HT Impact | AIIMS-Patna asks docs to write prescription in capitals, after patient suffers paralytic attack due to wrong drug by chemist

A month after a patient suffers paralytic attack on being given wrong drugs by a chemist, who reportedly could not decipher the doctor’s writing on prescription, AIIMS-Patna has asked its doctors to write prescriptions of patients in legible, capital letters.

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna (AIIMS-P), on Monday instructed its doctors to write prescriptions of patients in capital letters, as mandated under Central government rules.

The All India Institute of Medical Science, Patna. (HT file photo)

The inter-office-memo comes a month after a patient suffered a paralytic attack on being supplied wrong drugs by a chemist, ostensibly as he could not decipher the doctor’s writing on the prescription. The Hindustan Times had reported about it on August 4, prompting the AIIMS administration to take suitable action.

Confirming the issuance of the order, medical superintendent Dr Umesh Bhadani told HT, “We have reiterated the government order and our doctors have been told to write prescriptions in capital letters.”

Acting on the patient’s complaint to the director, the AIIMS administration had issued a show-cause notice to the chemist on July 15. It had allegedly overlooked the lapse on the physician’s part.

The Centre had amended the Indian Medical Council Regulations-2002 to ensure that prescriptions issued by doctors spell drugs with generic names in legible, upper case letters. In this case, the AIIMS physician had clearly not followed the directive.

In her complaint, Rani said she subsequently suffered a paralytic attack, and had to be admitted to a private hospital.

Incidentally, the mix-up was pointed out by a consultant at AIIMS when Rani returned to the institute’s medicine department for a follow-up.