To ensure that patients are given the prescribed medicines correctly, Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) is set to formulate a new prescription format for its doctors. The decision comes soon after the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) came out with guidelines for prescription that it wants all doctors to follow.

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MMC president Dr Kishor Taori said: "We are in the process of formulating an ideal prescription format that will be sent to all doctors. FDA had taken a good step but its guidelines were very administrative."

Talking about the importance of having an ideal format, Taori said world over there is the problem of patients suffering because of badly-written prescriptions. "These days, there are so many medicines with similar sounding names that the chances of a chemist interpreting a badly-written prescription wrong are very high," Taori added.

Taori said once MMC sends the ideal format, doctors have to follow it as MMC is the statutory body to take decisions on such issues. "We had got many complaints from doctors about the guidelines FDA had set for prescription. FDA just wants to ensure that patients are not at the receiving end of doctors not writing properly. Our new format will ensure that FDA's worry is taken care of," he added.

According to MMC, the ideal format will include legible writing and mention of proper dosage of the medicine. "The prescription will also carry a MMC helpline along with the doctor's MMC registration number. This will help the patient identify a quack and, in case there is medical negligence, s/he will know whom to contact," said Taori.

MMC has issued an advisory to its members to write the brand name of the medicine with its generic name in brackets for the drugs prescribed, along with his/her signature and MMC registration number. To ensure this is strictly adhered to, it has also asked chemists to coordinate and help it enforce the order.