The recent episode of Satyamev Jayate which targeted corruption in the Medical Profession in our country has already generated much heat. From the understandably angry reaction from doctors, outpouring of outrage (aimed at medical profession) from general public to acerbic articles in the mainstream press, the episode has stimulated a lot of debate. This in itself is not a bad thing. Being a part of Medical Profession for the last 30 years, the entire episode affected me deeply. Not because it talked of corruption in my profession. (After all, which sphere of life in modern India is untainted by corruption?) But what disturbed me was the realization that the profession of healing, previously looked upon as a Noble profession, is now regarded with deep suspicion by the common citizen of our country.
While accepting the fact that all is not
well with the Medical profession in our country, I would like all commentators
(including Amir Khan) to refrain from bad-mouthing all doctors indiscriminately
as the number of good and ethical Doctors in India far exceeds those indulging
in questionable practices and such generalizations just go on to drive a wedge
of suspicion and destroy the Doctor-patient relationship. This, in the
long run, will simply harm the interest of the patients.
There is no denying the fact that advanced
medical care in India is prohibitively expensive. I know many instances where
even members of Medical profession were unable to afford the treatment of
conditions requiring Intensive care or cancer chemotherapy. But are Doctors
responsible for this state of affairs? Health is a State subject but both the
Central and State governments have proven to be woefully inadequate to the
challenge of providing even basic healthcare to the citizens of our country, so
the question of providing advance health care gets left far behind. In this
scenario, the only option left for most citizens is go in for private
healthcare. Treatment in multi-specialty corporate hospitals is expensive. And
the feeling that needless investigations, unnecessary procedure/operations and
costly drugs have been used persists in the minds of many of the patients.
Unfortunately, there is hardly any provision made for illness/hospitalization
in the monthly budgets of most Indian family. Health insurance is often absent
and even if present, usually meager. Thus any expense pertaining to
illness/hospitalization is unplanned and unwelcome. This results in a simmering
resentment in the minds of most people and in the end this ire gets directed at
the healthcare in general and Doctors in particular. So every time an Amir Khan
targets the medical profession, it finds a resonance across the nation.
While many commentators have compared the
Indian Healthcare system with that of USA/ European countries and rightly
pointed out some deficiencies, they would be well advised to compare the cost
of health care services in those countries with that in India. They will be
surprised to see that Healthcare costs in India are a fraction of that in
USA/ Europe.
So where is the solution? I believe that
opening more Government Medical Colleges in semi-urban and rural areas
will go a long way in improving the health infrastructure of our country and
take advance health care to places where it is most needed. This will also help
improve the woeful Doctor-patient ratio of the country.
Health insurance is a sector that needs a
lot of work. And the state run agencies like LIC should provide low cost health
insurance to the needy sections of the society.
The pharmaceutical industry should be
regulated and the price of essential / life-saving drugs should be capped to
make them more affordable. This will help in doing away with the huge profit
margins and also discourage malpractices like use of expensive drugs
unnecessarily.
The Medical Council of India should be
strengthened and be manned by professionals with unimpeachable credentials.
Practices like 'Continuing Medical
Education' and 'Prescription audits' for Doctors be encouraged and made a norm.
Another aspect which generally escapes the
attention of general public are the increasing episodes of violence aimed at
Doctors/ paramedical staff and clinical establishments. Doctors should be
provided with adequate security and legal right to practice their profession
without any fear. Some states like Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Delhi have
already passed ordinances about ‘Prevention of violence against Clinical
establishments and Medical personnel.’ Other states need to take cognizance and
follow suit.
Another important lacuna in the health
delivery systems of our country is the presence of huge number of Quacks/
unqualified persons masquerading as doctors in our country. And don't think
that it is a problem seen only in rural or semi-urban areas. Even in cities
like Delhi and Lucknow, the quacks outnumber the qualified doctors by a huge
percentage. And the regulatory authorities seem to be least bothered about this
menace.
And lastly, public health be accorded the
highest priority and budgetary provisions be made for it by the Central and
State governments.
Only then can we hope to achieve a healthcare
system which confirms to the expectations of all our citizens.
