The Hindu Business Line : Regulating medicos

EVEN advanced countries with easy access to knowledge-oriented technology and rigorous educational and training methods are getting worried about the deteriorating quality of medical professionals. So much so many of them have made it mandatory for medicos to re-certify themselves once in two-to-five years, following a test to prove that they are abreast of developments in the field.

In this light, patients and the general public in India will welcome the decision of the Government on similar lines, especially because of the unreliable quality of professional education and the mercenary mindset of doctors. A medical friend of mine was himself advising me the other day not to consult doctors of 45 years of age and less since their degrees and calibre were not dependable!

There are many instances of medical carelessness justifying his caution. Leaving aside cases of wrong diagnosis and botched up operations publicised in the media, there are day-to-day occurrences undermining public trust and the sacredness of the profession. Doctors flatly refuse to make house calls even for emergencies or to attend to patients who are too old or infirm to be taken to clinics.

Hardly any of them explains to the patients the side-effects of medicines, and some are themselves unaware of the warnings against the use of some of them issued by the US or UK Drug Authorities. Patients are mostly to lump whatever drugs are prescribed or undergo whatever investigations are ordered, since they are rudely rebuffed if they ask any questions. Whereas, the Web sites devoted to healthcare in foreign countries not only insist on doctors answering patients' questions, but suggest sample questions that patients should ask to satisfy themselves about the competence of their doctors. Maintenance of records too is often perfunctory. And the patients have to pay exorbitant sums for all these vagaries.

The functioning of the Indian Medical Council in enforcing norms and standards does not inspire confidence. It is time the Government sets up a Medical Practitioners' Regulatory Authority of India (MPRAI) to ensure a fair deal to patients. Standardisation of services and charges of hospitals and diagnostic centres should also be brought within its purview. The reform brooks no delay.

B. S. Raghavan

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