Prescription in PDF or electronic prescription: what each one is

A private prescription in PDF produced with management software is not, by itself, an official medical prescription. A medical prescription (receta médica) has its own requirements in Real Decreto 1718/2010 (Spain's royal decree on prescriptions): who issues it, what details it carries and how it is protected against forgery. A “Receta” (Prescription) document in PDF records in the patient's file, in the name of a professional who can prescribe, what they indicate to their patient, but it does not replace the medical prescription.

What a medical prescription is under the rules

A medical prescription is a standardised health document used to prescribe medicines or medical devices for a pharmacist to dispense. Real Decreto 1718/2010, on medical prescriptions and dispensing orders, defines it as “the standardised and mandatory health document by which doctors, dentists or podiatrists, legally authorised to do so and within their respective competences, prescribe to patients medicines or medical devices subject to medical prescription” (quotations from Spanish legislation in this article are our own translation, not an official text).

The rule is not limited to public healthcare. Its scope includes “public or private entities, medical practices, establishments or similar health services”, and its chapter II regulates the common requirements for public and private medical prescriptions. A private clinic that prescribes medicines is therefore within this rule. It is also worth checking whether your autonomous community (Spanish region) has rules of its own.

Who can issue a medical prescription

The definition of a medical prescription names doctors, dentists and podiatrists, “legally authorised to do so and within their respective competences”. The same rule separately regulates the dispensing order, by which nursing professionals, within their competences and once they have been individually authorised through the corresponding accreditation, indicate or authorise the dispensing of medicines and medical devices.

In a clinic with several specialties it is worth being clear about this before configuring the software. That a healthcare professional can leave written instructions for their patient does not make them a prescriber of medicines. If you have doubts about the competences of your profession, the reference is your professional association (colegio profesional).

On paper or in electronic format: what the rules require

Real Decreto 1718/2010 allows both forms: medical prescriptions, public or private, “may be issued on paper, for manual or computerised completion, and in electronic format, and must be supplemented with a patient information sheet, which must be given to the patient”. It also sets mandatory basic details of the patient, the medicine and the prescriber, including their professional registration number.

There are two requirements in the rule that, in our reading, a PDF generated by management software does not provide by itself (confirm this with your professional association):

• On paper, prescriptions “shall be made with materials that prevent or hinder forgery, or by introducing security measures into the system that guarantee their authenticity”.
• In electronic format, the rule says that “electronic prescriptions will require the electronic signature” of the prescriber.

As to who publishes these forms, the rule makes the health entities and establishments within its scope, and the general councils of the professional bodies of doctors, dentists, podiatrists and nurses in private practice, responsible for “the publishing, management, control and inspection of the printing, distribution and delivery of their pads and forms for medical prescriptions and dispensing orders”. That is why, before prescribing medicines in private practice, it is worth confirming with your professional association which forms or which prescription system to use.

What Mi Clínica's “Nueva receta” is

Mi Clínica's “Nueva receta” (New prescription) is a PDF document in the name of the professional who makes it; it is not an official electronic prescription and does not connect to the Spanish National Health System (Sistema Nacional de Salud). It serves to put in writing, with the right details, what the professional indicates to their patient.

It is created from the patient's file and fills itself in with the patient's, the clinic's and the professional's details. The standard text includes:

• The patient's name, ID number (DNI), date of birth and age.
• A section “Prescripción e indicaciones:” (Prescription and instructions:) with what the professional writes.
• The professional's name, registration number and specialty.
• The clinic's name, address and telephone number, with the place and date.

The PDF does not carry an electronic signature from the professional: it carries their name, registration number and specialty. The software does not suggest medicines, doses or regimens: what the prescription says is written by the professional. If the clinic has its own model, it can use a template of its own; how to organise them is covered in document templates for clinics.

Who can make a prescription in Mi Clínica

In Mi Clínica the prescription is a clinical document, and not just anyone can create it:

• Who can end up prescribing: healthcare staff with a professional record, and “Dirección” (Management) when it also has a professional record. “Recepción” (Reception) and “Administración” (Administration), never.
• In whose name: a prescription is always in the name of the professional who prescribes it. Only “Dirección” can prepare it in someone else's name, and only if that professional can prescribe.
• Per person: in “Equipo” (Team), each professional has the “Puede recetar” (Can prescribe) permission, which “Dirección” and “Administración” can remove, for example from anyone who is not authorised.

One important nuance: the software does not check anyone's qualifications or professional registration. By default, the permission to prescribe is switched on for all healthcare professionals, so adjusting it according to what each person's profession allows is the clinic's job. The definition in Real Decreto 1718/2010 that we have quoted names doctors, dentists and podiatrists: if your team includes physiotherapists, dietitian-nutritionists, beauty therapists or other professionals who do not prescribe medicines, remove the permission so they cannot issue a document titled “Receta”. “Recepción” cannot see the prescription either, because with its default permissions it has no access to anything clinical. Who sees what in the record is explained in who can see the medical record.

Which document to use in each case

The choice depends on what the paper you hand to the patient is for:

You need	Document
For a pharmacy to dispense a prescription-only medicine	The medical prescription that complies with Real Decreto 1718/2010, with the forms or prescription system that apply (check with your professional association)
To record in the file what a professional who can prescribe has prescribed	Mi Clínica's “Receta” document, in PDF (it is not an official medical prescription)
To give the patient a regimen or plan	Mi Clínica's “Tratamiento” document, which is the document with the professional's regimen or plan

Both Mi Clínica documents stay in the patient's file and are frozen when they leave draft status. The rest of the documents and signing is summarised on the Mi Clínica page (in Spanish).

Sources consulted

Checked on 11 October 2026. We link to the original source so that you can consult the current text.

• Real Decreto 1718/2010, de 17 de diciembre, sobre receta médica y órdenes de dispensación (texto consolidado). BOE.