There’s no denying the impact of Satyamev Jayate. Conversations about generic drugs are becoming as common as cricket and Bollywood. The fourth episode on medical malpractice didn’t go down too well with medical community. An umbrella body of 21 medical institutions asked Bollywood star Aamir Khan to apologize for accusing doctors of malpractice in his TV talk show “Satyamev Jayate”. Medscape India said the representation of malpractices supposedly perpetrated by doctors was “rather sad” and Aamir Khan should offer his apologies. Yesterday we asked health.india.com readers whether Aamir Khan needed to apologise for the comments made during the show.
Most of our readers were adamant that the actor did nothing wrong and simply provided factual evidence.
Ruby B felt that all Aamir did was state incidents based on factual evidence and he needn’t apologise to anyone and asking for an apology shows that they are guilty or some wrongdoing. She feels that instead of asking for apologies doctors should look within.
Charanjit Singh felt that it was good that finally someone like Aamir had the guts to finally say the things we all had in our minds. He said that this proved that Aamir wasn’t just a reel hero but a real life one. He was also of the opinion that though this wouldn’t change things overnight it would make an impact in the long run by making people aware.
SM was adamant that most doctors were corrupt and the hospitals were the same everywhere.
Atul felt that only partial truth was being showcased in the episodes. For example the first episode was blaming doctors and courts whereas the government is to blame for not taking action. He felt that in episode 4 dealing with medical malpractice the show only targeted doctors. He felt that due to the country’s education system there were too few government medical colleges which meant that people who didn’t get into them would have to spend almost a crore to get into private ones. This leads to a huge debt which is unfair on docs when compared to other professionals like engineers and lawyers.
Esquire stated that nowhere in the show did Aamir say all doctors were corrupt and the episode did highlight the good work being done by docs.
RK felt that corrupt doctors do exist and many of them are hand-in-glove with pharmaceutical companies.
Dr Tushar however felt that the show depicted docs in a poor light. He agreed that doctors shouldn’t take cuts from pharma companies but felt that they didn’t get their dues financially. He said that the services doctors provide cost money and those expenses had to be recouped. He also felt that a doctor never had time for his family or vacations and it was hard to deal with patients’ expectations. He also added that since doctors are overworked sometimes errors did creep in but that wasn’t really a doctor’s fault.
Replying to Dr Tushar’s comments Aru felt that he was misreading the episode. It was never about charging high fees but about corrupt docs who cheat their patients. Aru also suggested Tushar should have chosen a different profession if he wanted to lead an easier life.
Devashish Tarra replying to Aru’s comments said that one who’s not a doctor can’t understand the trials and tribulations of the profession. He said that if doctors didn’t get enough sleep his work was liable to suffer. A doctor is like every other human being and needs rest. He pointed out that in the UK doctors weren’t allowed to work for more than 40 hours a week and not more than 52 hours including on-call duties whereas in India most doctors worked for over 72 hours a week and were paid a pittance in comparison. He said that people fail to understand how tough it is for a doctor who’s ethical and honest. He said that the good news was that there were scores of young docs who were willing to earn a decent living without cutting corners or indulging in malpractice. He said patients need to realise that doctors aren’t gods.
It seems that we don’t have enough comments from doctors. We would love to hear your response. Please share your views. Either write in the comments section below or mail us at health@corp.india.com .
Bravo Amir ! U have the guts to amplify the Poor state of Indian Society till after 65 yrs of Independence !
We all including Docs & other elites of our society must think our fore fathers had fought freedom struggle for this society?
rather than blaming amir khan, why not good nobel positive minds get together on oneside and kick the darkside butt.
I am a foreigner and watched the show of Aamir Khan on doctor’s malpractice. I have read the comments here. I think you being the native hindi speaker did not understand the show. Whereas, I being a foreigner watched the show in Hindi and got so much of things. Aamir never insulted the whole of the Doctors in the show. The show was balanced. Besides showing the malpractices, Aamir also showed the simple good practices of the doctors at the end of the show. He praised all the doctors doing good practices and bringing changes to help the poors who cannot afford the branded medicines. What’s wrong in making the people aware of malpractices by Doctors? It’s about the lives of the people. Kudos to all the doctors who are doing good job and I think the whole of India also appreciates that. But in the show, Aamir talked of the bad doctors who are breaching their code of conduct. Change if you are the one who is a BAD doctors. Aamir talked of SICK Doctors and not all doctors in the show. Don’t be a sick doctor at the cost of other’s lives and expense. Aamir’s message is clear, “If you want to be rich through corrupt practices, don’t be doctors. Better choose another profession as corruption by Doctors cause the lives of the innocent people.” Kudos to Aamir Khan. He did a good job. Aamir really is a doctor to the Sick Doctors. Wake up sick doctors. The show was not targeted to all the doctors. Understand what he is saying. Aamir is not Ignorant Perfectionist. He really is a Perfectionist. Many doctors who are involved in malpractices will really hate his show and accuse him. To remind, Aamir also invited some doctors in the show who were good. And what ever Kishore Kumar commented, that was the exact recommendations form Aamir’s show. You should watch it once and try to get what his show is trying to convey. The show was not at ll one sided. Take the show as an eye opener and change your sick attitude.
