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MCI issues new prescription format for doctors to ensure accurate & uniform prescriptions
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Shardul Nautiyal, Mumbai
January 30 , 2015
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Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) has recently issued a standard
prescription format for allopathic doctors in the state to boost an
accurate, uniform, standard and clear prescription for the sake of
patient safety. The new format, prepared by Medical Council of India
(MCI), is applicable for all doctors who practice allopathy in the
country.
Over 80,000 MMC-affiliated doctors are expected to start
using the new format from April onwards. MMC is a statutory body having
powers to suspend the license of a doctor who is found guilty of
malpractice.
The new format will be made available on the
website of Maharashtra Medical Council. Dr Shivkumar Utture, executive
member, MMC, says, "The format which took some time to be approved by
the executive committee has been prepared in consultation with all the
state councils of the country. This standard hard copy format is very
much required for prescribing medicines in the interest of patient
safety. The format also offers the physician to write generic medicines
based on the efficacy, affordability and availability of drugs."
As
per the new guidelines, allopathic doctors must write prescriptions
legibly and in capital letters as well as furnish a complete and
detailed prescription. The physicians have to also mandatorily mention
the patient's address and keep blank space in which the pharmacist can
specify his/her address. The comprehensive format includes the doctor's
full name, his/her qualification, patient's details, name of the generic
medicine or its equivalent along with the dosage, strength, dosage form
and instruction, name and address of medical store with pharmacist's
name and date of dispensing, as well as the doctor's signature and
stamp.
Experts say that doctors in some countries, including the
United States, print out prescriptions for the sake of clarity. In
several countries, printed prescriptions are mandatory because they are
not only legible, but also constitute a database of medication that the
patient has taken over the years.
This is in consonance to the
trend picking up for patients looking at online websites also like
HelpingDoc.com, Ask4Healthcare, bookmydoctor.com, Lybrate offering
doctor appointment and consultation. Amit Bansal, CEO, HelpingDoc
explains “We get around 200 consultation queries from NRI patients every
month. Sometimes patients need not to visit India for the consultation,
they get advice by the senior medical consultant through internet."
This may be some good news for Indian patients as the overall cost of
in-person primary physician appointment is high than compared to online
appointments. E-visits or online consultation is gaining traction in the
US.
On this Dr Utture opines, "Online consulting is permissible
but a standard prescription format will always offer authenticity and
clarity in the form of doctor's stamp and signature."
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