Do You Trust Your Doctor?

                           I'm writing this blog sitting in the waiting area of a Cardiac ICU. My grandmother developed a cardiac event two days back and had to be admitted. She went through her Angiography and is in observation in the CCU. She's recovering well by the grace of the Almighty, and expected to be discharged by tomorrow. 

Sitting here, talking to people as well as overhearing conversations, I tend to have so many conversations within me about how much the common people trust their doctor & the private medical care industry.

To a vast majority of commoners, private hospitals are instruments to loot their hard earned money. I don't completely understand how this misunderstanding has been conceived. Also it is so deeply rooted in their minds, that there should be significant factors that has lead to this misconception.

There is a perceived belief that Health care should be provided free of cost or rather atlow cost. Now how is that possible? The old saying goes by, "health is wealth.". So it goes without saying that health is the most important factor in our life, yet we are as tight as a drum when we need to spend for medical care.

Many a patient does not trust the interventional advice that a doctor provides. Quite often there is tussle happening between the mind of the doctor and the patient/relatives while the condition is being explained, the doctor obviously explaining what the patient is suffering from and what is the best to be done for his well being, and the bystander thinking about the monetary benefits the hospital and the doctor is going to make out if this procedure. Where has the quotient of trust gone?

Looking at it from another perspective, I feel it is also due to the fact that sickness or ill health is already an agonizing event in life, so the concept of spending for a sad event is even more agonizing... Lol... Nobody cribs much about the bill after a delivery or childbirth, because that is one event that calls for celebration being in hospital. Probably the only even that brings in a lot of happiness in hospital.

A private hospital is most often a business venture. So they obviously have financial motives.Moreover they have to cover the burden of their existing loans, monthly salaries, electricity, water, consumables, staff accommodation and a huge array of multiple expenses that’s beyond our scope of discussion. Also there is the ever growing demand for modernization, bringing in the latest equipments and facilities to stay in the game and ahead of the competition. Nobody starts a business venture to incur loss, so why is everyone so envious of profitable hospitals?

Also when we look at it from a bird's eye view, we're here in a private hospital primarily because we do not trust our government facilities, or we find it inconvenient to utilize those facilities. Standing in mile long queues, struggling in overflowing general wards, month long waiting periods for surgical interventions and lack of modern technological advances in medical field is something that does not appeal to us and we approve neither. So for our conveniences, we have to move to private hospitals. As someone has rightly said, quality never comes cheap; you pay the price for the benefits you enjoy.

I do not forget or deny the fact there are hospitals and doctors that promote unethical practices, prescribe unnecessary investigations and procedures. But I still believe andknow that the good ones among the doctor community far exceed these black sheep. And it quite upsets to tie all with the same rope. The doctors too realize this. Many of us spend so much more time explaining things to patients are often biased relatives, so much, we rather use this time for something more constructive, something that would be beneficial to somebody else.

Rather than complain about private hospitals, while consulting the same, IMHO you could take any of the following options:

1. don’t go to private hospitals. Take treatment from Govt Health facilities
2. Use private health care, keep a clean unbiased mind.
3. Get a good medical insurance and claim your expenditures.

I'd request for any other possible options in the comments section below.
Best option would be to take care of your health n stay healthy, stay fit.
Take care.. God bless...