Paisa Vasool

A lot of us medicos are totally perplexed at times by how the same people who splurge at stinky CCDs for unpalatable coffee or the multiplexes on no brainer movies find it so tough to pay a docs' consultation fee.

 I still remember this elderly gentleman once walk upto me in the emergency and asked if there was a cheaper prescription slip available with a wink visible through his CK rims .....hahaha..... I dint really know what to say.....

So what is it about the dislike or apparent discomfort of people needing to pay a doctor's fee. I have figured out its rooted in the Indian ethos of PAISA VASOOL. Simply put, 'bang for your buck'.

Its a bit underwhelming for some patient attendants to walk into the emergency with a kid they think is very ill and walk out a few moments later with a small slip carrying names of medicines that are freely available OTC( antibiotics included). I usually throw in a few minutes of cold sponging and pulse oximetry to soothen the blow(of paying a royal 350 bucks). 

What people rarely understand is that the small sheet of paper with the Richter scale trace like handwriting is a product of years of hard-work and experience. To prescribe medicine is not the trick; its about assessing the severity and foreseeing the complication. Rarely do people understand that even though a chemist might hand out the same medicine as a doctor for a condition there are errors in dosage or worse still completely unnecessary in a given situation.

A consultant once slyly remarked on rounds: he has had gajar mooli from outside( gajar= cefixime, Mooli= Azithromycin), switch to IV now. Thus something that was treatable without antibiotics now needed hospitalization. So the story goes. A lot of people complain about us writing out too many tests or starting IV too soon. Well after 3 classes of antibiotics, babaji's booti  for a 4 day fever coupled with a rash (? drug induced, viral, booti induced) what choice do you leave us with.

I am in no way trying to paint everyone with the same brush but just trying to put forth my views on a subject that is pretty intriguing. I mean in an age where you think 750 bucks per person for a movie is par for  course I just hope people spare a thought for the poor bespectacled guy up at 3 AM; hungry for sleep but still by your side.