How to Read a Doctor's Prescription in India: OD, BD, TDS, 1-0-1

Indian prescriptions use a compact shorthand that saves the doctor time and confuses almost everyone else. Once you know a dozen abbreviations, most prescriptions become easy to follow. This guide explains the common ones as general reference, and shows how mydawAI turns them into reminders so you never have to decode them at 9 PM again.

What does 1-0-1 mean on a prescription?

The number pattern 1-0-1 means one dose in the morning, nothing in the afternoon and one dose at night. Each position is a time of day: morning, afternoon, night. Some doctors write four positions to include the evening.

• 1-0-0: one dose in the morning only
• 0-0-1: one dose at night only
• 1-1-1: one dose morning, afternoon and night
• 1-0-1: morning and night
• 1/2-0-1/2: half a tablet in the morning and half at night
• 1-1-1-1: four doses spread through the day

The pattern tells you how many and roughly when, but not the exact clock time. That is why mydawAI asks you to pick a time (say 8:00 AM for "morning") whenever only a pattern is written.

What do OD, BD, TDS and QID mean?

OD, BD, TDS and QID describe how many times a day to take a medicine: once, twice, three times and four times. They come from Latin shorthand that is still common in Indian clinics.

Your doctor may use these slightly differently, so treat the table as a starting point and confirm with them.

What do HS and SOS mean?

HS means at bedtime, and SOS means only if needed, for example when pain or fever comes back. An HS medicine gets a single night reminder. An SOS medicine usually should not get a fixed reminder at all, because it is not meant to be taken on a schedule.

When mydawAI reads an SOS medicine from a prescription, it leaves the time empty and asks you what you want, instead of inventing a schedule. That small rule matters: a reminder for an "as needed" painkiller could push someone to take it when they do not need it.

What do AC and PC mean?

AC means before food and PC means after food. Some prescriptions write it in plain words or in Hindi, such as "khane ke baad". These instructions affect how well some medicines work or how your stomach handles them, so they belong in your reminder.

We go deeper on this in our guide to before food, after food and with food. In mydawAI, the food instruction is saved with each dose, so your WhatsApp reminder says it right there.

How do I read the duration and quantity?

The duration is usually written as "x 5 days", "for 1 month" or "continue". The quantity sits next to the medicine name, for example "Tab. 500 mg" or "Syp. 5 ml". Read them in this order:

1. Medicine form and name (Tab., Cap., Syp., Inj.)
2. Strength (500 mg, 5 ml)
3. Dose pattern (1-0-1 or BD)
4. Food instruction (AC or PC)
5. Duration (x 5 days, continue)

If any one of those five is missing or smudged, that is exactly the gap a good reminder app should ask you about.

Why are handwritten prescriptions so hard to follow?

Handwriting, brand names that look alike and dense shorthand all make mistakes easy. Two medicines with similar names can do very different things, and a misread "1-0-1" as "1-1-1" means an extra dose every day.

This is why mydawAI never guesses. When it reads a photo, a medicine name it is not confident about gets a "did I read this right?" question, and nothing is saved until you have checked the whole list yourself.

How does mydawAI turn a prescription into reminders?

You snap a photo or upload a PDF, mydawAI reads the medicines, doses and timing patterns, asks about anything missing, and you confirm. After that, reminders arrive on WhatsApp with a single Taken button.

• Times come only from what is written (1-0-1, OD, BD, TDS, HS or an explicit time)
• Anything missing, like SOS or no timing at all, becomes a follow-up question
• You can assign the medicines to yourself or to a family member
• Nothing is saved until you confirm

The full walkthrough is in how to turn a prescription photo into medicine reminders.

Start following your prescription without decoding it

Reading the shorthand is useful. Never having to think about it again is better. mydawAI reads your prescription, sets up the schedule with you, reminds you and your family on WhatsApp, and asks your local pharmacy for a refill when stock runs low, only after you say yes. It is free while in beta. Sign up free and send your first prescription today.