My request to Indian Medical Association - legalise quacks

Reading the title you might be wondering - what are you saying? Why should quacks be legalised? They aren’t authorised to treat people, so why do you want that?

I will justify my answer. First let me tell you some facts. All over India there are many quacks practising as doctors. If my source is to be believed then Mumbai alone has a thousand plus doctors without medical degree. Thing is patients are coming to them for treatment and seemingly doing fine. So even if they reveal that they don’t have a legal degree, they’ll continue getting patients, because they have developed a certain trust with them.

Even otherwise there are patients who believe in self-medicating themselves. They look up to Google for information, without verifying credentials of the author, whether that person had a medical degree or not. And now people look up to AI tools for diagnosis. So if people can consult Google or AI, why can’t they consult quacks? It’s their life, their choice. 

Most people don’t want preventive healthcare. Tell them not to have ultra processed foods, they won’t stop. They want to live the life they want to and then take some medicine to get cured. Prevention is not better than cure, living the dream life is. So if someone wants to consult a quack, then let them do it. In any case we have people whose videos exhibit that they’ve cured others from incurable diseases by making them change their religion. So if such religious heads can treat people then why not quacks?

Also think that how cheap this will make healthcare to be. I have heard about kids of established doctors who first spent ₹1 crore to study MBBS on a paid seat and then ₹4 crore for MD again on a paid seat; eventually to join their family’s hospital. So if they have spent ₹5 crore (more than half a million dollars) just to buy degrees for practising, then they will ultimately recover it from patients. Therefore it’s better to let them join their parental profession and learn on the job. If people can become head of a company by joining their family business, thereby getting precedence over someone else more experienced and qualified, then why can’t it happen to Doctors? OTT platforms put more money on projects starring actor kids rather than rank newcomers. So if this happened to hospitals also then there will be patients trusting their favourite Doctor’s child more than a totally new entrant in the medical line. Hence if someone saves ₹5 crore on education then they’ll pass on the benefit directly to their patients. 

This will also boost the economy. A person won’t need to buy honorary Doctorate just to suffix “Dr.” for increasing their business prospects. With additional disposable income at their hand, they’ll spend it elsewhere, maybe on food, shopping and tourism (without relying on pharma companies to "sponsor" their trips). They can also use it to buy a laptop with subscriptions to paid AI tools. If they’re able to treat a patient with their experience then fine, if not then they can consult various AI tools. Chrome browser on their desktop will have multiple tabs open. One tab for ChatGPT, one tab for Claude, one for Gemini, one for MetaAI, etc. The moment a patient will ask a question, they’ll create prompt and feed to all these AI tools. Depending on whosoever gives the best answer, they’ll prescribe that solution. 

And if the prescription goes wrong then it’ll not be fault of the quack. Any patient going for treatment will fully know that they are going on their own to someone without a valid degree. Just like how no FMCG company forces people to consume their cheap packaged foods cooked in palm oil. People just want to buy a packet of biscuits for ₹5, irregardless of the raw material used. Grocery store owners have told me that they keep such stuff because their customers demand it. So who’s at fault - the person making/selling such goods or the person buying them?

Finally, let me tell you a few facts. Apple computers was started by Steve Jobs who didn’t have a degree in Computers. Some of the best rulers didn’t have a degree on how to govern. For skin treatment, many people these days are following advice from random YouTubers, even if it’s a paid content. A decent number of people first work as compounders in a big city clinic and later start their own medical practice in villages which thrives due to lack of a Doctor nearby. Even if people know it isn’t a real doctor, they still go as it gives them relief.

So if customers don’t have a problem then why do authorities have?

Thank god my dream didn’t get fulfilled

Years ago I had a dream, to have Rupees 100 crore in the bank. Then the yearly interest would be enough for me to make a good living. I’d be free to make the kind of helpful things I wanted to, without worrying about making a certain amount of money every month. 

Thank god this dream of mine didn’t get fulfilled. Because some years later I met someone who inherited a lot of money after death of a parent and decided to quit their job. 

The result? That person is the most negative one I’ve ever met. Because they don’t have anything to do. When mind is free then negative thoughts come by default, otherwise it takes hard work to develop positive thoughts. 

Coming to that person, I would tell them many times to develop a positive outlook but they wouldn’t listen. They would keep throwing their negativity on me. One day I read 80-20 rule and realised that the small time I spent talking to them was a big cause of my unhappiness. I decided not to talk to them for a while. What happened thereafter? I could notice significant changes in me. I finished 3 books in a week, something that would have taken months earlier. I could blog again, and plan about what I wanted to do next. Till the time I was talking and caring for healing them, I was in a negative zone. 

That made me realise that had I also inherited tonnes of money then I’d have lost the will to do hard work. Perhaps I’d have been complacent in making things that solve problems. Also, just because someone has a lot of money, doesn’t mean they’re rich. There are people who do good for the ones around them, while constantly working on ways to earn more and upskill themselves. I now have more regard for the hardworking person who reinvents themselves at every age. 

 

I get overtly attached to all my clients. Which is meh.

 I don’t know whether it’s my strength or weakness, that I believe in giving my best to every client I work with. 

If a client isn’t satisfied then I am unable to sleep properly at night. I want to ensure that they get the best solution for their needs.

If there’s a meeting then I turn up before time. Mostly the other party makes me wait, somehow I can’t do the same. 

I try to remember every promise I make to them so that I live up to it. I don’t make false promises just to win a client. 

For me no client is small or big. All are equal, hence their needs must be fulfilled. 

I make extra efforts to know what the client wants and how I can help them succeed. 

I speak less so that I can focus more on actual work delivery. If results are there then they will talk. 

I don’t commit to what I cannot do. 

Which is why, I wonder if it’s my weakness that I get overtly attached to every client I work with. 

Because not every client is the same. 

It’s not easy being an Indian doctor

 A lot of struggle and hardships are involved for someone who wants to become a doctor in India. 

First comes the competition. It’s so much that most bright students don’t get into MBBS. Seats are less but applying students are more. Just because someone didn’t get into MBBS, doesn’t mean they lack intelligence and skills. 

Then comes duration of the course. Most students live outside their homes for studies, in far off places, quickly mastering a language they aren’t familiar with. Engineering students will tell you about studying a week before exams and passing with decent grades, but not medical ones. While an engineering student gets a job towards end of 4 year course, struggle actually starts for a medical student. They need to study further and have no idea what specialisation they’ll get, unless their family members have arranged a paid seat. 

And so while some students get into MD, most don’t, despite repeated attempts. A few end up doing multiple diplomas to compensate so that they’ll at least have something. Again, just because someone didn’t get an MD seat, doesn’t mean they lack skill and brilliance. 

Masters in medical is quite hard. I have heard stories of students doing 36 hours duties without a morsel of food. They are treating patients while also studying. Several of them don’t get stipend, and if they do then the university draws all the cash from ATM accounts. The compromises one has to do to get their degree!

And while their masters is going on, comes the question of getting married. A few get married but not all of them, because they don’t want their education to be interrupted. Some want to study further because they feel they won’t be able to make a good career with just one masters degree. So when time comes to get married, many are still struggling. God bless the family members sponsoring their education, because these days it is quite expensive to make your child a doctor. 

Finally when the time arrives to start practice, pat comes the question, where? Because while software engineers keep changing their companies and cities, as per whichever pays them better, this facility is not for doctors. It takes them more than a decade to establish their practice, while being at the same place constantly. We hear about digital nomads in tech sector who earn in dollars and spend in Rupees, but not so in doctors tied up to a single location. When covid like thing comes then software engineers work safely from their homes but for doctors there’s no other option. 

Think before saying that doctors these days are cheats, greedy, inefficient and what not. You have no idea of the struggle they go through and the efforts it takes for someone to become a doctor in today’s time. 

When you truly love a girl

There’s a girl whom you love and she happens to love you back. You both care for each other. You spend years together, sharing so many beautiful moments. 

How would it feel to know that when she was born, people told her parents that it was their bad karma?

How would it feel that people told her family they were unlucky?

How would it feel that the girl who’s given you so much of love, was told upon her birth that a son should have been born?

How would it feel that lavish celebrations weren’t held after her birth just because of her gender?

How would it feel that her grandparents gave preference to her uncle and aunt because they gave birth to a boy?

How would it feel to know that she gave you so much of happiness, but her own arrival on earth wasn’t celebrated?

It doesn’t make any family inferior, if they have a girl instead of a boy. Yet, there is clearly a partiality if a boy is born. If data on abortions is made public, we’ll be shocked to know names of some prominent people who killed their child simply because it was a female. 

More than caring for whether it’s a boy or a girl, what matters is how you raise the child. Not all sons care for their parents in old age. Not all daughters are victim of abuse and as honest as they pretend to be. 

Characteristics of an average Indian patient

 1. Is impatient. Expects you to see them the minute they reach your OPD. 

2. No matter how much you do for them, their family would seldom regard you for going out of the way to cure them. 

3. Believes in taking the law in their hands in case something accidentally goes wrong at your hospital. 

4. You treat them right a hundred times , they’ll stay silent. Go wrong just once and they’ll ask all their friends to write negative reviews on the Internet. 

5. Thinks that doctors are a money printing machine. 

6. Wants to get everything free while charging money in their own line of work. 

7. Negatively troll the one who speaks the truth, without realising that it’s due to behaviour like theirs that Indian doctors are leaving their profession, sending kids abroad and remaining in perpetual fear of getting wrongly killed. 

End Note: I haven’t said that every Indian patient is like that. All I’ve said is how an average Indian patient is, based on personal observation. If you don’t have any of the above traits then congrats, it means you’re not an average Indian patient. 

• Yaju Arya

Atom bomb - Making free healthcare a reality

Most people want doctors to treat them for free, so that they won’t have to pay any money. The conventional thought among people is that healthcare should be free of cost. Yet, it doesn’t happen, for several reasons. Almost every doctor I personally regard, doesn’t believe in it. Still, if you want healthcare to be completely free, then here’s just one thing which you would have to do:

Start your own hospital and openly proclaim that everything will be free. All consultations. All surgeries. All tests. All medicines. Absolutely free of cost to the patient. 

Because you want free healthcare, na? So, do it yourself. Open up your own hospital. Purchase adequate land and construct it legally. Buy all the machines. Hire highly competent doctors on stupendous salary packages. Assure them they won’t have any work pressure, and that working for you will be like a dream come true. 

Think you can’t start your own hospital because you’re not a doctor? Well, let me tell you, that:

• The duo who started Fortis are not doctors. 
• The guy who started Max is not a doctor. 

These two are among the top Indian hospital chains. You go beyond them and make such an awesome brand that people will forget all others. So excellent that yours will be the de facto standard. 

The power of thinking big

Plan something world-class. Whatever is your perception of an ideal hospital, visualise that and make it happen. Build something so great that all those patients who negatively stereotype doctors, will come only to your hospital. Yours will be the preferred choice of everyone who thinks that doctors shouldn’t charge any fees from their patients. 

May you rock the world 

I would really want your hospital to succeed. May you have so many patients that your doctors will find it hard to handle. Then, how will you manage the workload? It’s simple. By recruiting more doctors. In fact, you can hire MBBS graduates, who vastly outnumber the amount of super specialists. Just visit medical colleges and do campus hiring. Give medical students a job offer while they’re still studying. That way they would settle down in 20’s, like some of their engineering counterparts. Further, it’ll reduce pressure on students to clear NEET and other PG exams. In any case, most aren’t able to clear them due to which they move to other fields like IT or Pharma. That way, if another pandemic-like situation comes, then there won’t be a shortage of qualified doctors in the market. 

Let people realise your greatness

Along with hiring undergraduate doctors, also spend money on a viral marketing campaign. Convince people that for most basic cases, it’s absolutely fine to get themselves treated from an MBBS doctor, instead of going for super specialists. Tell them that if they don’t have any problem using software made by a college dropout, why can’t they get themselves treated by a legit medical professional, who’s cured actual patients during their course of education? Make people realise that an MBBS doctor has a lot of clinical skill, not necessarily less than those who have cleared PG exams. Also, make them realise that some students don’t go for PG, because they can’t afford the options they’re getting. 

Stepping stones for success

Your next step will be to hire other staff for your hospital. This will consist of the usual ones such as nurses, compounders, receptionists etc. but that will not be all. You’ll hire some more type of people which others don’t hire. 

The first type will a person who’ll meet every patient after check up, asking them not to devalue the prescription, just because they’ve got it for free. Every doctor I’ve met, has faced this issue where people don’t value the consultation if it’s given to them free of cost. So what if those doctors failed? You hire special staff to make yourself succeed. Better still, you do that yourself. After all, you only wanted healthcare to be free, so you know better why people should value it. 

In addition to that, two more types of staff members will be required. One shall be those who will explain to patients that a doctor tries their best and it’s not their fault if a patient doesn’t recover despite all efforts. The second type will be bouncers, to flex their muscles, in case a patient argues with the doctor using random diagnosis taken from the Internet.

Completely forego any chance of profits

And now, coming to the medicines part. If you are one of those who considers profit a bad word for Pharma companies, then do this. Put up a sign board outside your hospital saying that medical representatives won’t be allowed. Have your own pharmacy giving generic medicines. All your doctors will prescribe their medicines only. In case a patient develops reaction to generic medicines of a certain brand, then it’ll be your fault and not that of the doctor. Because you only had set that rule. 

The best a patient can get

Due to free medicines, there can be chances of leakage. To prevent that, please make sure to invest in software. Have everything digitised, including prescriptions, pharmacy, inventory, CSSD, etc. 

A complete software-enabled setup will also result in a good patient experience. A common complaint among low-cost hospitals is too much of crowding and waiting times. But that shouldn’t concern you, because you’ll be doing something far-far better. Implement software to enable your patients to book appointment from home and come only when their turn is near. No one will have to sit inside for hours, while waiting for their turn. The overall experience should be such that if any patient wants an appointment then they’ll get it instantly, without having to wait for days or weeks. There’ll also be free pickup & drop facility along with valet parking, to ensure overall customer delight. Patients will actually look forward to visiting your hospital, instead of dreading. 

Everyone will be happy

In fact, make sure there is absolutely no complaint from the customer. So, all the floors should be clean, staff should be well behaved, cafeteria should serve delicious food, and infrastructure should be upgraded every few years. 

Also, your employee retention levels should be high. Doesn’t matter what’s the market situation, you will have to give them regular increments. If you’ve ever wondered why 15% of all doctors in USA are Indians, then here’s your chance to reverse the trend. Give your doctors an absolutely relaxed work environment and a very high pay. Also, give them annual paid vacations with family and the latest electronic gadgets. Offer so many benefits that whichsoever doctor works with you, will be so satisfied that they won’t ever think of working anywhere else.

Bring a revolution 

On the matter of complete satisfaction, you can do one more thing which will bring a revolution. In case a patient dies in the hospital, then their family members will be given money, as a compensation. That money will be deducted from your pocket, not that of the doctor. This will encourage doctors to work for you and also more patients will come visiting. Along with that, your home address and personal mobile number will be prominently displayed on the reception area. This is in case a patient dies accidentally and their family members want to know, whom to vent out their anger on. 

Last but not the least

Above all, make sure that the money you’re using to give free treatment, doesn’t have any source of dubious earnings. It shouldn’t be an indirect mean to change someone’s religious or political beliefs. It should not be a way to convert any black money into white. It should not be a means to cover up for someone’s past misdeeds. 

Earn your money the hard way, and use that to do something that will solve the healthcare problems forever.