The Kannada Development Authority’s (KDA) move to make it mandatory for medical prescriptions to be written in Kannada may have consequences for patients’ health, doctors and public health experts say. 

KDA has urged the Karnataka government to mandate that doctors in government hospitals write prescriptions in Kannada instead of English. In a letter addressed to Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on September 10, KDA Chairman Purushottam Bilimale said that this would “promote the growth of the Kannada language across the state”, especially in health centres, taluk, and district hospitals.

Purushottam Bilimale said that prioritising Kannada in prescriptions would be a significant step toward preserving the language's identity in Karnataka. 

Meanwhile doctors who spoke to TNM said that healthcare must be accessible to all. They said that promoting Kannada cannot come at the cost of denying essential healthcare services to people.

President of Indian Medical Association in Karnataka, Dr Srinivasa S said, “All medicine names cannot be written in Kannada. Medicines that are rare and uncommon are even harder to write in Kannada. We can write wherever possible, if the need arises, but it is not possible to do at all times. We live in Karnataka, we are Kannadigas and Kannada must always be promoted, but it shouldn’t be done at the cost of the health of patients.”

 Dr Sylvia Karpagam, a public health doctor, echoed the same concerns and said, “Essentials like health, education and ration shouldn’t be dependent on language. Poor migrant workers will especially suffer from policies like this. All medicine names are written in English, if a doctor writes it in Kannada, the pharmacist may not understand and give the wrong medicine. Will the KAD take accountability then? They won’t. I do not think it is a good idea to bring such a law without looking at the larger picture.”

Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao also expressed reservations about making Kannada mandatory for prescriptions. While agreeing that the suggestion is well-intentioned, he said that it is not practical.

"Prescriptions and medical terms should be flexible. If a doctor knows Kannada and can write clearly, they can do so. However, making it mandatory doesn't seem practical. Prescriptions should be in a language that both the patient and doctor are comfortable with. If both prefer Kannada, then it can be used, but it's unreasonable to expect all doctors to write in Kannada. Medical terms, drug names, and chemical compositions are in English, and translating them into Kannada without errors is challenging. While the suggestion is good in spirit, it's not feasible," he said.