Court Orders Doctors To Write Better: 'Write Clearly Or Go Digital'
Declaring illegible prescriptions a threat to patient safety, the High Court directed doctors to ditch messy handwriting and either write in bold, capital letters or move to digital systems.
If patients have been struggling to decipher their doctors’ handwriting, they now have an unlikely ally, the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Justice Jasburpreet Singh Puri recently admitted that while examining a medico-legal report in a bail hearing, he couldn’t understand a single word. His observation was blunt: “The conscience of the court was shaken by the fact that not a single word or letter in the report was legible." To make the point hit home, he even attached the report to his order.
As reported by BBC, the case that triggered this observation involved charges of rape, fraud and forgery. But what stood out in the courtroom was not just the criminal allegations; it was the doctor’s near-indecipherable scrawl.
Prescriptions Must Be Readable, Or Typed
Declaring illegible prescriptions a threat to patient safety, the High Court directed doctors to ditch messy handwriting and either write in bold, capital letters or move to digital systems. Until a full-scale digital prescription network is rolled out, prescriptions must be clear enough for both patients and pharmacists to understand.
The court also asked the government to introduce handwriting training in medical education. Most importantly, it has set a strict deadline: within two years, the country should have a digital prescription system in place. Justice Puri pointedly remarked that in an era where computers are everywhere, it was “shocking” that government doctors still rely on handwritten notes, which perhaps only a few chemists can read.”
Doctors Push Back On Practicality
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) acknowledged the directive but highlighted the realities of India’s healthcare system. “We are ready for a solution," said Dr Dilip Bhanushali, President of the IMA, in an interview with the BBC. He explained that while big hospitals in urban centres are already using digital prescriptions, rural areas and small clinics face real hurdles.
“It’s a well-known fact that many doctors have poor handwriting, but that’s because most medical practitioners are very busy, especially in overcrowded government hospitals," Dr Bhanushali admitted. He added, “We have recommended to our members to follow the government guidelines and write prescriptions in bold letters that should be readable to both patients and chemists. A doctor who sees seven patients a day can do it, but if you see 70 patients a day, you can’t do it."
A Ruling Patients Might Cheer
For patients long frustrated by incomprehensible squiggles passed off as prescriptions, this verdict might feel like sweet relief.
By bringing both accountability and technology into the equation, the High Court has turned a long-running medical joke into a serious legal mandate, one that could finally make prescriptions readable outside the chemist’s shop.
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