AIIMS Patna doctors instructed to write prescriptions in block letters.

All India Institute of Medical Sciences- Patna (AIIMS-P) on Monday instructed its doctors to write prescriptions in capital letters. The notification was issued to avoid any untoward incident arising out of wrong medicine given to the patient by the chemist due to the illegible handwriting of doctors. This step was taken in the wake of a complaint made to the hospital administration by a patient who suffered a paralytic attack after a private drugstore on its campus provided her wrong medicine. The patient exhibited malarial symptoms and was prescribed Lumerax-80  June 28. However, the medical shop provided her with Luramax-80, a medicine that is used to treat psychiatric symptoms. The chemist argued that he couldn’t decipher the doctor’s writing properly. AIIMS medical superintendent Dr. Umesh Kumar Badani on Monday after holding discussions with AIIMS director Dr. P K Singh issued a notice to all the departments stating that as per the central government rules, the prescriptions should be legible and written in capital letters. He said that this notice should be strictly followed by all departments. The Indian Medical Council has also laid down rules that every doctor should prescribe drugs with generic names in legible and capital letters. They should also ensure that there is a rational prescription and use of drugs.