The Supreme Court has refused to hear the petition in which it was demanded to make it mandatory for doctors to tell patients about the side effects of medicines. The bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Vishwanathan termed this demand impractical.
Lawyer Prashant Bhushan appeared in the court on behalf of petitioner Jacob Wadakkanchery, resident of Ernakulam, Kerala. Citing the report of the World Health Organization (WHO), he said that a large number of people around the world become victims of the side effects of medicines. It should be made mandatory for doctors to record information about side effects of every medicine while writing prescriptions.
On this the judges said that in this way the doctor would not be able to see more than 10-15 patients in a whole day. Bhushan said that doctors can enter information about side effects of medicines in pre-printed formats. The court said, "Different medicines are given to every patient. The suggestion of pre-written format also does not seem practical."
Justice Gavai said that health centers in India are already very crowded. In such a situation, how can doctors find time to write down the side effects of medicines on every patient's prescription? Doctors are already upset that their work has been placed under the Consumer Protection Act.
