Expressing surprise and shock over handwritten prescriptions given by government doctors in the age of computers, the Punjab and Haryana High Court stated the right to know medical status is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution. The observation was made by the High Court today during the hearing of an anticipatory bail plea of the accused in a rape case when the court was examining the Medico-legal Report (MLR) of the rape victim filed by the Haryana government.
A single bench of Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri noted, “The handwriting in the aforesaid MLR is absolutely illegible and cannot be understood at all. It is very surprising and shocking to note that in this era of computers, the notes on medical history and prescriptions by government doctors are written by hand which cannot be ready by anybody except perhaps some doctors. This court also has seen in a number of cases where even the medical prescription is written in such handwriting which nobody can read except perhaps some Chemists. The same is the position in the State of Punjab and probably in the UT Chandigarh also”.
The right to know medical prescriptions is a fundamental right
Justice Puri emphasised that the treatment given to a human being is a part of life and thus it should be considered as a fundamental right. “…to have the knowledge about the medical prescription by the doctor and the notes on the medical history is prima facie a right which is vested in the patient or the attendants to pursue the same and apply the mind, especially in today’s technological world. It will not be out of place to even note that the right to know the medical status of a human being can also be considered a Fundamental Right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Health and the treatment given to a human being is a part of life and therefore, it may be considered as part of the right to life,” the judge stated.
Highlighting the rampancy of the problem in Punjab and Chandigarh, the court sought the assistance of Advocate Generals of Haryana and Punjab and Senior Standing Counsel of the UT of Chandigarh. The court invited suggestions regarding the remedial and corrective measures that can be taken regarding the illegible writing on the medical notes.
“This court therefore requests the learned Advocate General, Punjab and the learned Senior Standing Counsel, U.T., Chandigarh to also assist this court on the aforesaid issue as to what remedial and corrective measures can be taken with regard to the illegible writing on the medical notes and also on the prescriptions not only by the government doctors but also by the private doctors in both the States and U.T., Chandigarh”, the court said. “It deems it fit and proper to request the Advocate General, Haryana to assist this court on the issue,” the court added. The court also the assistance of the National Medical Commission and adjourned the matter to 13th February.
Orissa High Court asked doctors to write in capital letters
Last year in January, the Orissa High Court directed the state government to mandate doctors to write prescriptions in readable handwriting or capital letters. Justice Panigrahi asked the chief secretary to send a circular to the state’s government, private medical institutes and hospitals requiring doctors to write the names of medications clearly or in capital letters in prescriptions. The court noted that it should be followed in the case of post-mortem reports as well.
While examining a post-mortem report written by Dr Biswaranjan Pati, the Judge said that it cannot be understood in an ordinary course of reading unless the writer of the report himself, or a handwriting expert, is given the opportunity to examine such description.
UP court fined a doctor Rs 5000 for poor handwriting
In October 2018, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court imposed a penalty of ₹5000 each on three doctors in separate cases for their illegible handwriting. The order came when the court was examining the injury reports of victims issued by the district hospitals of Sitapur, Unnao and Gonda. The court said that the injury reports were not readable because of very poor handwriting. Calling this the obstruction of the court’s work, the court summoned the three doctors who wrote the reports and imposed penalties on them. The court directed the Principal Secretary (Medical and Health) to ensure that in future the medico reports are prepared in easy and legible handwriting.
Courts deal with medical reports including MLR, injury reports and post-mortem reports in various cases regularly. Medical reports make for crucial evidence in certain cases. Therefore, the frustration of courts over medical reports written in illegible handwriting that leads to delay is justifiable.