DOCTORS VS AAMIR KHAN
A letter to an Ignorant Perfectionist
Dear Mr. Aamir Khan,
I have been trying hard but cannot get over the fact that you can ‘sell’ ignorance
with such ease and honour.
Though I agree to ‘parts’ of your show, lets first get the facts right.
1) You said patients on dialysis live up to 15-20 years.
Fact – The 5-year survival rate of patients on
dialysis is about 25-30 % (less than many cancers). Renal transplant remains
the best available treatment option for chronic kidney disease. (I hope you
take responsibility for people who after watching your show plan to not go for
kidney transplant and die in less than 5 years.)
2) An overenthusiastic girl from the audience said that her father was forced
for an
emergency liver transplant ’6-7 years ago’ for gastroenteritis.
Fact – Even today there are ‘a handful’ of
hospitals in India offering liver transplants. To think that 6-7 years ago,
just a gastroenteritis patient was offered liver transplant is not only
improbable but also technically impossible.
3) A diabetic patient blamed a doctor for losing a toe.
Fact – Lacs of diabetic patients lose entire limbs
due to diabetic foot (cellulitis and gangrene). Doctors go about stepwise
cutting off toes, then foot, even the leg up to above knee level in order to
save as much limb as possible. The patient in your show might still be able to
walk just because of the timely action taken by the surgeon.
Mr. Aamir Khan I am not getting back at you because I took your show personally.
Yes, I agree that there are doctors indulging in shameful malpractices and even
I know a few of
them. However, I can proudly say more doctors who work day and night just to
ensure that their patients get the best possible treatment surround me…
The ‘BAD’ doctors should be punished and we all can
come together to ensure we do
not encourage such malpractices.
Secondly, I would have appreciated if you would have thrown some light on the
entrance examinations and the hard work, dedication and sacrifices a doctor needs
to clear his MBBS, MD, DM, etc., examinations. I wish you had spent half a day
in the emergency department and OPD of a Govt. Hospital and realised that the
work timings, working conditions, lunch breaks, doctor : patient ratio, hours
of sleep per week , living conditions in the hostel and the stipend is worse
than a class 4 labourer. You would have also
surprisingly realised that the ‘DOCTORS’ are the only ‘FUNCTIONAL’ part of a
Govt.
Hospital, which still caters to thousands of patients in a day. When you
compared statistics of U.K and India, why didn’t you include the salaries,
living standards and the doctor : patient ratio the doctors have in developed countries.
Coming to generic drugs, yes, a large amount of rural population should have
access to cheap generic drugs. However, one should not forget the pharma
companies that charge more for the drugs are the ones that spend crores of
rupees for research and development of new drugs. Had there not been drug
trials no new drugs would have been invented and we would have mortality rates
compared to Stone Age.
In addition, I agree that most doctors endorse certain brands of drugs (which I
do not deny may be for some financial gains also) because they have faith in
the quality of the ‘active drug’ of certain companies. Yes, many local
companies manufacture generic products, which are a copy of the original molecule
discovered by the expensive company, which can be used for unaffordable
patients. However, you did not mention that many of these generic drugs are of
substandard quality and are the reason for many uncalled for deaths due to drug
reactions. Most doctors would not want to take responsibility of the quality of
the ‘generic’ drugs.
Lastly, what do you mean when you say ‘ People of high IQ and desire to earn
money should not become doctors’?
Why aren’t doctors allowed to have an ambition?
How can a person who earns four crores for an episode of a so-called ‘social’
show decide on what should be an individual’s ambition and financial status!
Why can there be no doctors who earn well for their professional skills and do
not indulge in malpractices?
It just reflects your hypocrisy. I would like to offer a few solutions to the problem.
a) ‘BAD’ doctors indulging in malpractices should be suspended for life. We
need a strong
regulatory authority to publish expected treatment ‘protocols’ and punish doctors
found to be doing unethical practices.
b) Regulatory authorities should also keep a check on the quality of drugs
being manufactured and at the same time ‘sold’ at the local chemist.
c) Govt. medical colleges and hospitals should multiply several folds, increasing
the number of doctors in each department, improving the doctor : patient ratio.
Doctor’s
salaries and living conditions should be looked after and should be comparable to
other professionals.
d) Regular CME’S and licensing exams (like other countries) every 5-10 years.
e) The Govt. should spend 6-8% of GDP ON HEALTHCARE and a part of which should
be committed to the research and development of newer drugs.
f) No politician should be allowed to be associated with any private medical
colleges.
g) The public should be educated well about common diseases and the
‘acceptable’ qualifications of the doctors.
