Orissa HC directs govt to ensure doctors write prescriptions in capital letters

The Orissa High Court in Cuttack recently issued an order directing the state’s doctors — working in government and private hospitals — to write “legible” prescriptions, preferably in capital letters.

The judge stated that a medical prescription should mot leave any room for uncertainty or interpretation. The order came after the judge found it difficult to read a prescription submitted by a prisoner seeking interim bail for a month to take care of his ailing wife.

The court also noted that illegible handwriting in prescriptions not only creates confusion for the patients but also the pharmacist, other doctors, police, prosecutors and judges who may have to go through such documents during the course of a hearing.