As a doctor, one is trained to treat the disease. We are trained on disease diagnosis that begins from history and then clinical examination followed by required investigations.
I find it very painful when someone in the need of investigation refuses because she cannot afford it.
What do you do?
Investigations are costly. The investigations require equipments and gadgets that come at phenomenal cost.
It is a smooth work up when one nods yes and get investigated.
But the problem is for not so privileged ones.
This becomes a difficult situation.
You cannot treat a patient unless you diagnose her.
And you cannot get the requisite investigation because she cannot afford the costs.
In India, the health system follows (To say at least) model of Social Medicine.
Everyone can be treated freely. But the very concept of free treatment has resulted in its failure.
So called state sponsored hospitals are not chosen by many people because of the quality of services they offer.
I am not talking about competence of the doctors in this system. I am talking about the quality of the system.
Poor infrastructure, patient overload and lack of equipments.
Many a investigations are not available in the hospital. Those available are compromised because of overload.
Modren day medicine has become very dependent upon the investigations. thanks to many laws that put a doctor at the receiving end. Litigations, consumer courts and social hostility makes one practice a defensive medicine.
So one orders investigation for documentary confirmation inspite of clinical judgement, just to be safe. This happens in quite number of cases.
This trend has really hurt those who cannot afford the investigation. Included are those in which investigation is a must.
There seems no end to this problem. And this is not limited to investigations only. Even the cost of treatment can be a huge burden that patient or family cannot afford to take.
I personally feel that all people must get the best treatment that science can afford to give them. But instead the it gets delivered to only those who can afford it.
How many patients that who need a hip replacement would get it done.
Very few.
Rest continue to bear the pain and decide to stay as they are. And this is just one example.
This causes a dismay but what to do. You can only offer the treatment.
