@Pallavi

What is desired and desirable is to ensure appropriate punishment neither over or under punishment of the guilty doctor.As far as the reality is concerned doctors in most cases manage to get away with their wrong-doing by leveraging their superior postion vis-a-vis poor patients.As far as giving protection to doctors in cases of errors of judgement,they are already protected and there could be a number of cases where a team of doctors exercises their expertise.For example a neuro-surgeon performing a critical operation along with an anaesthesist and others greatly depends on them for the success of that operation and it's quite possible that failure on the part of any of them may result in a disaster despite the fact the surgeon maight have exercised utmost care in performing that operation.

Another area which deserves to be treated with great seriousness is the malpractice involving prescription of drugs.I came across a national level study which exposed the doctors in very poor light.The percentage of cases where the doctors prescribed drugs when no drug was required to be administered is alarmingly high!Similarly most of the doctors prescribe drugs of the expensive variety of the same generic group in collusion with drug companies in return for expensive gifts,foreign tour and trips!This is an unberable and thoroughly unacceptable conduct on the part of some of our doctors! It's as much in the interest of the doctors as the patients that sanity is restored in this field without any further delay and procative actions from the conscentious members of this profession whose good name come under the cloud because of aberrant and deviant conduct on the part of their stinkingly corrupt colleagues!

Sorry for being absent for three days due to Navami holidays.So all here are in support that the medical profession had become a money vending profession.But none of you have mentioned the odd in them.There was a report in Mathrubhumi Weekend supplement of last week about Dr.Bahuleyan.He came out from a backward family and studied by his own efforts and sttled in USA for a while.Lacks of Dollars were in his credit and at a time he was the owner of 5 mercedes benz cars.But he sold all those and returned to his village and started an hospital for his villagers.He works there still as a doctor with the lowest paid salary!He says he need only that for living now!!

Another one was near to me who dies some years ago.He used to collect only Rs 1/- as consultation fee.Remember the other fresh doctors were at Rs 30/- range in that days.Also this doctor prescribed medicine only if needed and that also will be cheap but curing the disease.

In new generation also one of my friend is there.He also offer free service to his natives and economically back families.His consultation fee also is low!

What happened to todays doctors is that as already told they had paid huge amount as capitation fee.To get it back two options are in front of them.One is the dowry during marriage which most pays readily for their daughters.The remaining amount is collected from patients and the company offers provided for this "valuable" service.

Regarding the second part of the discussion -

A mishap occurs due to two reasons.One is the extreme condition of the patient where doctor may be helpless.The second one is the mistake of doctor due to lack of attention.But here what we have to think before punishment is that the same doctor may had saved many many lives from extinction.Due to a single incident one should not be crucified.At that moments anger no one will care the lives he saved.Instead will attack on the single life he was unable to save.That is human psychology related.But if it was proved that the mishap occured surely due to the carelessness of the doctor he should be punished since his carelessness caused a life to go who may be the whole of a family or all in all to some children.

I think the law imposed on such issues should have some more clarity and sharpness in implementing , to avoid such mishaps from any one's hand.

I am happy that Abid cited a few positive cases which,I am sure,would warm the cockles of hearts of all members in this forum.There could be hardly any scope for disagreement when doctors are what they mean to be! Sadly the reality should not be viewed through the prism of a few good deeds of a few good doctors!Leaving our individual perceptions and biases let us look what the society thinks about them.Why did the government have to enact a law fixing civil liablity of doctors when such a law was not there even a few decades back? It's because of the growing number of cases of negligence and corruption amidst medical fraternity.Why has the government passed a law making acceptance of gift by doctors from pharmaceutical companies a cognizable offence? It's because it felt the need to crack the whip when the situation was threatening to get out of hand as a dominant section of doctors made a habit of entering into a deal with pharma companies.All these legislations suggest that there is something rotten about this profession which has to be treated with right medicine! There might be some exceptional cases but that in no way presents a very comforting situation for us.

Now coming to the part of the argument which pointedly asks us to remember a doctor's good work while punishing him for anything wrong.My take is no! We should not and need not! Just think of the implication of doing so.Every life is precious and a mother losing her only son due to criminal medical negligence is doomed for ever.Such consideration defies logic and has no relevance and judicial merit.While we are all solidly behind the doctors who are alive to medical ethics and moral sensibilities and we should all stand and condemn the murderous,immoral and detrimental activities of the corrupt ones!

Chinmoy has very well explained the problem...I agree with him..

@abid

I too know some very good doctor who are honest and are good in treating any cases...But i just want to remind you that only considering one or two good doctors is not advisable.In case of governement doctors even though some doctors are honest, due to other corrupted people around them they act irresponsible and i have seen such doctors too..They do not have morals and doesnt know the value of life...I am not trying to convince that all doctors are bad and they need punishement when some mishap happens...But i want to say that when foundation is not strong how can a wall withstand..Similarly if doctors who do not have good foundation in character as well as their subject..what is the use of such people...So before declaring him as a doctor a tough criteria should be followed in selecting them...
this can give some good doctors to the society...

Regarding corruption it is everywhere in any profession so i think is injurious to any field....

I would like to quote an incident which happened in TamilNadu some years back where a doctor couple allowed their 10 th standard studying son to operate on a lady who was about to deliver a baby.There was no follow up on the news after that.What i want to convey here is negligence of duty by the doctor couple.They had a main motto of somehow registering their son's name in limca record books or some other world record book.They failed to consider the patient's life.

