Doctors handwriting. Why its not legible????

doctors handwritingClick image to view the full image

I always use to look at a doctors prescription slip like its written in Greek!

Why do they write like this? Is there any certain reason behind it??

If anyone knows please tell.

16 Responses

  1. rachel Says:

    Through poor handwriting, much information in medical records can be understood only by the doctor who has diagonised that particular patient and not the others.

  2. Gowtham Says:

    But i really don’t know how the guy in the drug shop understands it.

  3. Karthik Says:

    @Rachel

    You are right. I was once told (I don’t remember by whom) that doctors write a certain way so that patients don’t get whats written on the prescription to avoid self medication. The druggists have to actually pass an exam or something to get a licence. So they know the names of the medicines, it’s contents and all that.

  4. Arun M Says:

    A way of telling the druggist “Hey.. take Rs. 200 from this guy and give me 100″?

  5. Gowtham Says:

    Karthik, Really? I didn’t knew.
    Arun M, You have a really good sense of humour. The post most memorable quotes was really funny.

  6. Marc Says:

    They probably write so many prescriptions that their handwriting becomes horrible. Naresh should be a doctor.

  7. Gowtham Says:

    Why not you. Nobody understands yours too.

  8. rachel Says:

    Exactly Gowtham, your right dude.

  9. Praveen Says:

    I posed this question to my relative who is a doctor and he says that it starts from legibile handwriting only, but after 2 to 3 years of writing 200 odd prescriptions per day, it becomes a “Kozhi Kirukkal”. I suppose. It has nothing to do with self medication worries and all…

  10. Gowtham Says:

    Karthik, Liar!!
    Praveen, Thanks for telling the truth dude. I started to believe what champ has told.

  11. Karthik Says:

    @Praveen,

    It’a always a good idea to take second opinion from another doctor ;) . My doctor told me that it was because of the reason i stated and druggists are supposed to do some course of some sort too. But then, maybe he was samalichifying. Who knows ?
    (and 200 presriptions a day ? Your relative must be minting money. :D )

    @Gowtham,

    Atleast you spelt my name right. Now, if you will be nice enough to change the spelling in the blogroll too. :P

  12. Gowtham Says:

    I might just change it but not the description :lol:

  13. Karthik Says:

    Damn!!

  14. Kate Gladstone Says:

    I teach handwriting to doctors when their hospitals have problems because of the doctors’ unreadable handwriting. For more information on the problem, visit http://www.handwritingrepair.info .

  15. Gowtham Says:

    @Kate
    Oh Good, so doctors don’t intentionally write with a terrible hand writing.

  16. rarfuls Says:

    8+ years of taking notes in med school, especially when the class moves fast, you develop your own shorthand style. However I think the issue with RX is that doctors and pharmacists both take Pharmacology class where they learn to write prescriptions. Also they use Latin abbreviations, as in the above example: Sig (Sigma, directions) qid (quater in die, 4x daily), per os (by mouth) etc….

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