Punjab and Harayana HC asks doctors to write prescriptions clearly
New Delhi, Oct 1: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that patients have a fundamental right to legible medical prescriptions, warning that unclear handwriting can put lives at risk.
The case came up during a bail hearing involving charges of rape, cheating and forgery. While reviewing the medico-legal report, Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri said he was shocked to find it completely unreadable. “It shook the conscience of this court as not even a word or a letter was legible,” he wrote in his order. The BBC reported that the judgement included a copy of the illegible report and prescription.
The court directed that until hospitals switch to digital systems, all doctors must write prescriptions clearly in capital letters. It also asked governments to add handwriting training in medical colleges and to introduce electronic prescriptions within two years.
According to Lawyers Club India, the court expanded the matter beyond the original bail case, seeking responses from Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, the Union government, the National Medical Commission (NMC), and the Indian Medical Association (IMA). While some states had already asked doctors to use capital letters, the court went further, declaring that legible prescriptions are part of the right to health under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Doctors admit the challenge. Dr Dilip Bhanushali, president of the IMA, told the BBC that many government doctors work under heavy pressure. “It’s a well-known fact that many doctors have poor handwriting, but that’s because most medical practitioners are very busy,” he said, adding that digital prescriptions are becoming common in big cities, though rural areas still rely on handwritten notes.
Pharmacists say the risks are real. Wrong medicines have been given to patients in the past because of unclear writing. One pharmacist in Telangana told the BBC that he went to court in 2014 after a three-year-old girl in Noida died from being given the wrong injection. International studies have also highlighted the dangers. A US report once linked thousands of deaths to poor handwriting, while in the UK a woman suffered injuries after being given the wrong cream due to a misread prescription. The High Court will monitor compliance over the next year, saying that clear prescriptions are essential to protect patient safety.
