KDA chairman writes to Health Minister to mandate doctor prescriptions in Kannada

KDA urges Karnataka government to mandate doctors in government hospitals to write prescriptions in Kannada for language preservation.

The Kannada Development Authority (KDA) has written to Karnataka government to make it mandatory for doctors in all government hospitals to write prescriptions in Kannada.

In a letter to Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Monday (Septemeber 10, 2024), KDA Chairman Purushottam Bilimale said that the government should direct all doctors in government-run facilities to write prescriptions in Kannada instead of English.

Stating that such a move would help the growth of Kannada language in the State, The KDA chairman said: “If government doctors working in health centres, taluk and district hospitals across the State prioritise Kannada while writing prescriptions, it will be a major step towards protecting the identity of Kannada language. I request you to look into it and mandate prescriptions in Kannada.”

Pointing out that his recent visit to Raichur district motivated doctors in the government hospital there to write prescriptions in Kannada, Mr Bilimale said: “I asked the Deputy Commissioner to issue necessary directions in this regard to the doctors there. After reading about it in the media, hundreds of doctors voluntarily have expressed to me that they will start writing prescriptions in Kannada to save the language.”

“The government should recognise and honour doctors who promote Kannada in their work. Doctors should be felicitated annually on Doctors’ Day at the taluk, district, and State levels for their commitment to using the language. The government should also motivate doctors and hospital administrators in the private sector to use the language in their practice,” the letter stated.

However, sources in the Karnataka Government Medical Officers Association (KGMOA) said it was practically not possible for doctors to write prescriptions and medical terms in Kannada. “For this, both the patient and pharmacist should know the language. Also, it is difficult to write the generic names of medicines in the local language. There are chances of it being misread and the risk of dispensing wrong medicines will be high,” sources said.