Source : indegene.com
Meeting The Soaring Expectations Of Patients And Their Relatives In
Medical Practice
By
Dr RK Sharma
Associate Professor
Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicity,
All India Institute of Medical Sciences,
New Delhi
President: Indian Association of Medico-legal Experts
Author : Legal Aspects of Patient Care.
The scenario of medical practice in India is different from Western
countries. Here, the medical practice is done by registered medical
practitioners, like allopaths, homeopaths, Ayurveda and Unani
practitioners; and other followers of disciplines of Indian Systems
of Medicine. Besides these qualified practitioners, medicine is
practiced by quacks, unqualified paramedical staffs, and faith
healers and even by relatives/friends of a patient. Also, a majority
of patients indulge in self-medication or medication suggested on
hearsay. It is a rather confusing scenario where on one end a highly
qualified doctor is compared with a faith healer or a quack.
As doctors involved in the pursuit of scientific excellence started
showing reasonable but expected errors their other unqualified
counterparts like quacks, faith healers relying on the principle that
their medicines do not produce side effects did not do poorly. These
unqualified people including faith healers tried to create a halo
around themselves. Today, India has the dubious reputation of the
world’s highest number of quacks, faith healers, and magicians
involved in medical practice. These people have lent to the patients
or their relatives, expectations that reach astronomical heights.
Thus, in real terms, and as a throw back effect, patients have also
begun having such astronomical expectations from qualified doctors as
well.
Another common aspect is the treatment pattern of these unqualified
people, they keep treating the patient till the situation goes out of
their hands and then they refer the serious patient to a government
hospital or a qualified medical practitioners. Since qualified
medical practitioner get the cases when they are in the terminal
stages of the disease, the chances of recovery are grim in a many
cases. The end result is that the qualified doctor gets the blame for
the failure of treatment, while the quack escapes.
Now as situation stands, we the qualified doctors have to deal with
the soaring expectations of patient or relatives that is one of the
major causes of malpractice suits.
link : http://www.indegene.com/Main/Issues/indIssue6.asp?type=Neu