Clinical Indications or Indication-Based Prescribing?

What does this site mean by clinical indications?

Three or four words on a prescription describing the effect of the medicine on the patient, such as atenolol “to prevent migraine” (what is a clinical indication?). The site also calls this “indication labelling”. FAQ 1 gives its essential feature as “the direct linking of the named medication with the clinical indication”, with the prescriber providing the link.

The GMC uses the same term. Paragraph 13 of its prescribing guidance says: “As well, you should consider including clinical indications on your prescriptions”, and a footnote links to this website (what the GMC says).

Who uses “indication-based prescribing”?

Researchers writing in international journals. In 2016 the New England Journal of Medicine published a Perspective by Schiff, Seoane-Vazquez and Wright, “Incorporating indications into medication ordering — time to enter the age of reason” (PubMed). The AHRQ PSNet summary says it advocates “indications-based prescribing coupled with health information technology as a way to improve team communication, medication reconciliation, and patient education and compliance”.

What is “prescribing with indications”?

The second term in the title of a 2026 systematic review by Pairman, Chin and Doogue in the International Journal of Medical Informatics: “Indication-based prescribing and prescribing with indications, effects on documentation, medicines use, and clinical outcomes” (PubMed). The review names the two side by side. Its published summary does not define the two terms separately.

Of its 24 studies, 16 covered antimicrobials and “only one study examined prescriptions for all medicines”. The authors call for “agreed international standards to guide system vendors”.

How do the terms relate?

Dr Masters describes clinical indications as one form of indication-based prescribing, which began from a different starting point. On this site, clinical indications began with repeat prescriptions in UK general practice (FAQ 17), and FAQ 7 calls indication labelling “a United Kingdom innovation”. Schiff and colleagues write about indications in medication ordering, supported by health information technology.

Which terms should I search for?

All of them. UK guidance and this site use “clinical indications”, and so does a 2019 UK study of inpatient prescriptions (Shemilt et al.). Dr Masters’ 2015 BJGP letter uses “indication labelling”. Research elsewhere uses “indication-based prescribing”, “prescribing with indications” and, in a 2025 New Zealand hospital study, the “indication field”.

See the evidence page for each study in date order, and research.