An order for a medication, therapy or therapeutic device given by a properly authorised person, which ultimately goes to a person properly authorised to dispense, supply or perform the order (in most situations, a pharmacist).

The prescribed medication, therapy or therapeutic device must be listed in the Schedule of Pharmaceutical Benefits.

A category into which the prescription drugs, medicinal and therapeutic products included in the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) can be classified.

PBS items are differentiated via a number of characteristics, including:

• the active ingredient of the medicinal or therapeutic product,
• the strength of the medicinal or therapeutic product, often expressed in terms of the weight or liquid concentration of the active ingredient,
• the form of the medicinal or therapeutic product and its manner of administration, e.g. a tablet, a capsule, an oral liquid, an injection etc.,
• the maximum quantity of the medicinal or therapeutic product to be supplied at any one time, 
• the number of repeats, i.e. either a 'single supply' prescription that allows no repeats, or a prescription that allows the supply of a number of repeats up to a specific maximum number,
• any other restrictions associated with the use of the medicinal or therapeutic product, e.g. specific clinical criteria that must be met in order for the product to be administered,
• the specific scheme under which the medicinal or therapeutic product is prescribed and/or any associated benefit is administered.

Drugs and medicinal or therapeutic products can be classified in a number of ways, e.g. their intended clinical effect, the body system they are intended to influence, or the level of government subsidy they attract due to their inclusion (or otherwise) in the Schedule of Pharmaceutical Benefits as part of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).