Topical

My column 07-12-2025

My column 07-12-2025

What is wrong?……..Everything! Shashank Purandare

There was a time when we were school going kids, when illnesses like flu, typhoid etc., were common occurrences. Everytime a kid was ill, the family doctor used to visit the house, check on the kid by physical examination, thermometer, stethoscope etc. Based on his/her medical knowledge acquired over the years, he/she used to diagnose the problem and prescribe medicine. Better still they had their little pharmacies in their dispensaries where they used to concoct liquid medicines and pills. Most of the time the diagnoses were correct and the kids used to get well soon. Same was applicable to adults also.

Of course, it was not always foolproof. Mistakes were made. Those days, medical awareness was also less.

Cut to 2025. The concept of family doctor has vanished. However, the place I live, there are a couple of general medical practitioners who are good. They still treat you on symptoms and physical examinations. Anytime you go to their clinic, there is a queue with at least 15-16 patients waiting patiently. These MPs charge around ₹200 per visit and see about 60-80 patients per day. Since they encounter large number of patients with varied issues, they gain lot of experience, which is very useful in diagnosis. They are the current equivalent of family doctors. Of course, they will also ask you to undergo some medical tests, if they feel they are unable to diagnose the problem.

Now we come to the third category. The big and small hospitals. I will not talk about small hospitals since I do not have any first hand experience with them.

There are general medical practitioners in large hospitals. I found them to be good and up to date in medical knowledge. If you persist with one doctor for long time, he becomes your family doctor. Their diagnoses are good but they tend to depend more on medical tests. Downside is cost and time. You need to pay up to ₹1000-1500 per visit depending on the hospital and need to take prior appointment may be a day in advance. Even then, you may end up spending lot of time in the waiting room.

Another down side is frequent referral to specialists for further diagnosis and treatment, which are expensive.

Next is hospitalization for sudden problems like heart or kidney related issues. If you do not have medical insurrance you will have tough time paying the bills. Surgeries are even more expensive. Sometimes there are instances of unnecessary surgeries. Even with medical Insurrance you end up paying 20-30% extra. One needs to remember that Insurrance companies are in the market to make money. The insurance premiums have escalated recently.

I can go on and on, but I suppose you get the drift. So what is wrong in the field of medicine?………Everything!

Becoming a doctor is very expensive. After you become one, you are in a hurry to recover all the money you spent and then some. The newbies lack experience and knowledge. Quality of doctors has gone down especially after reservation. Everyday you hear things about death due to negligence or wrong diagnosis. Then you have mishaps. You get instances of hospitals ransacked, doctors and staff beaten up and so on.

So what is wrong?……everything!

Solution: Stay healthy. Exercise. Eat everything but in moderation. Burn the calories you gain. And after 40, for your own sake, undergo medical checkup once a year.

It is time we as a community take up these issues and find solutions. Medical treatment is a necessity and not a luxury. Medicine should not be a profit making business. We need to reduce costs by whatever means necessary. We need to make medicine affordable to everyone. It should not be a privilege of the rich. Happy living!!!

Shashank Purandare 07/12/2025