Receita vs. prescrição
In Portuguese, both receita and prescrição can be translated as a medical prescription. However, they are not always interchangeable. Receita is the common, everyday term, while prescrição is more formal and technical, referring to the act of prescribing itself.
Receita
A2This is the most common and widely used word for a medical prescription. It typically refers to the physical piece of paper that a doctor gives to a patient, which is then taken to a pharmacy to get medicine.
O médico escreveu a receita para o analgésico.
(The doctor wrote the prescription for the painkiller.)
Preciso ir à farmácia para comprar os remédios da minha receita.
(I need to go to the pharmacy to buy the medicines on my prescription.)
Você trouxe a receita para os óculos novos?
(Did you bring the prescription for the new glasses?)
Perdi a receita e terei que voltar ao consultório.
(I lost the prescription and will have to go back to the doctor's office.)
O farmacêutico pediu para ver a minha receita antes de me dar o antibiótico.
(The pharmacist asked to see my prescription before giving me the antibiotic.)
Prescrição
B2This is a more formal and technical term. It refers to the official medical instruction or the act of prescribing a treatment, medication, or therapy. It is often used in legal, academic, or professional medical contexts.
A prescrição de medicamentos controlados segue regras muito rígidas.
(The prescription of controlled substances follows very strict rules.)
Um erro na prescrição médica pode ser muito perigoso para o paciente.
(An error in a medical prescription can be very dangerous for the patient.)
O estudo analisa os padrões de prescrição de antibióticos no país.
(The study analyzes the patterns of antibiotic prescription in the country.)
A automedicação, ou seja, o uso de remédios sem prescrição médica, é desaconselhada.
(Self-medication, that is, the use of medicine without a medical prescription, is discouraged.)
A prescrição do tratamento não se limitava a remédios, incluindo também fisioterapia.
(The prescription of the treatment was not limited to medicine, also including physical therapy.)
Summary
In daily life, when talking about the doctor's note you take to the pharmacy, always use receita. Prescrição is a more formal term you would encounter in news reports, legal documents, or medical discussions about the act or concept of prescribing treatments or medications. For everyday conversation, receita is the correct and natural choice.