DAWn't Do It & Other Prescription Best Practices
What to do (and what to avoid!) when writing prescriptions
Most order delays and failures we see trace back to how the original prescription was written, not the order itself. This guide covers the handful of things that make the biggest difference in getting prescriptions to process smoothly the first time.
1. Avoid indicating DAW unless you truly mean it
Honeybee dispenses generic items, and the specific manufacturer or NDC in stock may change over time. That's normal, and doesn't affect the medication itself. This only works, though, if the prescription doesn't restrict us to one specific product.
Do not indicate DAW (Dispense As Written) on a prescription unless you've already specified an exact manufacturer and NDC in your formulary and genuinely intend to restrict fulfillment to that specific product. Indicating DAW without that setup limits us to dispensing only the exact product written. If that specific product isn't what we have set up on your account, the order will fail and require a brand new prescription to resolve.
Do: Leave DAW off unless you have a specific manufacturer/NDC configured in your formulary and intend to restrict to it. Don't: Add DAW as a default or "just in case". It creates a hard restriction, not a preference.
2. Make sure written quantity actually supports the days' supply you want
If you want a patient to receive more than what's written per dispense in a single fill, the quantity written per dispense needs to actually support that, as refills alone don't extend how much an incoming e-script dispenses at once. API orders are the exception: they can dispense against the prescription's remaining total across refills.
For example, for a patient taking one tablet a day who you want covered for 6 months:
- Written for 30 tablets with 5 refills → each fill from an incoming e-script dispenses 30 tablets, a 30-day supply at a time. An API order can dispense the full 150-tablet total across refills in one shot.
- Written for 180 tablets (or a quantity that matches the days' supply you intend) → this supports the full 6-month coverage in a single fill.
As general pharmacy guidance, plan around no more than a 90-day supply per fill. If your program needs larger single fills, check with your Honeybee contact first.
Do: Write the quantity per dispense to match the days' supply you actually want per fill. Don't: Rely on refill count alone to make a single fill bigger than the written quantity supports.
3. Formatting custom NDCs for compounds
Sending a custom NDC through the sig or Rx comments has to be turned on for your account first. It's not enabled by default, so check with your Honeybee contact to get this turned on before relying on it.
Once enabled, when a compound medication requires a specific NDC, pass it through in the sig or Rx comments using this exact format:
NDC: 00000000000
A couple of details matter here:
- Always include the literal text
NDC: - Include one space after the colon before the NDC string itself
- Use the actual 11-digit NDC with no dashes, extra spaces, or additional text mixed in
This format is what allows our system to correctly parse and match the NDC. A missing colon, missing space, or extra characters can cause the NDC not to be recognized, which will hold up the order.
4. Rx comments are data fields, not notes
It's easy to think of the Rx comments field the way you might a general notes field, as somewhere to jot anything relevant. On our end, it's the opposite: we parse this field as structured data, not as freeform commentary.
Only include what's actually meant to be extracted, such as:
- Email address (if applicable)
- NDCs, formatted as shown above
- Patient ID information
- Other structured identifiers we've asked you to include
Do not add general notes, context, or explanations in this field. Anything outside of the expected data points can interfere with parsing or simply go unread as intended, since it's not treated as a note to a pharmacist.
5. Keep sigs clear and reasonably concise
Clear, unambiguous sigs help everything downstream go smoothly, but there is a cap of around 120 characters. If a sig runs long, we'll do our best to standardize it for clarity and legibility, but it's worth aiming for something clear and concise from the start rather than relying on us to trim it down.
Do: Write sigs that are clear and specific, and keep them under 120 characters where possible. Don't: Pack excessive detail into the sig field. If it needs more room than that, it likely belongs elsewhere (like treatment guides provided to the patient digitally).
Quick reference
| Practice | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Skip DAW unless intentional | Prevents hard-locking to one product/NDC and avoids avoidable order failures |
| Match written quantity to days' supply | Refill count adds more fills, it doesn't make one fill bigger |
Format NDCs as NDC: 00000000000 | Makes the NDC unmistakable for parsing and matching |
| Use Rx comments only for structured data | Comments are parsed as data fields, not read as freeform notes |
| Keep sigs clear and under 120 characters | Improves legibility, and anything longer will be trimmed for readability |
Questions?
If you're unsure how a specific prescription should be structured for your formulary or fulfillment setup, reach out to your Honeybee implementation contact before sending it through.