Anecdotal stories can be heard in many allopathic hospital and clinics in India. Unnecessary admission to ICU especially after minor surgery and post operative period, subjected to diagnostic tests and surgical procedures that are not needed to their condition in the hospitals and physician clinics.
This type of money-grab also happens at the service independent medical practitioners, many of who operate under clear conflict of interest. Doctors routinely accept kickbacks from drug and pharmaceutical companies – from coffee makers to exotic foreign vacations, in return to prescribing their drugs. There is also direct commission or kickback to the doctor for every diagnostic test prescribed, which can vary from a third to half of the price paid by the patient. Stent manufacturers give a cut to the surgeon for cardiac procedures that uses their products. A gift or kickback of substantial amount to a surgeon in for a knee replacement, often resulting in replacement of knees even for healthy young people. These types of financial incentives lead the medical professionals to over-treat the patients that results in iatrogenic damage to the patient, sometimes very serious and irreversible.
India is not the only country to iatrogenic harm caused by the medical system. In the USA, statistics show that medical intervention and treatment (not just medical errors!) cause highest number of deaths, more than heart disease and cancer. The medical system is vehemently trying hard to follow everything that is being done in the USA and the west. It not so in India
At the end of the day, the unsuspecting (and the suspecting) patient pays for the greed and callousness of medical practitioners and hospitals with their hard-earned money, sweat and blood, quite literally.
Hippocratic Oath that says “Keeping myself free from all intentional wrongdoing and harm” and “I will do no harm or injustice to them (patients)” are conveniently omitted in the current oath as stated by the Indian Medical Association. This seems to be very much in line with the current practices.
What can you do?
This is a tough one. In a system that is so corrupt and unethical, it is hard to protect ourselves from the harm caused by the system. But still, there are many things that we can do to protect ourselves.
Look for alternatives to Allopathic medicine. Ayurveda is a time-honored system of medicine that has very high efficacy. Homeopathy is another fantastic alternative – it strictly abides itself by one of the most important principle of the original in Hippocratic Oath – do no harm. Many people do not like Ayurveda and Homeopathy because they do not give instant results in many cases. But remember, they treat the underlying cause of the disease, not just the symptom. Even in these streams of medicine there may be dubious elements, so look for good doctors. At least here the kickback from Pharmaceutical and medical diagnostic companies are minimum.
Empower yourself with knowledge. It is important that you gain a good understanding of your body, such as its power of self-healing. Learn about diseases from the internet and also learn about the tests ordered are appropriate before jumping into it. Learn about medication and their side effects.
Stay physically and emotionally healthy.
Another common is Toxins in Modern Life
If you read the labels of most of the food this nation consumes (not to mention how it is produced, processed etc) you cannot tell with a straight face that it is as healthy as the food of 100 or 200 years ago. Add the water we drink, the air we breathe that in most cases is worse than in generations past, and there is definitely a problem.
The “toxin” meme has penetrated far. In terms of industrial pollution, that peaked in the middle of the 20th century in developed countries– developing countries are still reaching their peak. Yes, I can say with a straight face that there is no compelling evidence that the modern diet is less healthy than in previous centuries. In fact, the modern diet is better in many ways. We have access to fresh fruits and vegetable year round. We have refrigeration. We have a more varied and nutritious diet. Our problem is one of excess – mainly excess calories. Water supplies are not generally safe, safer than in the past.
Avoid toxic chemicals: Make sure that you avoid chemical pollutants and carcinogenic chemicals such as pesticides, insecticides, cosmetics, home cleaners etc. Get rid of chemical emitting mosquito repellent, install meshed nets on the windows instead.
Eat healthy: Eat healthy food that is minimally processed. Try to eat raw fresh food that is locally sourced. Sprouted seeds, nuts and fermented rice are great options. Avoid eating in wayside restaurant and eateries.
Keep an all-round fitness regimen with another time-honored technique – yoga.
A big factor these days is stress. Stress did not exist 50, 100 or 200 years ago. Our society has become so altered in recent years due to the internet, increased communications and technology. We as a species see not only the very worst actions of our species on a daily basis, we also are presented with the very best or most lucky individuals (we see the lottery winner on TV; we don’t see the 100,000,000 individuals who lost) as if it is expected of us. Hence the rise of ‘fame obsession’ seen in social media and ‘mainstream media’. Be extremely wealthy/famous, or be a loser… There has been no time for our human psyche to evolve to adapt to this stress.
It is very difficult to measure, especially historically, something as vague as “stress.” What the psychological literature shows is that stress is relative. We tend to adapt and normalize to our situation, and find happiness and stress relative to our norm. I think it’s naive, however, to argue that people living one or two centuries ago were under less stress that today. They had to deal with problems that are much greater than our own – the death of many of their children, many more untreatable and common illnesses, harder and longer working conditions, etc. We have it comparatively easy today, but obviously many people do not realize how relatively brutal life was in prior centuries (and likely future centuries will look back at how brutal our lives are).
Avoid too much stress: Human beings need some level of emotional stress for stimulation and optimum fitness. But excessive and continuous stresses can breakdown the emotional system which plays a role in nearly every disease from heart disease and blood pressure to arthritis and cancer. Don’t work long hours in your sitting jobs. Do things that you enjoy after work and during weekends.
Talk to people. If you have had a bad incident yourself, spread the word to people you knows so that they do not become the next victim.
Find good doctors. In spite of the corrupt and unethical system, there are still a few good doctors and medical practitioners who have not sold out their souls to big money. Find the ones in your area.
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