Feeling sick but no Dr is available to listen to you,consultation with ChatGPT or looking for options at Google or going to friendly chemists maynot be out of choice but out of compulsion.
Friendly family physicians have become redundant because of no patients who need them.
Diabetes isn't treated by MD medicine but by Diabetologist and asking for specialists for each disease has become a norm because of corporate hospitals who are connected with private insurance companies and why should patients not get their money's worth after paying hefty premiums or government paying for this??
We need to honour healthcare at primary level.
It's difficult for Drs but not impossible win trust of families and stay connected with patients.
Drs need to charge less,listen more and become part of families as a friend.
Drs need to be connected with like minded specialists to refer patients who need to be referred to specialists
End of the day, nobody is a looser
Eg
Good Dr charges 100/- rupees and attends to 30 patients and takes home 3000/- per day..90K per month
Another corporate Dr charges 1000/- per patient 3 patients only and takes home 3000/-..less than 90K because there're no patients on certain days.
Who's more satisfied with this work culture of charging less and getting more connections with people who bring in more people to Dr saheb?
Family Physician by charging lesser amount is never threatened by consumer protection law or women as Drs are never teased.
Drs can work from home without extra expenditure to maintain infrastructure.
This concept of family physician was possible 40 years ago and some of the Drs are still following this pattern of doing private practice but because of oomph attached to corporate hospitals, these good Drs can't talk much about their achievements but their happy patients speak among themselves and somehow their words of appreciation do reach Drs too as morale boosters.
Neelam Nath
New Delhi
