Long overdue, I really hated it when I would call around for the best pricing and say "I think this is what he wrote"
Wash. law forces doctors to write legible prescriptions
10:53 AM PDT on Tuesday, June 20, 2006
KING5.com Staff
OLYMPIA - Health care providers in Washington state can no longer write prescriptions in cursive. The law, passed by the legislature this year, is intended to protect patients from receiving the wrong medication because of illegible prescriptions.
"Until electronic prescribing tools are common to clinicians, a legibly written prescription may be one of the most important communications related to patient safety and reducing medication errors," said Steve Saxe, executive director of the Washington Board of Pharmacy. "This law is good for providers, pharmacists and consumers."
The law requires that all prescriptions be hand printed, typewritten or electronically generated. A legible prescription is defined as a medication order that can be read and understood by the pharmacist, nurse, or practitioner who must dispense it.
This law does not prohibit pharmacies from accepting an oral or faxed medication orders or prescriptions.
The law went into effect this month.
PS another reason why this is the best coast <G>
