Doctor patient relationship

Much has been written about the doctor-patient relationship. We have heard of doctors who are friendly, understanding and reassuring and others who put the fear of God every time the patients meet them. Such doctors, whose tribe is growing, are impatient, unfriendly and very often rude to their patients.

I have had the pleasure of dealing with both types of doctors in my fairly long life. I remember, in my student days in Bombay, where I grew up, we had a family doctor whom we would visit for all our health related issues- be it common cold or anything more serious. A very negative person, this doctor would mention the name of some dreadful disease or the other while listening to our complaints. If it was a severe cough, it could be because of Tuberculosis; if it was a stomach ache, it could be because of ulcers or appendicitis. I always hated going to him. But my father believed in him and felt that he was a `rasiana` ( lucky ) doctor.  It did not matter that he frightened us beyond our wits! However, we did become alright after visiting him. Consuming the special mixture in glass bottles with dosages indicated by paper stickers and the packets of medicinal powders that was dispensed by  his compounder - a tribe which has vanished thanks to the invasion of prescription drugs for every ailment.

I now have a family doctor who is ever positive and cool. As soon as you enter his consulting room he will check your BP and pull out a prescription pad and start writing the names of medicines to be taken even while you are describing your symptoms. He does not believe in prescribing unnecessary tests. In my anxiety whenever I requested him to recommend some tests, he would say ` For your age , all your parameters are ok. No need for any tests. Just take these medicines as prescribed and you will be alright`. Whenever I suffer from any ailment for more than two days, I rush to him and invariably begin to feel alright after meeting him and paying his fees ( Dakshina!). That is what trust in a good, friendly doctor does to you! He can be rightly described as an `Intuitive doctor`. 

On the other hand my experience with a heart specialist a few years ago was dreadful. A couple of months after becoming a member of the `Stent men`s Club` ( yes, I have a stent in one of my arteries after I suffered a heart attack), I had gone to see him regarding  a stomach related bleeding problem I was undergoing. After hearing my complaint when he screamed `Blooddaah`, I almost had another heart attack. Instead of pacifying me and telling me that the bleeding problem was because of the blood thinner tablet I was having after the stent procedure and that the problem could  be sorted out with alternative medication, he frightened me beyond words.  How I came out of his clutches and got cured of the problem is a story by itself

It is a fact that majority of  modern day doctors who lead a highly stressful life have no time or patience to listen to their patients’ complaints and rush with tests and treatments  without taking the patients into confidence. Result is that most of the patients visiting  specialists very often feel  cheated and exploited.

 Even as I was thinking that  it is high time that Medical colleges  taught  human psychology as a subject to the doctors during their training period I was happy to a read news item that India has already joined a long list of countries that have included a course in medical ethics as part of an undergraduate medical education. The Medical Council of India calls it `Attitude Ethics and Communication Competencies` under which the medical students will be `trained in effectively communicate with patients and their relatives in a manner respectful of the patient`s preferences, values, beliefs, confidentiality and privacy`. Wow, that sounds great. Can we hope for ` Ache din` for patients in their dealings with doctors in India?