Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: In a move that would help ease the pain of the common man, the government is set to come out with gazette notification asking doctors to prescribe medicines in capital letters to make them 'legible'.
The Union Health Ministry will also ask doctors to mention the generic names of drugs they prescribe.
“The Health Ministry will come out with gazette notification under the MCI regulations. Under this, the prescription should be legible and preferably written in capital letters along with the names of the generic drug prescribed,” a senior Union Health Ministry official was quoted as saying to PTI.
This will help reduce prescription errors as a result of doctor's illegible handwriting while enabling patients buy medicines cheap.
As per sources, the notification is likely to be issued by the Ministry within a week's time.
However, there would no penalties or punishment for the doctor as such for not writing in capital letters, added the senior health ministry official, adding that like all other MCI regulations, this too will govern the doctors.
Last year, Health Minister J P Nadda had shared the concern voiced by some MPs in Parliament that illegible prescriptions may have serious implications for patients and could lead even to death in some cases.
“The central government has approved to amend Indian Medical Council Regulations, 2002, providing therein that every physician should prescribe drugs with generic names in legible and capital latters and he/she shall ensure that there is a rational prescription and use of drugs,”Nadda had said.
K K Aggarwal of Indian Medical Association (IMA) said writing in capital letters will help decrease prescription errors and will be a cheaper alternative to electronic health records.
While India does not have any data on this, in US alone, around 100,000 medication errors occur every year.
(With Agency inputs)
