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The right prescription for general physicians

DUBAI — If a doctor’s writing is illegible, it can lead to various kinds of errors.

To begin with, one can end up receiving wrong medication. “You can get wrong tablets if pharmacists misread prescriptions, thanks to doctors’ illegible handwriting,” says EK Radhakrishnan, Director of Creative Inc, who claims to have set up a new computer programme to tackle general physicians (GPs) who scribble.

Nearly a quarter of medication errors are caused by illegible handwriting, according to a research conducted with the assistance of the US-based Oregon Hospital pharmacy.

“Hardly any patient ever questions the medicine given on prescription or comes back to check with a doctor if he has bought the right one,” says Dr M Khan, a general practitioner in Sharjah.

Explaining the need for the Healing Touch and Easy Counsel, a highly user-friendly software for polyclinics launched in Dubai recently and now on its way to Bahrain once it gets clearance, Radhakrishnan says, “Generic ingredients in medicines have several brand names that sound similar. One of the reasons why GPs recommend pharmacies near their clinics is not because they are getting cuts, but because pharmacists there are familiar with the handwriting. Even though the doctor may be a genius, his handwriting isn’t always of the best quality.”

Regarding his unique software programme, Radhakrishnan says, “Even a doctor without the basic knowledge of computer technology can learn it within 15 minutes. Just with the click of a mouse, the accurate prescription can be given.”