Making a resolution of sorts this New Year, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has decided that all doctors practising in state should follow the new prescription guidelines put in place by the state Food and Drugs Administration (FDA).
According to the guidelines, not only will doctors have to write legibly in capital letters but they will also have to furnish a complete detailed prescription to ensure there is no chance of wrong medicine/treatment being given leading to (patient's) death. FDA has asked chemists to not give any medicine to people without a proper prescription.
IMA has been planing to organise a special workshop for new doctors in state to train them in writing legible prescriptions and giving proper dosage for specific diseases.
The format is comprehensive as it includes 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, and doctor's signature and stamp. The format has been ready for six months now, but very few doctors in state are following it.
"As of now, we are doing this initiative only for Maharashtra. It's difficult to write legibly with patient's complete details when one is dealing with nearly 100 patients daily, but it needs to be done for their benefit. We will make all our members understand the format and why it's important," said Dr Anil Pachekar, chairmen, IMA, state action committee.
FDA commissioner Purushottam Bhapkar said, "We have instructed chemists to not give medicines without a proper prescription. As for doctors, we can't force them to follow the format, just suggest that they do."
"Most of the format guidelines are as per the Medical Council of India, so every doctor has to follow it anyway. This is a good initiative by IMA..." said Dr Shivkumar Utture, member, Maharashtra Medical Council.
Every year, more than 5,000 pass the MBBS exam. An umbrella body of medical professionals, IMA has more than 36,000 doctors registered with its Maharashtra chapter.
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