How to Build a Prescription (e-Prescribe) UI in React

Prescribing UI is one of those features that looks small and turns out fiddly. You need medication entry, dosage, priority, and categories — all captured cleanly and stored as a proper record connected to the patient. Build it yourself and you're writing input forms, dosage logic, and FHIR storage. With pre-built components, you get both a quick-entry widget and a full prescription form as drop-ins. This guide shows you how, step by step.

The toolkit we recommend is ClinikAPI — a FHIR-native platform with a React component library. Here's why we suggest it up front:

• Free to start: Get your API keys in seconds — no credit card needed.
• Two options: PrescriptionWidget for speed, PrescriptionForm for full detail.
• Stored as FHIR: Each prescription is a connected medication record.
• Themeable: A theme prop makes them match your app.
• Compliant: HIPAA-compliant, SOC 2-audited, with a signed BAA.

Quick Answer

To build a prescription UI in React, use a pre-built FHIR-native component instead of hand-building the form. ClinikAPI offers two: PrescriptionWidget for quick medication entry, and PrescriptionForm for full prescriptions with dosage, priority, and category. You add the component, point it at a small backend route (the proxyUrl), and pass a patientId, and the medication is stored as a FHIR record connected to the chart. You skip building inputs, dosage handling, and storage. Note that the components create and store the prescription record — actually transmitting it to a pharmacy (true e-prescribing) is a separate, regulated step through a certified network. The proxy keeps your secret key server-side, and a theme prop matches your app.

Two components, two speeds

Prescribing has two modes, and there's a component for each:

• Quick entry — you just need to add a medication fast. Use PrescriptionWidget.
• Full prescription — you need dosage, priority, and category. Use PrescriptionForm.

Pick based on the moment: a fast add versus a complete, detailed prescription.

Step 1: Install and set up the proxy

Install the components and SDK, and set up the backend proxy route:

npm install @clinikapi/react @clinikapi/sdk

Both prescription components POST { action, data } to your route; you route the prescriptions.create action to the SDK:

// app/api/clinik/route.ts — server-only
import { Clinik } from '@clinikapi/sdk'

const clinik = new Clinik(process.env.CLINIKAPI_SECRET_KEY!)

export async function POST(req: Request) {
  const { action, data } = await req.json()
  // Authenticate + authorize for data.patientId first.
  switch (action) {
    case 'prescriptions.create':
      return Response.json(await clinik.prescriptions.create(data))
    default:
      return Response.json({ error: 'Unknown action' }, { status: 400 })
  }
}

The SDK call resolves to { data, meta } — a FHIR medication record plus a meta with requestId, status, and rate-limit fields. (See the dashboard tutorial for the full route and proxyUrl="demo" mode.)

Step 2: Quick medication entry

For a fast add, the PrescriptionWidget is the lightweight option:

import { PrescriptionWidget } from '@clinikapi/react'

<PrescriptionWidget
  proxyUrl="/api/clinik"
  patientId={patientId}
  theme="light"
/>

Step 3: Full prescription

When you need the full detail — dosage, priority, category — use PrescriptionForm:

import { PrescriptionForm } from '@clinikapi/react'

<PrescriptionForm
  proxyUrl="/api/clinik"
  patientId={patientId}
  theme="light"
/>

Either way, the prescription is stored as a FHIR medication record, connected to the patient's chart.

What you skipped

Product Insight: Why ClinikAPI Fits Prescribing

Prescribing data that's disconnected from the chart is dangerous. ClinikAPI keeps it connected and standard.

What you get:

• PrescriptionWidget — quick medication entry.
• PrescriptionForm — full prescriptions with dosage, priority, category.
• FHIR records — connected to the patient and your data.
• The proxy pattern — your secret key stays server-side.
• Compliance included — HIPAA-compliant, SOC 2-audited, with a signed BAA.

See them in the UI Library, and read the DEA prescribing guide for the e-prescribing side.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I build a prescription UI in React?

Use ClinikAPI's PrescriptionWidget (quick entry) or PrescriptionForm (full detail). Add one with a proxyUrl and patientId, and the record is created and stored as FHIR.

2. What's the difference between the two?

PrescriptionWidget is fast, lightweight medication entry; PrescriptionForm is the full version with dosage, priority, and category.

3. Are prescriptions stored as FHIR?

Yes — as connected FHIR medication records, part of the patient's chart.

4. Do these handle e-prescribing to a pharmacy?

They create and store the record; transmitting to a pharmacy is a separate, regulated step through a certified network.

5. Can I theme them?

Yes — both take a theme prop (like light or dark).

Conclusion

Prescribing UI is fiddlier than it looks — entry, dosage, priority, and a connected record. With PrescriptionWidget and PrescriptionForm, you get both quick entry and full prescriptions as drop-ins, each stored as FHIR and connected to the chart, with no forms or storage to build. Place the component that fits the moment, provide a patient ID, and prescribing is handled — leaving the regulated pharmacy-transmission step to a certified network.

Key takeaways:

• Prescribing has two modes: quick entry and full prescription.
• PrescriptionWidget is fast; PrescriptionForm adds dosage, priority, category.
• Both store the prescription as a connected FHIR medication record.
• Transmitting to a pharmacy is a separate, regulated step.
• The proxy pattern keeps your secret key server-side.

Ready to build? Explore the UI Library or get your free API keys.

Related Articles

• How to Build a Patient Dashboard in React
• DEA Telehealth Prescribing: Controlled Substances
• Healthcare React Component Library: The Complete Guide
• Pre-Built Healthcare UI Components
• What is FHIR? A Developer's Guide