Abstract: System and method are provided wherein a physician uses a handheld terminal to tap and select a prescription. At the time of writing the prescription, the terminal has information regarding the patient's drug insurance benefits (formulary compliance), as well as other patient medical history such as medications that the patient may currently be taking (drug utilization review) and any allergies. This patient information may be provided to the terminal from a database through the Web, a modem or an access point. Using this information the physician is able to provide the optimal patient prescription. The terminal has capabilities for voice recognition, biometric identification and GPS locator so that the prescribing physician's identity and location can be positively identified.