1.
prescription medicine; prescription drug
Medicine that can only be obtained with a doctor's prescription, as opposed to over-the-counter medication.
処方薬をもらいに薬局に行く。
I'm going to the pharmacy to pick up my prescription.
この薬は処方薬なので、医師の処方箋が必要です。
This medicine is a prescription drug, so you need a doctor's prescription.
処方薬は用法・用量を守って正しく服用してください。
Please take prescription medicine correctly, following the prescribed dosage and instructions.
In Japan, prescription medicines are dispensed at 調剤薬局 (dispensing pharmacies) separate from the hospital. The doctor writes a 処方箋 (prescription), which the patient takes to a pharmacy. Contrasts with 市販薬 (over-the-counter medicine) and 一般用医薬品 (general-use pharmaceuticals). The verb pattern is 処方薬を処方する or 処方薬を出す (to prescribe medication).