Odisha’s Directive To Doctors After Court’s ‘Zig-Zag Handwriting’ Observation

The Odisha government has asked all doctors to write prescriptions in legible handwriting, an official notification said.

In accordance with an instruction from the Orissa High Court in this regard, Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena has issued the order.

“All registered medical practitioners/medical officers of government peripheral health care facilities, medical colleges, private clinics and private medical colleges are to write prescriptions in proper legible handwriting or in typed form as per guidelines of National Medical Commission,” the order issued on Thursday said.

Similarly, the medico-legal reports and post-mortem reports are to be written either in capital letters or in a typed form or in good legible handwriting to ensure appreciation of evidence in the judicial system, it said.

While disposing of a petition, the high court, in its order on January 4, said, “In many cases, the casual approach of most of the doctors while writing the post-mortem report is affecting the comprehension of medico-legal documents badly and the judicial system finds it very difficult to read those letters and come to a definite conclusion.”

Moreover, the tendency of writing such zig-zag handwriting, which cannot be read by any common man or by judicial officers, has become a fashion among the doctors of the state, the court observed.

The high court directed the chief secretary to issue a circular to all the medical centres, private clinics and medical colleges and hospitals directing them to write in proper handwriting or in a type of form when they are prescribing medicine or writing some medico-legal reports.

The court also expected that doctors, who are dealing with medico-legal issues and writing casually with very poor handwriting, write either in capital letters or in a typed form or in good handwriting so that the judicial system does not suffer from unnecessary fatigue in reading their handwriting.