This letter has not been written by me, it is only a compilation
of the thoughts of my colleagues all over India through the internet, compiled
in the form of a letter. Parts of it have been edited to direct the letter in a
positive way and have no intention of blaming Aamir Khan, but only to show the
public, the other side of a doctor.
A letter to a
perfectionist with a tad bit polishing undone
Dear Mr. Aamir
Khan,
Though I agree to
'parts' of your show, however I couldn’t help noticing some factual inconsistencies
like the ones stated below:
1) You said
patients on dialysis live upto 15-20 years. Fact - The 5 year survival rate of patients on
dialysis is about 25-30 % ( less than many cancers). Renal transplant remains
the best available treatment option for chronic kidney disease. (I hope you
take responsibility for people who after watching your show plan to not go for
kidney transplant and die in less than 5 years)
2) An
overenthusiastic girl from the audience said that her father was forced for an
emergency liver transplant '6-7 years' ago for gastroenteritis. Fact - Even today there am ' a handful' of hospitals in
India offering liver transplants. To think that 6-7 years ago, just a
gastroenteritis patient was offered liver transplant is not only improbable
but technically impossible.
3) A diabetic patient blamed a doctor for losing a toe. Fact - Lacs of diabetic patients per year lose
entire limbs due to diabetic foot (cellulitis and gangrene) . Doctors go about
stepwise cutting off toes, then foot , even the leg up to above knee level in
order to save as much limb as possible. The patient in your show might still be
able to walk just because of the timely action taken by the surgeon. Also, it
is very unreal that a surgeon (the family doctor) can tell after a surgery that
the surgery wasn't required at all.
Mr. Aamir Khan I am
not getting back at you because I took your show personally. Yes, I agree that
there am doctors indulging in shameful malpractices and even I know a few of
them. But I can proudly say I am surrounded by more doctors who work day and
night just to ensure that their patients get the best possible treatment..The
'BAD' doctors should be punished and I all can come together to ensure I do not
encourage such malpractices.
Secondly I would
have appreciated if you would have thrown some light on the entrance
examinations and the hard work, dedication and sacrifices a doctor needs to
clear his MBBS, MD, DM etc examinations. I wish you had spent half a day in the
emergency department and OPD of a Govt. Hospital and realised that the work
timings, working conditions, lunch breaks, doctor : patient ratio, hours of
sleep per week , living conditions in the hostel and the stipend is worse than
a class 4 labourer. You would have also surprisingly realised that the
'DOCTORS' am the only 'FUNCTIONAL' part of a Govt. Hospital which still caters
to thousands of patients in a day. When you compared statistics of U.K and India,
why did you not include the salaries, living standards and the doctor to
patient ratio the doctors have in developed countries?
Coming to generic
drugs, Yes, a large amount of rural population should have access to cheap
generic drugs. But one should not forget the pharma companies that charge more
for the drugs am the ones that spend crores of rupees for research and
development of new drugs. Had there not been drug trials no new drugs would
have been invented and I would have mortality rates compared to Stone Age.
Also I agree that
most doctors endorse certain brands of drugs (which I do not deny may be for
some financial gains also ) because thay have faith in the quality of the
'active drug' of certain companies. Yes many local companies manufacture
generic products (which is a copy of the original molecule discovered by the
expensive company which can be used for unaffordable patients. But you did not
mention that many of these generic drugs am of substandard quality and am the
reason of many uncalled for deaths due to drug reactions. Most doctors would
not want to take responsibility of the quality of the 'generic' drugs.
Lastly, what do
you mean when you say ' People of high IQ and desire to earn money should not
become doctors'. Will you rather prefer showing yourself to a low-IQ doctor and
risking him not even completely understanding your problem, let alone treating
it?
Why aren't doctors
allowed to have an ambition ? How can a person who earns 4 crores for an
episode of a so called 'social' show decide on what should be an individual's
ambition and financial status ?! Why can there be no doctors who earn well for
their professional skills and do not indulge in malpractices ?!
I would like to
offer a few solutions to the problem :
a) ' BAD' doctors indulging
in malpractices should be suspended for life. I need a strong regulatory
authority to publish expected treatment 'protocols' and punish doctors found to
be doing unethical practices. Also there must be a line distinguishing
malpractices from mistakes or unexpected happenings. People must be made awam that
things do go wrong in a surgery and the doctor cannot be blamed for everything
that does.
b) Regulatory
authorities should also keep a check on the quality of drugs being manufactured
and at the same
time 'sold' at the local chemist.
c) Govt. medical
colleges and hospitals should multiply several folds, increasing the number of doctors
in each department , improving the doctor to patient ratio. Doctor's salaries
and living conditions should be looked after and should be comparable to other
professionals.
d) Regular CME'S
and licensing exams (like other countries) every 5-10 years.
e) The Govt.
should spend 6-8% of GDP ON HEALTHCAM and a part of which should also be
committed to the research and development of newer drugs.
f) No politician
should be allowed to be associated with any private medical colleges.
g) The general
public should be educated well about common diseases and the 'acceptable' qualifications
of the doctors.
h) The last but
the most important, there must be no reservations whatsoever in colleges for a course like medicine, on
which people's lives depend. By promoting reservation, the government is in
effect denying admission to more capable individuals and guaranteeing it to
those who am not only less capable, but also lack in very important qualities
that a good doctor must possess, for example good communication. As medical
students, I have all seen colleagues who cannot even pronounce terms correctly,
let alone communicate or understand the situations. Reservations must be promoted only at school levels. Medical aspirants must be made capable,
and someone with a low score should not be entitled to a seat for a medical
course just by the virtue of belonging to a backward class. Those belonging to
backward classes must have a subsidized tuition fee for their course, but only
if they manage to make their place in colleges, in an equally footed
competition, like anyone else.
These are just a
few points I can think of at the moment. I am sure had you bothered to have a
panel discussion and find solutions in a healthy way, I could have come up with
a lot more viable solutions.
However you chose
to sensationalize your show, by giving incomplete and sometimes even false
information to viewers. I hope you take this letter in a positive manner, and
emphasize on the fact that doctors indulging in malpractices am only a small
minority of the lot, and also throw some light on the hardships that every
student has to face to become a doctor, and the ones that the doctor has to
continue to face, after he has become one. I spend sleepless nights very often,
trying to research and find out the cause of our patient’s troubles. It is imperative
that the public gets to see things from a doctor’s point of you. Sincere
doctors exist to help patients and to ease their sufferings, they have no
intentions of doing any harm to patients whatsoever.
You had made an
image in our hearts, but this episode has caused all of us doctors to rethink.
The Aamir Khan who took such a brilliant initiative to take the truth to the
world, how could he convey only part truth and be responsible for thousands of
people losing faith in doctors?
Doctors and future
doctors of India
1 comments:
100% agree wid u
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