Requested Give Strength

The need for strength and strength unit fields in addition to the amount and amount units fields included in various RX_ segments requires explanation. Physicians can write a prescription for a drug such as Ampicillin in two ways. One way would be: "Ampicillin 250 mg tabs, 2 tabs four times a day." In this case the give amount would be 2, the give units would be tabs, the strength would be 250 and the strength units would milligrams. However, the provider could also write the prescription as "Ampicillin 500 mg four times a day." In this case the give amount would be 500 and the give units would be milligrams. The strength would not be reported in the RXO segment because it is not specified; the drug could be given in two 250 mg caps or one 500 mg cap. But the pharmacist would dispense a specific pill size and would record the strength in the RXE segment as 250 or 500, depending upon which pill size was dispensed.