Friday, November 2, 2007

Doctors of Doom





Ok, so its a long time since I cribbed...not that i've had nothing to crib about, but i've just been lazy. Something that I was browsing through today made me post this.

For the first time, I looked up reviews of hospitals in Bangalore, and I was pretty shocked to read that nobody had anything nice to say about their experiences there. Most of the complaints seem to be about hospitals in the corporate sector. I observed a few common complaints..

1) Misdiagnosis
2) Surgery recommended in the hospital when it wasn't required
3) High costs
4) Doctor not listening to the patient's problems
5) Unnecessary tests


While no doctor likes to be wrong in his diagnosis, mistakes do occur and the serious ones tend to be fatal on rare occasions. One must understand that medicine is a vast science and is constantly evolving. While other professions allow for mistakes to be easily rectified without much loss to life or property, it is hard to expect that sort of cushion in medicine. There are a huge number of probabilities in everything we do. I cant even think of listing them here. A patient who comes with fever could probably be just suffering from a minor throat infection that would go away in a couple of days, or he may be suffering from something as serious as dengue fever that may kill him in the next few days if untreated. That is why even simple symptoms are sometimes subjected to a battery of tests which may not make sense to someone out of the medical field. They are quick to blame the doctor for unnecessary tests if it is a simple problem and are quick to sue the doctor if it turns out to be something serious.

There is however no excuse for negligence by a doctor. Negligence does occur, but is rarely seen in larger hospitals. Most of the cases of negligence I have seen occur in government run setups and small nursing homes. These places do not have doctors with the required expertise, equipment and backup to handle problems and are usually the source of mismanaged patients.

High costs by corporate hospitals are mainly due to the money invested in infrastructure and equipment. To put it in perspective, to furnish a single ICU bed with basic equipment (ventilators, monitors, etc) would cost the hospital a minimum of 10 lakhs. The maximum price for ICU rental per day in Bangalore would be about Rs 5000. Nobody seems to complain when they pay 3 times that price for a hotel room in this city which would have cost the hotel far less to furnish!

Doctor not listening? Doctors usually listen to a point till they have sufficient information to make a diagnosis. Sometimes, the clinical picture is good enough to make a diagnosis. Many times the patient or his relative provides facts that are irrelevant.

Like any other field, nobody in the medical profession wants to be bad. We all work very hard to provide medical care to the best of our ability. Most of the patients we see improve and go home happy. Some people are so distraught about the thought of losing a loved one, that they fail to accept that some conditions (like cancer) cannot be cured. In their ability to accept reality, such individuals are quick to blame medical care as the cause of a patient's death, but not the disease itself. Some reassure themselves that the patient would be ok in a day, when the truth is, he would be dead in a day. In short, people sometimes expect miracles. Miracles in medicine do occur, but not to everyone and not every day.

I'm not making excuses for doctors in this post. Amidst the thousands who do a great job, there are a few who are Grade 'A' scoundrels. However, good hospitals tend to filter out these weeds.



How do you get good medical care in Bangalore? I would suggest you follow some stuff that I have mentioned below.


* Get a health insurance policy. It will help you cover large hospital bills.

* Avoid small nursing homes for surgical procedures and deliveries. Most of these places are not well equipped. Many choose them to cut costs. Its not worth it. They are ok for a medical consultation... but not for surgeries.

* Larger hospitals have better trained doctors & staff. They also have better backup facilities if an emergency arises.

* If you are unhappy with the care you are getting at a hospital, approach the management with your problem. Hospitals such as the one I work in take complaints like this seriously and we deal with it efficiently. If the hospital management is not willing to discuss the problem (if it is legitimate) with you, then you would be justified in moving to another hospital.

* If in doubt, you are free to get a second opinion. However, keep in mind that even if the second opinion sounds better than the first, it has an equal possibility of being wrong.

* If possible, have a doctor as a friend. He may be able to guide you when you need some help.

* Do not tell the doctor how he must treat the patient and what medications he should get. Not only does this thoroughly annoy the doctor, it makes you look like a complete idiot.

* Most of all, stay healthy and avoid hospitals!

Saturday, March 31, 2007

There they go again...



There’s a reason why Indians confuse everyone. Were loud, brash, sometimes mannerless, very uncouth and do as we feel in public. This does not go down well with other populations. Were also smart, well educated, extremely capable, proud and highly emotional. The Indian personality is filled with myriad traits, just as some of the recipes from our land.

Pride is very important for us. Whatever we do, we seem to be proud of it. It may not be apparent, but if you put an Indian tea vendor and Bill Gates in a room, you can be sure that the tea vendor will argue about how much important and better his job is.

We look for reasons to be proud. Apart from our personal achievements, we look for reasons to be proud of our country. Our heritage of the past has been shattered by the way religion, politics and human rights have been abused in this country. So your average Indian looks in every corner to find something to be proud of, and when he finds something worthy, he places it on the highest pedestal.

Over the last 2 decades, most Indians look at the Indian cricket team to find something to be proud of. The problem with us is that the moment a sports person does something slightly extraordinary, we are quick to elevate them to the highest pedestal. Once on the highest pedestal, these people, with the help of the media (another abused institution in this country) are glorified beyond anyone’s wildest dream.

We look for pride in cricket because its quick to achieve, it involves beating another country and its relatively non violent (unless you’re a Pakistani coach). Its only obvious that the national pastime in finding pride is to back your cricket team. No surprises that they are worshipped and revered.

Indians like to achieve and win. Some of us are aggressive, ruthless and fiercely competitive about it. So competitive that kids who get 90%+ marks in examinations these days fail to get the field of their choice, because a zillion other kids got more than 95%. Corporate houses are buying each other out in India and abroad, making statements about who we are. Were trying hard to send someone or something to the moon next year. Somewhere around the place, some Indian is doing something real hard, to be recognized, so that he can be proud of what he has achieved.

Now if you are among the 15 people selected to make your country really proud, how would you feel? A bit nervous maybe.. but you’ve been carrying that responsibility for the last few years. Whatever the negative feelings are, deep inside, you would think that if you had to, you would give your life to make your country proud.. or atleast put in an equal effort.

Yes, they lost to a Bangladeshi team full of school kids. They couldn’t make 250 after pompously making 400+ a few days earlier against a team of jelly bellies. The great cricket gurus within the team say “it happens”.

It shouldn’t

It shouldn’t happen if you play with some effort. It shouldn’t happen if all that you’ve done in your life is play cricket and aimed to get better everyday. It shouldn’t happen if you spent your free time trying to get better at your game rather than trying to sell a cola or a biscuit on TV. It shouldn’t happen if you’re proud that you have been given the opportunity to make a billion proud. It shouldn’t happen if you played for the pride of a billion.

It’s all our fault, we made heroes of people who didn’t deserve to be. Indian cricket has gotten much like the World Wrestling Federation. A total sham. The purity of cricket has gone with the way the game is being sold.

In the end, I’m a bit happy that they are coming back. It gives us a chance to watch some really good cricket, played by people who play the game with the heart and soul that it deserves.