The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed doctors to improve prescription handwriting, emphasizing that legible medical orders are a patient right.
During a recent hearing in a case involving rape, cheating, and forgery, the Indian Court found a medico-legal report written by a government doctor completely illegible. Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri said poor handwriting in prescriptions can pose serious risks to patient safety.
The Indian Court issued specific guidelines to address the problem. Medical schools must include handwriting lessons in their curriculum. Until digitization is fully implemented, doctors are instructed to write prescriptions in capital letters. Additionally, the government is required to roll out digital prescription systems within two years.
Dr. Dilip Bhanushali, president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), welcomed the guidelines but highlighted practical challenges. While digital prescriptions are common in major cities, rural areas and small towns still rely heavily on handwritten notes. Overcrowded hospitals, where a single doctor may see over 70 patients daily, make neat handwriting difficult.
The IMA has urged doctors to follow the court’s directions and write prescriptions clearly to prevent errors. Poor handwriting has caused serious medical errors worldwide. A 1999 report from the US Institute of Medicine linked sloppy writing to 7,000 preventable deaths annually. Similar incidents in Scotland and India have caused chemical injuries and fatal medication mistakes.
Past cases in India, such as a 2014 incident in Noida where a young girl received the wrong injection, highlight the urgent need for change. The Medical Council of India previously recommended legible, capital-letter prescriptions for generic drug names.
Pharmacists across the country continue to face challenges with illegible prescriptions. Experts stress that the issue is about patient safety rather than aesthetics. With the Indian Court enforcing these measures, India may move closer to safer, error-free medical practices nationwide.
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