What must go in the Prescription Book
Section 24 of the Poisons Act 1952 requires a clinic that supplies a poison as a dispensed medicine to record, on the same day, the date, a serial number, the poison and its ingredients or proprietary name, the quantity, the patient's name, and the patient's address where the supply is not against a written prescription.
Prescription Book — August 2026
Serially numbered, no gaps| Serial | Date | Poison and ingredients | Patient | Qty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 04819 | 09/08 | Amoxicillin 250mgGroup C — an entry is still required | Ahmad bin Ali | 15 |
| 04820 | 09/08 | Prednisolone 5mg | Lim Wei Ling | 20 |
| 04821 | 09/08 | Diazepam 5mg | Rajan a/l Kumar | 10 |
| 04822 | 09/08 | Codeine phosphate 15mgReversed — wrong patient. Serial retained, never reused. | Tan Mei Ling | 12 |
The mistake almost everyone makes
The common belief is that the Prescription Book is for Group B poisons. It is not. The trigger in section 24 is that the item is a poison supplied as a dispensed medicine. A Group C item dispensed to a patient requires an entry exactly as a Group B item does. Clinics that register only Group B are short of the requirement while believing they are complete.
The groups, briefly
The First Schedule Poisons List sets out the poisons and marks them against columns. Groups A to D appear as columns in that list; Groups E and F are defined in section 2 of the Act but are not used as columns. What matters operationally is not which letter an item carries, but whether it is on the list at all.
Timing and serial numbers
The entry belongs on the day of supply, not at the end of the week. Serial numbers must run without gaps — a missing serial is the first thing an inspector notices, and “we skipped that one” is not an answer. If an entry is wrong, it is reversed rather than erased, and the serial it used is retained and never reissued.
How long to keep it
Section 24 sets no retention period. Because it sets none, the safe course is to retain indefinitely rather than choose a number and defend it later. Klinira retains Prescription Book entries permanently.
Common questions
Can the book be electronic?
Clinics keep it electronically and print on request. What matters is that the record is complete, contemporaneous, serially numbered and producible when asked.
Do I need the patient's address every time?
Section 24(1)(d) requires it where the supply is not against a written prescription. Recording it always is simpler than deciding case by case.
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