Prescription format in India.
What a valid Rx contains.

What the rules say

There is no single “prescription law” in India. The format a prescription must follow comes from three places: the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002, which tell doctors how to write; the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, which tell pharmacists what they may dispense against it; and, for prescriptions issued remotely, the Telemedicine Practice Guidelines of 2020. Put together, they describe a document that is clear, traceable to a registered doctor, and complete enough for a pharmacist to act on without guessing.

This is a practical summary, not legal advice.

What a valid prescription contains

The doctor

Name, qualifications and the registration number with the State Medical Council or the National Medical Commission; the regulations require the registration number to appear on every prescription and certificate. The clinic’s name, address and phone number belong on the letterhead.

The patient

Name, age and sex, and the date of the prescription. For a child, the weight is often added, because doses depend on it.

The medicines

The regulations ask doctors to prescribe legibly, preferably in capital letters, and preferably by generic name. For each medicine: the name, the strength, the dosage form (tablet, syrup, drops), the dose, the frequency, the route and the duration — “TAB. AMOXICILLIN 500 mg, 1 tablet three times a day after food for 5 days” leaves nothing to interpret. Schedule H and H1 medicines may be dispensed only against a prescription, and the pharmacist records Schedule H1 sales in a register that includes the prescriber’s details, so missing details can stop a patient being served.

Advice and follow-up

Investigations ordered, diet and activity advice, warning signs, and when to come back. A follow-up date on the prescription is a follow-up that happens.

The signature

A physical signature, or a digital or electronic signature on an electronic prescription. The Telemedicine Practice Guidelines expressly allow a signed or digitally signed e-prescription to be sent to the patient or their pharmacy.

Digital prescriptions on Treatlly

Treatlly’s Digital Prescriptions add-on (₹499 a month for the clinic) produces this document without the handwriting. Each doctor uploads a signature once and builds their own templates. Medicines, lab tests, diagnosis and advice are typed or picked from a template, previewed on the clinic’s letterhead, and signed into a PDF with the doctor’s signature and a tamper-check stamp. A signed prescription cannot be edited; a correction creates a new version, and every version stays in the patient’s record. Patients receive the PDF, and earlier prescriptions are there the next time the doctor opens the patient.

Read more on digital prescription software, or on what may be prescribed by video.

Is a printed, unsigned prescription valid?+

No. The signature — physical, digital or electronic — is what makes the document a prescription. A printed sheet without one is a draft.

Must I prescribe by generic name?+

The 2002 regulations say every physician should prescribe drugs with generic names, legibly and preferably in capital letters, as far as possible. Brand names may be added; the generic name should be there.

Is a prescription sent as a PDF on WhatsApp acceptable to a pharmacy?+

A signed or digitally signed e-prescription is valid under the Telemedicine Practice Guidelines. Pharmacies may still ask to see the original for Schedule H1 medicines, so the PDF should carry the doctor’s registration number and signature clearly.

How long must I keep prescription records?+

The 2002 regulations require medical records of indoor patients to be kept for three years; many clinics keep all records at least that long, and the DPDP Act expects you to keep them no longer than the purpose and the law require. Treatlly keeps every issued version in the patient’s record for the clinic.