These are just a few points I can think now. I am sure had you bothered to have
a panel discussion and find solutions in a healthy way, we could come up with a
lot
more viable solutions.
However, you chose to sensationalise your show, by hiring ‘few’ people with
‘fake’ or ‘amplified’ problems and shed a few tears.
Hope you understand that your allegations like ‘HAMARE DESH KE DOCTORS ITNE
BIMAAR KYUN HAIN’ and ‘MAUT KE SAUDAGAR’ are as serious as calling all actors
‘Rapists’ (after the Shiney Ahuja incident) and all Muslims ‘Terrorists’.
Knowing that you twisted not one but not many known medical ‘facts’ to strike a
chord with the ‘ignorant’ ‘naive’ audience, how do you expect me to have faith
in you and the stories you would project in the upcoming shows. You have
betrayed a large segment of the ‘classes’ as well as ‘masses’.
All I can say is I feel sad for the death of the ‘image’ you created in our
minds and hearts. An unbiased Aamir who strives for nothing but the truth and
the betterment of the society was after all a MYTH.
Condolences,
An honest Doctor.
If some one has a problem with what Aamir has said, he may go to the court but I think In genral he has said nothing wrong. It seems and many doctors has agreed that they do all these malpractices and this has became part of the currupt system. Whenever somebody shows some gutts to get a positive change or reform in the soceity and to change the currupt system, some persons starts opposing instantly and with unity. Amir be ready to face the opposition
in the next episode, aamir khan will say that Indians are ‘KHOONI’ ‘Murderers’ rapists etc. Foreigners will like it or even belive in it. Will you accept it. If the citizens get offended, satyamev-jayate-fans will defend aamir saying that ‘He did not say that all citizens are murderers, rapists’.
Obviously Medscape is bious. Let them explain why there is not one suspension of any doctor in 4 years in a corrupt country like India.
Why not they publish the facts about why ALL the women in a village of Andhra were operated so that they w’nt have children any more.
godyears.blogspot.com/2012/05/doctors-defend-thyself.html?m=1I
This was written 3 weeks BEFORE Aamir Khan’s show aired on Tv. It shows the true plight of majority of doctors in India with over a 100 comments from doctors across three generations.
There is no doubt that there are rotten mangoes in the bunch, but to call drs ‘maut ka saudagar’ is insulting a whole profession.
The comment, ‘Maut ka Saudagar’ was meant I think only for the rotten mangoes of the community who fortunately are only a handful.
WHAT AMIR SHOWED IS UNFORTUNATELY TRUE. WE START OFF AS DEDICATED, ETHICAL, PHILANTHROPES AND SOMEWHERE DOWN THE ROAD INNOCENCE AND HONESTY IS LOST. BE IT THE DEMANDS OF A CORRUPT OVERALL SYSTEM OR PERSONAL GREED, MOST DOCTORS DO END UP INDULGING IN AT LEAST SOME DEGREE OF MALPRACTICE. AMIR MAY HAVE CAUSED INFLAMMATION AND PUBLIC OUTCRY WITH HIS POTRAYAL OF DOCTORS BUT THERE IS REALLY NOWAY OF SALVAGING THE SITUATION ANYMORE. INSURANCES SEEM TO BE THE ANSWER. THEY ARE NOT. EVENTUALLY MEDICAL INSURANCES WILL LEAD TO OR PROBLEMS THAN SOLUTIONS. I REFER TO THE DETERIORATING HEALTHCARE SCENARIO OF UNITED STATES IN THE LAST 15-20 YEARS (MADE ONLY WORSE BECAUSE OF MULTIPLE AND HIGH CHARGING MEDICAL INSURANCES) TO MAKE MY POINT. OVERALL, KUDOS TO AMIR.
i was bemused to watch many allegedly aggrieved parties coming on stage one by one and narrating their tales of so called loot, deceit & callousness of their attending doctors and hospitals. once you have done the damage to the medical fraternity by such a one sided story, without any defense from the hospital / doctor , i think it was more to play with the emotions of general public. Not absolving any of such mentioned doctors or hospitals, until they have explained their position or have won / lost cases in the judicial courts, it was unbecoming of Aamir khan to bunch & defame the whole medical fraternity, as negative impressions are very easily imprinted in general public’s mind. A lot of doctors hospitals are sincere upright and top class deliverer of medical care and by highlighting one sided story aamir has created a further schism between the society and doctor community. To that extent aamir khan can not be absolved from his irresponsible presentation to the extent that it can be labelled as playing to the gallery.
while female feticide is a social issue, hence worthy of discussion in open public forums, this one is more of a case by case system failure, to be settled individually.
There are two responses doctors will have to this:
1. Rationalize and blame Aamir
2. Internalize and find ways to correcting the “systemic” issues
I have low hopes of anyone choosing option 2.
Please dont fool yourselves into believeing that before SJ people didnt know what this profession has turnded into. Common people face this on a daily basis.