though)
DC = Discontinue
h.s. = At bedtime
Non Rep, NR = No renewals, no refills
p.c. = After meals
p.m. = Afternoon, evening
PRN = As needed (generally for pain medication)
Q = Each, every
q.d. = daily
q.h. = Every hour
q.h.s. = Every bedtime
q.i.d. = 4 times daily
q.o.d. = Every other day
q.s. = A sufficent quantity
t.i.d. = 3 times daily
aa = of each
s (or an s with a line over it) = Without
Sig. = Label, let it be labeled
ss = One half
Now for the fun part, the DEA algorithm. Let's start with a legitimate # to work with, I will use
AS1234563
The first letter signifies the classification of the physician (I believe A if they graduated before 1980 and B for all after). The second letter stands for the first letter in the physicians last name. Simple enough huh, now to varify that the algorithm is correct... this is where alot of people get busted.
Step 1 - add the first, third, and fifth digits of the #. 1+3+5 = 9
Step 2 - add the second, fourth, and sixth digits of the # and multiply the sum by 2. (2+4+6) x2 = 24
Step 3 - add the two results from steps one and two. The last digit of this sum will be the same as the last # of the DEA # and since 9+24 = 33, we can assume that old doc smith's DEA # is legit.
I know it seems difficult, but it is actually really simple as far as algorithms go. Hope that helps. :D