Close on the heels of a series of attacks on doctors by patient\u2019s kin comes a related study. The study says that what\u2019s needed is a well-coordinated communication system and not stringent laws or penalties. The study was prepared by a team of researchers who looked into the poor scenario of doctor-patient relationship in India.<\/p>\n
The research was done by the faculties of Navsahyadri Education Society, Pune and Smt Laxmibai Radhakishan Toshniwal College Of Commerce, Akola.<\/p>\n
According to the authors, Prof Sachin Divekar and Dr Varsha Sukhdeve, \u201cMost of the (research) papers published on these topics were by the medical people. To some extent, it was inclined towards one group.\u201d It was in this backdrop that they kicked off their research.<\/p>\n
In the past three years, over 45 doctors and medical professionals have been victims of violence inflicted by patient\u2019s relatives, in Maharashtra alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cGreat transformations happen in social, technical and medical field, which dilute the relationship,\u201d said Prof Divekar, pointing out reasons for the poor doctor-patient relationship.<\/p>\n
Multiple causes contribute to the situation. The decline of the family doctors, the trend of specialty and multispecialty hospitals, this being the information age and even practices that doctors and patients follow are among them.<\/p>\n
The decline of the family doctors<\/strong><\/p>\n The fall in number of general practitioners is cited as a major cause.<\/p>\n As mentioned in the study, \u201cThese GPs, who looked after five or more villages, were taking ample time to discuss cases with the patients. The consultation involved a chat about the problems, medical examination, description of the diagnosis and a feedback from the patient. It was a win-win situation for the doctor and the patient alike, as they shared mutual understanding and trust.\u201d<\/p>\n The experts say that the metal connect disappeared once specialty and superspecialty hospitals came to the fore. \u201cMost of the specialized doctors collaborated with all possible hospitals, and started their own private practices simultaneously. As a result, specialized doctors didn\u2019t have time to listen to their patients carefully,\u201d said Prof Divekar and Dr Sukhdeve .<\/p>\n The problem, according to them, began once treatment and diagnosis became speedy matters. Poor communication was then inevitable between the doctors and patients or their relatives. This often leads to confusion.<\/p>\n Information age<\/strong><\/p>\n The researchers point out the effects that a well-informed patient may have on the doctor-patient relationship. \u201cToday, patients arriving at a clinic are armed with information they found on web. They want to actively participate in the therapeutic decisions and want all decisions to be informed and intelligent,\u201d says the researchers.<\/p>\n They said that even when doctors dabbled in unethical practices, they went unnoticed because of a lack of knowledge, information, limited income or blind faith in the care givers. The limited number of superspecialty hospitals also catered to this scenario.<\/p>\n \u201cLiteracy rate was low. So whatever was told and asked by the doctors was taken as the final word by the patients and their relatives,\u201d said Prof Divekar.<\/p>\n According to the researchers, the major concern of the medical fraternity was the often unreliable nature of medical information on the internet. Doctors began to view such patients as \u2018problem patients.\u2019<\/p>\n Disposable income<\/strong><\/p>\n The rising buying power of the middle-class is yet another key factor that the study recognizes. It\u2019s found that in 2005, Indians spent 7% of their disposable income on healthcare. This rose to 14% by 2009-2010. By 2014-2015 it nearly doubled to 26%.<\/p>\n \u201cWith this trend, people are ready to pay higher amount for saving lives of their beloved and in return they expect best possible services. Poor services and negligence flares up the emotion of patients and relatives,\u201d said Dr Sukhdeve.<\/p>\n India\u2019s dismal doctor-patient ratio(6:10,000) is hardly sufficient for the people\u2019s growing needs. \u201cAround 70% population resides in rural areas, where the ratio is six times lower. About 80% doctors, 75% dispensaries and 60% hospitals are located in urban localities,\u201d said Dr Sukhdeve.<\/p>\n Progress in medical technology<\/strong><\/p>\n The study points out how such advances in medical technology as artificial pulmonary surfactant, special ventilators and neonatal intensive care are seen by patients and relatives as proof for saving life. \u201c<\/p>\n Early and accurate detection doesn\u2019t mean 100% surety of saving a life. Patients and their relatives must understand this. Also, this needs to be communicated clearly by the doctors,\u201d said Prof Divekar.<\/p>\n Consumer rights<\/strong><\/p>\n Though patients or relatives could move legally against alleged malpractices, in this age of information, for some reason, they seem to think that physical assault is the best recourse. This finds a mention in the study.<\/p>\n The study cites an inept redressal system and also lack of initiatives from the government or the medical fraternity as reasons for the outrage.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is the duty of Medical Council of India to look into the issues and introduce a protocol where both the doctor and the patient can seek redressal. Only a handful of cases have been resolved since the enactment of the Medical Council Act, 1956,\u201d said one of the researchers.<\/p>\n The need to change<\/strong><\/p>\n The researchers also mention the need for doctors to change their attitude. They said that a future doctor, aside from having the medical skills would also need to learn psychology, sociology and acquire man management skills-including listening skills and effective communication.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to develop a system through which we can resolve the issue or discrepancies in the doctor-patient relationship. Passing or implementing non-bailable laws is not going to solve the problem,\u201d said the researchers.<\/p>\n They also mention how at the very least, regional doctors\u2019 associations and patients or social activists could work out solutions.<\/p>\n Image credits: scroll.in<\/em><\/p>\n Images may be indicative<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Close on the heels of a series of attacks on doctors by patient\u2019s kin comes a related study. The study says that what\u2019s needed is a well-coordinated communication system and not stringent laws or penalties. The study was prepared by a team of researchers who looked into the poor scenario of doctor-patient relationship in India. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":4202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[290,24,501],"class_list":["post-4201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-assault","tag-doctor","tag-laws"],"yoast_head":"\n