The Tide of
corporatisation of healthcare has swept over India in the last decade. From
being sanctuaries in the middle ages to being temples of healing in the last
century, hospitals are now evolving into commercial centres. Patient is cast as
a ‘consumer’ while healthcare professionals are ‘service- providers’. Today the
hospital is designed like a factory with its staff as workers. Unfortunately,
health can neither be manufactured nor be bought. In this fact lies the irony-
while patients’ narcissism is massaged by advertising spiel- the larger
population have not understood what to really expect.
Consumer- patient
No human willingly
chooses to become a patient. (Only exception, being the cases of psychological
disorders in which persons are fascinated by doctors and treatments. Let’s
leave this category aside.) For illness is an unwanted imposition to be got rid
of as soon as possible. In the best cases it is treated as a character-
building adversity. So a person just
happens to become a patient. A patient becomes a consumer when he chooses to
‘buy’ healthcare ‘products’. This product maybe an investigation, treatment,
therapy, convalescence or palliation.
Service- providers or
expert professionals
The difference between corporate medicine and
rest of corporate India is vast. Except few administrators and expert doctors
all other staff are either contracted, interns, students or observers. Every
corporate hospital runs its own nurses training, post graduate medical training
and other courses- the students provide free or cheap labour to run the
hospitals. While rest of corporate India enjoys a 5- day week, corporate
hospitals work 6 days (the hospitals are manned by rotation duties. These
rotations are done every 6 days with one day off). Mandatory 36 days paid
leave, maternity leave, on site child care, medical facilities- are not usually
given.
The problem is the
problem
Common complaint
against corporatisation is high expenses. This is a genuine problem and
activists are working on it. Bigger concern is changing framework of illness
and its treatment. The reality about illness and treatment is this- one cannot
choose the illness, its timing or intensity. Similarly no patient can hope to
recover by mere administration of treatment without an interest or effort on
part of the patients. Corporate healthcare is trying to actively hide these
facts.
Advertisements make
tall claims about prevention of illness by undergoing battery of diagnostic
procedures. No tests can prevent illness. If you become ill at an inconvenient
time, the corporate hospital promises to give you treatment without a break in
your commitments. A part of this is the active encouragement given to patients
to arrive late for appointments and to not be compliant towards treatment
recommendations which get in the way of their life (eg alcohol use during
treatment). Has anyone ever heard of a running car being repaired? But
corporate healthcare promises that to humans.
As stated earlier,
health is a commodity that can neither be manufactured nor bought. A few lucky
people are born with good health and continue to enjoy its benefits without
much effort. Many of us are able to cultivate healthful habits. Yet for most of
us illness is inevitable. Patients have to approach for help. The
responsibility of arriving on time, reporting problems honestly, taking
treatments as advised- is completely with the patient. Going to a corporate
hospital with excellent quality ratings alone, never helps. Patients should
learn to differentiate between hospital and hospitality and between treatment
and pampering. In this lies the difference between a common patient and a wise
one.
Conclusions
The trend of
corporatisation has given a false sense of security that they will be assured
of good health with payment of steep charges. But no illness can be treated just
from the outside without participation of the patient. Patients should be
willing to do their part of the hard work to recover, merely throwing money
will get them nowhere.
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