Indian Court Mandates Legible Handwriting for Doctors Amid Concerns Over Patient Safety

Fri Oct 03 2025 03:49:43 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

In a groundbreaking decision, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered doctors in India to ensure their handwriting is clear and legible, highlighting the critical importance of readable prescriptions in patient care. This order comes amidst ongoing issues with illegible doctor prescriptions leading to healthcare disparities.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court in India has ruled that legible handwriting in medical prescriptions is a fundamental right, emphasizing its importance for patient safety. The ruling was prompted by a case where illegible medical documents hindered the judicial process. The court has called for radical changes in prescription practices, including the introduction of digitized prescriptions and improved training for medical professionals. The issue highlights broader global concerns regarding sloppy handwriting in healthcare.

At a time when most people use keyboards to write, does handwriting really matter?

Yes, say Indian courts, if the writer is a doctor.

Jokes around the notoriously bad handwriting of many doctors that can only be deciphered by pharmacists are common in India, as around the world. But the latest order emphasising the importance of clear handwriting came recently from the Punjab and Haryana High Court which said that legible medical prescription is a fundamental right as it can make a difference between life and death.

The court order came in a case that had nothing to do with the written word. It involved allegations of rape, cheating, and forgery by a woman and Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri was hearing the man's petition for bail.

The woman had alleged that the man had taken money from her promising her a government job, conducted fake interviews with her, and sexually exploited her.

The accused denied the charges - he said they had a consensual relationship and the case was brought on because of a dispute over money.

Justice Puri said when he looked at the medico-legal report - written by a government doctor who had examined the woman - he found it incomprehensible.

It shook the conscience of this court as not even a word or a letter was legible, he wrote in the order.

The BBC has seen a copy of the judgement which includes the report and a two-page prescription which shows the doctor's unreadable scrawl.

At a time when technology and computers are easily accessible, it is shocking that government doctors are still writing prescriptions by hand which cannot be read by anybody except perhaps some chemists, Justice Puri wrote.

The court asked the government to include handwriting lessons in the medical school curriculum and set a two-year timeline for rolling out digitised prescriptions.

Dr. Dilip Bhanushali, president of Indian Medical Association, mentioned that while urban doctors are moving towards digital prescriptions, rural areas still struggle with clarity in handwritten prescriptions.

This isn't the first instance of Indian courts addressing this issue, with previous rulings emphasizing the need for clarity in medical documentation. The conversation around physician handwriting and patient safety continues to evolve, as calls for systemic changes and digitization grow more urgent.