Indian High Court demands doctors fix ‘illegible’ handwriting

It is a universally accepted truth that doctors often have poor handwriting, and their scripts are frequently illegible to the layperson.

While this is often played off as a joke, the Indian court has decided that enough is enough, and doctors must improve their penmanship.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court ruled that ‘legible medical prescriptions are a fundamental right’ and can be the difference between life and death.

This was declared in a completely unrelated case involving allegations of rape, cheating and forgery.

However, when the judge looked at the medico-legal report written by a government doctor who examined the woman, he found it completely illegible.

“He said it was a spidery, unreadable scrawl,” says international correspondent Adam Gilchrist.

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

International News Correspondent Adam Gilchrist in conversation with Bongani Bingwa.

Listen to the full interview in the audio below: