Appreciation letter to Indian doctors, who are also good humans

Dear good humans who happen to be doctors,

I just wanted to thank you from my heart. People like me have got so much from you all, that we can’t express enough gratitude. 

Thank you for spending precious years of your youth in education. As a result you earned your first salary much later than school classmates. Because you studied so much to form a good base, it ensured we patients got goodnesses in treatment. 

Thank you for inspiring the common citizen. I have seen you working crazy hours and giving your best to the wellness of every patient that you can. If you can do this and be at your best, then surely can others.

Thank you for optimism. This is something everyone can learn from you. Even when a patient comes with less chances of survival, there are cases you make them survive by being positive.

Thank you for caring. I have seen so many doctor families of my parents’ generation, who ensured a good lifestyle for their children. They sacrificed personal comfort for the benefit of their next generation. Especially those who themselves didn’t get much facilities in their own youth. 

Thank you for being strong. Coming to work every day, battling unreasonable people, learning new things in spare time, having untimely meals. And yet you keep going on.

Thank you for your diligence. Every patient who comes to you is unique. They have their own history and complications. You analyse all of that quickly, and offer solution which your experience tells will be right for them. And you don’t celebrate one success, as you quickly move on to the next case. 

Thank you for self learning. Despite having so many working hours, you make sure to catch up on new advancements. While balancing family and other commitments. At the same time dealing with various types of people, in your hospital as well as from other industries. You spend your entire lifetime in learning and use that to bring betterment in someone else’s life. 

Thank you for happiness. So many times people came to you with no other option left and you got them out of that situation. All while saying that results are in the hand of god and you have just done your duty. 

Thank you for everything. A good human in India has to face many things in order to become a doctor. Colleges charge insanely high fees, and they’re usually not run by people in medical field. Curriculum is far more rigid than other professions. While 20-something engineers are enjoying spending money, doctors are a long way to go before they start earning. Patients prefer getting treated from specialised ones, so they have to do multiple degrees. All of this when hearing things about violence against them. Some patients question their years of knowledge by discussing a few random articles on Google. Work life balance is practically nonexistent. There’s always competition from uncertified practitioners and naysayers. The money you earn is not always equal to the level of stress you take. Some people expect you to treat for free, and if you do that by putting money from own pocket, it’s not valued enough. Then there are those who expect doctors to do all the charity. Life of a good person in this field is always tough, yet you keep going at it. 

If you are a patient then please understand that there are two types of humans, of which one is the good type. As will be society, so will be humans and so will be doctors. If 100 out of 100 humans in a society are magnificent, then same ratio will be for doctors. Every human goes through a lot for becoming a doctor, they are people among us in this profession. If you get treated from a doctor , then consider them as working professionals and not god. Treat them with respect and also understand the constraints at their end. We people cannot survive without doctors, so we must ensure that we save them. 

If you are a doctor then I cannot thank you enough for all the good things that you’ve done. I am grateful for the support you gave me on my previous blog post. 

As you do your practice, I am aware of the issues which plague you. Things may take time to change for the better. I just wanted to thank you for all the happiness you’ve brought in my life. If there’s one thing I can do for you, then it is this. 

Dear good humans of India who are doctors. I pray for you. Please close your eyes and think. Whatever is your top one wish, may it get fulfilled ASAP. 

Once again, thank you and may god bless.

My request to Indian doctors - please hike your fees

It might sound odd to non medicos, that I’m requesting Indian doctors to charge more. The general perception among public is that Healthcare should ideally be low cost to people and affordable for poor. When compared to developed countries like USA, many feel India has this positive aspect of cheaper healthcare. 

Yet I request Indian doctors to follow the American model and hike their fees. If you're charging ₹300 then charge ₹3000. Make it 10 times over night, or even more. It's absolutely not against the law to do that. 

Believe me, if that happens then India will scale much greater heights than ever. 

Here's why. 

Patients’ behaviour will improve

If you're a doctor then some patients will ask “why are you charging money?”. Even if you’re charging as low as ₹200 (less than USD 3) per visit. They won't ask about the electricity and water bills that you have to pay. They won't ask you about rental expenses. They won't ask you about staff who demand salaries on time and a hike every year. They won't ask about inflation. They won't ask about hardware companies selling devices at profitable rates. They won't ask how much money your parents spent on your education. They won’t ask you about family members aspiring to have a lifestyle at par with their peers. They will simply ask why isn't their doctor treating them for free. Because the fees is so low people take it for granted. On the contrary, people don’t ask expensive brands like Mercedes and BMW to give free things. They happily pay what is asked and feel proud doing so. Hence, charge such a high amount that people won’t bother asking for freebies.

It'll reduce vicious cycle of commission 

Some humans in medical profession (not all) prescribe medicines from selected brands based on "targets". Some humans in medical profession prescribe more number of tests to patients so that they'll get referral amount. Why? Because they're earning less from their regular income. They’re unable to hike their rates, for several reasons. So let them earn so much from their regular income that they won't retort to these external things. Let people take only those medicines and tests which are essential. 

Improve health of a patient 

Because it’ll be expensive, patients will try to come fewer times to a doctor and will take better care of their health. That way they'll take each prescription and advise more seriously. Same way people let scratches happen on cheap Nokia phones and take utmost care of their expensive iPhones.

Lesser brain drain

I have seen people in USA buying things like house with botanical garden area and private jets, which their Indian counterparts can't imagine. If Indian doctors earned this much amount here, then neither will they go abroad to practice nor will our rich people go overseas for treatment. 

Happier youth

These days, people of young age like going to restaurants with plush interiors. They don’t care as much about basic raw material or savings - they just want good ambience. So that they can click selfies and upload on social media. Going to cheaper places doesn’t appear cool. This is a stark contrast from my parents generation, for whom eating out meant a place serving fresh meals. They didn’t care much about interiors. Not judging anyone, the current urban Indian youth wants good interiors. They’re willing to spend ₹1000 for a plate of golgappas in a 5 star hotel, even if they get the same thing elsewhere for cheap. Hence doctors should do the same. Make their hospitals a 5 star selfie spot. Youth will look forward to coming there and clicking selfies. For that, doctors should increase their fees exponentially. 

Happier doctors

Most of our society looks down upon doctors who spend money on themselves. They don’t expect them to buy a Mercedes or take vacations abroad. This has a toll on some doctors as they can’t publicly display the results of their hard earned money. Hence, if it became acceptable that doctors are meant to make money, then they won’t be judged. Then every doctor will be able to freely display their wealth and also security systems at home. In fact, the more society tries to suppress a doctor from displaying their wealth, more they’ll want to show it. So give them the freedom to do it. 

Relaxed doctors

These days, it’s a matter of stress for doctors, when a patient does self diagnosis on the Internet. The patient reads some random articles via Google and then argues with prescription given by doctor. The patient feels his few minutes of random research is more insightful than several years of experience held by the doctor. Some patients also come for time pass, whereas they should be coming only if they seriously need a check up. Because the doctor charges very low, patients take it for granted. If instead of ₹200, a doctor was charging ₹20,000, then the patient would have dared not argue. They would have thought that the doctor is charging so much, so they must be right. 

More number of doctors

Experienced doctors are flooded with a lot more patients than newer ones. One reason is they continue charging much less then younger ones. If they charge more, then others will get a chance as well. So there will be more number of doctors graduating and it'll be a level playing field for new entrants as well. Instead of engineering, parents will force their kids to take up medical. Then even the fresh graduates will have a chance of finding clients, due to less rates, just like software engineers.

More time for family

As each doctor will have similar number of patients due to standard deviation, their working hours will reduce. So, they'll be able to devote that time to their family. This will boost the economy as they’ll get time for shopping, eating out, buying luxury goods, etc. 

Just another profession

It’s time people realised that doctor is a profession, they are not gods. I do not know a single doctor who calls herself /himself as god. Just as how a cricketer gets out on zero, same way a doctor too makes unintentional mistakes. If people realised that a doctor is here to earn money and try their best, then they won’t break hospital windows after death of a patient. Because for someone who is not a god, the outcome is not in their hands. 

It will improve things

People will start driving safely on road, fearing high cost of treatment. Parents will force kids to spend less time on mobiles, as they won’t be able to afford eye care. Like in Singapore the treatment is so expensive, people make efforts not to fall sick. People who will feel “why deprive the poor of affordable healthcare?” will have to start improving levels for their upliftment. It’s not the responsibility of doctors to end poverty, isn’t it? We may finally see cancer getting eradicated, thanks to investment in research (I pray no one goes through cancer). And we may see the end of inventing diseases, just so that people will buy their antidote. Because such companies will know that people won’t be able to buy en masse. After all such disease inventors are also humans with feelings for others. We may see people’s bodies getting stronger due to taking less medicines, and getting back to ways of holistic health. 

Because cheaper doesn’t always mean it’s better. If only we could value the importance of having a human body. 

Above article in video format:

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