Prescription: A Situation Analysis in Indian Health Care System

Abstract

A prescription is the vital written communication from physician to patient, which consist of instruction to pharmacist on dispensing of drug regimen. Prescription writing is a critical task that suggests prescriber’s responsibility towards the safe prescribing and monitoring to provide clinical care to the patient thus carries legal implications. Physicians oftentimes scribble down and take shortcuts in writing down drug orders that are not legible. Illegible writing leads to medication errors. Any errors in prescription writing have to be eliminated by addressing properly with regard to its regulations and rationale. Errors due to handwritten prescription can be eliminated by generating prescription using computer or electronic devices. Computerized prescriptions are suggested in many studies which have shown relatively lower rates of error as compared to handwritten prescriptions. It is need of the hour that the proposed changes in the prescription writing regulations should be implemented in a small region as pilot, outcome should be assessed and the final regulation and change to computerization should be implemented throughout the nation.

Keywords: Prescription writing; Medication errors; Record linkage; Computerised; prescription; Personal identification number