Now a days the doctors forget the motto,service and ethics and they use their profession and fame as a tool for earning money.

Nagalakshmi,

What you pointed out is really a punishable situation.That doctor couples wanted fame for their son and a poor patient became a victim of their act.They should be given severe punishment as a model for deviating from all medical ethics.

@Rajani,

What I pointed out is that there are some doctors in society who are not so greedy towards money.So we should not look all through the same spec.This greedy mind had came to existance in recent years only.You just ask your grandmother how doctor was to them?Does he compelled for money or denied consultation due to lack of money? At present it may occur or negligence may be there due to lack of money.

chinmoymukherjee wrote:
[quote] Sadly the reality should not be viewed through the prism of a few good deeds of a few good doctors!Leaving our individual perceptions and biases let us look what the society thinks about them.Why did the government have to enact a law fixing civil liablity of doctors when such a law was not there even a few decades back? It's because of the growing number of cases of negligence and corruption amidst medical fraternity.Why has the government passed a law making acceptance of gift by doctors from pharmaceutical companies a cognizable offence? It's because it felt the need to crack the whip when the situation was threatening to get out of hand as a dominant section of doctors made a habit of entering into a deal with pharma companies.All these legislations suggest that there is something rotten about this profession which has to be treated with right medicine! There might be some exceptional cases but that in no way presents a very comforting situation for us.[/quote]

You are right Ceeam.But have you noticed same type of legislation against accepting gifts or cash. It was also recently introduced.Did it mean all the government offices are corrupted?Even in a government controlled LP School you can see that board.

Society thinks as individual thinks.When Each individual joins it becomes a society.Some will say good thing only about a doctor while with the same mouth they will be scolding some other doctor.It is due to their experience.Each Man is different from other in many things and character is one important thing in it.So we should not look to those what other say.Try to have our own opinion.

[quote]Now coming to the part of the argument which pointedly asks us to remember a doctor's good work while punishing him for anything wrong.My take is no! We should not and need not! Just think of the implication of doing so.Every life is precious and a mother losing her only son due to criminal medical negligence is doomed for ever.Such consideration defies logic and has no relevance and judicial merit.While we are all solidly behind the doctors who are alive to medical ethics and moral sensibilities and we should all stand and condemn the murderous,immoral and detrimental activities of the corrupt ones![/quote]

Yes.If it is due to his negligence he should be punished without looking to his previous records.What I told is not that case.A single mistake after a number of good deeds should be tolerated.What people today is not having is this tolerance.

To make it clear you think you are a doctor who saved your society selfish less for about 20 years and was good during your service. But unfortunately the one and only one son of a lady happened to be slipped from your hands by God's fate.If you get some punishment on this what will be your mental state?Can you do good work in future after this punishment?Will you serve your society as before?But if you were forgiven what will be your future attitude?Don't you be more vigilant after that?

Abid Areacode wrote:
[quote]
To make it clear you think you are a doctor who saved your society selfish less for about 20 years and was good during your service. But unfortunately the one and only one son of a lady happened to be slipped from your hands by God's fate.If you get some punishment on this what will be your mental state?Can you do good work in future after this punishment?Will you serve your society as before?But if you were forgiven what will be your future attitude?Don't you be more vigilant after that?[/quote]

Abid,

I hope you know that before taking any risks now-a-days any doctor will ask the patients relatives to sign agreement..so such people even after commit mistake, they are not punished...So the question of the Doctor's mental state doesnt come..

Most of the neglience cases we are talking about is due to irresponsible behaviour...let me give a live example:
Recently, a guy went to hospital with stomach pain and the senior doctor suggested some tests...surprisingly he was suggested Brain scanning too...And the patient have done it also without questioning..Then the doctor asked the patients relatives to sign aggrement as he has to undergo a brain operation .... Unfortunately they signed without consulting anyone..The person died after the operation..

Actually i narrated this to give you idea about how people believe in doctor and how irresponsible they behave...
You may get doubt why was he treated for brain when he is suffering from stomach pain...Now though the realtives have filed a case...it is going to go aganist them as they have signed the agreement... :(

Do you think do any patient can harm them in anyway after hearing this...??? :huh:

It's nice to see that the majority opinion is veering to the view that there is something very seriously going wrong with is profession and it has to be rescued from the sharks of this profession.

@Abid

Each and every word I have employed in writing my post is not my subjective opinion but the objective reality I went through!Let me narrate my two experiences involving myself and my family.When I was a kid I had a snakebite and the quarters where we were staying was in the first floor and in the ground floor there was a doctor's dispensary and the doctor was very old.In fact,He was an LMF.Hearing the screams he rushed upstairs and took me into his arms to take me to the nearest hospital even before my father knew anything about it! My eyes get tearful when I remeber this great saving act of the doctor!And the second incident was involving my late father.A young doctor was treating him with fair success for a pretty long time and his visits were almost weekly.The day before his end came the doctor visited and attended to declare that he won't live beyond a few hours much to the shock and dismay of all.I still remember as a boy I silently followed him with his bag and as he was about to ride the rickshaw I handed him a hundred rupee currency note as his fees and he took it and demanded the rickshaw fare without bothering to look at my distraught face! I still remember his cruel face!!!!