Hardly had the ink of the Times Cover page article “ Doctors get prescription for bad handwriting “ dried , that this intelligent , local newspaper reporter ( Re) seized the opportunity and scheduled an appointment with me .The receptionist ushered in the reporter . Niceties over , she started off with the questions right away.Re: Oh ! so you are a father of a school going child ?Me : ( amazed ! ) . How did you make that out ?Re: Nothing . Just noted the “ Improve Your Handwriting “ workbook lying next to your Harrison ( That’s our Bible , by the way ) below your stethoscope .Me: You are not completely wrong. Its me, trying out the workbook . Re: You ? Me: With citizens wanting the Doctors to clean up their A’s and B’s there was no other way. Me and my daughter now, together complete two pages a day – and then compare notes when I’m back home ! She even takes my workbook to her teacher for correction and comments and I am just equally comfortable getting those smilies or 4 on 10’s with ‘ pathetic ‘ , ‘ needs improvement ‘ in big bold red ink.Re: Tell me , Why do doctors have such bad handwriting ?Me: That’s not true . Just see them write / sign cheques – Perfectly legible – Banks have never complained ! Or for that matter - filling in IPO forms ( not that there are many ) , KYC forms , Passport / Visa application forms ... You name them – No complaints . ( Probably , all this online business came in just to do away with illegible writing business )Re: 7000 deaths every year occur in the US only, because of illegible prescriptions ?Me: So why don’t they use Arial / Calibri font in their computer generated prescriptions – rather than using the default ‘Doctor’s Script ‘ Font ? You mustn’t be knowing this , but even more left handers die because of gadgets made solely for convenience of right handers !Re: How do chemists manage to understand what you have written?Me: Well , even they have never complained ( As if some chemist would have the gall to chide a Doctor for his hand ) .Maybe they attend some tuition classes . I’ve heard there even is a book available on the stands “ Decipher what your Doctor has written “Re: Forty Lac prescriptions are written everyday in India . Don’t you believe Doctors ought to improve their handwriting ?Me: Agreed ,a good hand is always acceptable , but you won’t believe ,there have been cases when patients who on showing a perfectly and neatly written prescription have got reprimanded by their friends / relatives “ You sure ! You got this from a doctor - such good hand it is ! “Me ( Continuing ) : Fine tell me – How would you like you ECG to be . A neat clean straight line or the spiky , curvy , bumpy PQRST ( that’s ECG nomenclature ! ) one ? Take another example. Just imagine how easy it is for patients to understand what a functional tremor or parkinsonism hand writing would look like . Re : [ Silence ] Re: OK . Yoga will now be taught in the Medical Colleges as a part of undergraduate curriculum .What do you have to say ? ( There was a press note to this effect some time back )Me: Ramdev will then start teaching medicine !Re: Thank you doctor for sparing your time. Could I please have a reference of another doctor whom I can interview .Me – Sure . [ Scribbling a colleagues address and handing over to her my note ] Some twenty minutes later I get a phone call from her . “ Doctor , I showed a chemist the note you had scribbled for getting the directions to your colleague’s clinic , and this chemist has handed over these 2 drugs to me to be taken post meals “.