UAE bans handwritten medical prescriptions

DUBAI — Doctors in the UAE can no longer issue handwritten medical prescriptions. The Ministry of Health and Prevention has issued a circular, directing doctors to issue only electronic or printed medical prescriptions.

Medical practitioners have been given six months from the issuance of the circular to comply with the directive.

According to the ministry, the move will prevent wrong dispensing of medicines by pharmacists due to ‘illegible handwriting on prescriptions’. “Such errors could lead to wrong medications being dispensed or incorrect doses recommended and this could cause serious complications in some cases,” said the ministry.

Dr Amin Hussein Al Amiri, assistant undersecretary for the ministry’s public health policy and licensing, said handwritten prescriptions issued by government or private medical facilities would not be accepted after the deadline. According to him, there are specific UAE laws that mandate precise details to be clearly

written on the medical prescription, including the medicine name, dosage, route of administration, the name of the patient and the doctor, the physician’s signature, and the date of the prescription.

He revealed that errors due to illegible medical prescription is a “global phenomenon”. A US study conducted by the Medical Institute in Washington concluded that unreadable prescriptions lead to about 7,000 deaths worldwide.

“Although the number of such cases in the UAE is small, the ministry has acted to curb these preventable mistakes.”

reporters@khaleejtimes.com