If you had stepped out of India some 10 yrs back and haven't been there for past 4 yrs or so... We welcome you to the new CORPORATE Chennai!
Corporates are every where and in every business. They ventured in to IT, Chennai saw a change in lifestyle. People started making more money and now it has managed to create a rift between the IT people and non-IT people with the latter blaming almost everything, even if their dog falls ill, on the former. Increasingly, these days, tamil movies have taken a dig at people working in IT industry. They portray people as being paid big money for doing nothing. I might have to get in to "Mudhalvan" (tamil movie) style of challenging them to be working on a tight-deadline-die-and-finish-it project at least for one project.
The corporates then moved to Shopping malls, we saw big malls coming up in Chennai. These were fun! Time pass... time pass and then there were some serious buyers as well. To add to it they then stepped up to the cinema halls. Come "Multiplexes", which Cheran in his last movie says is only for the well-to-do people. With multiplexes and malls and big, classy and well done offices, the outlook of Chennai started changing drastically. Then in to retails... Reliance has taken over the retail world.
But then they moved in to an important area.... HEALTH CARE. Yup the hospitals. Good is that we have got brilliant hospitals with all international facilities. You can get any thing done with out even thinking about going abroad to get it cured.
But its more painful to see these hospitals with state-of-art facilities operating on a Eureka forbes style "fix-the-target-and-do whatever-it takes-to-achieve-it". Personally, I have gone through the experience.
Please do not get me wrong. I am not here saying that doctors shouldn't be making money. I am not a dumber! But when corporates enter a field, the focus is on making money. The profit margins turn in to a bigger balloon and I am sure that doctors out there would also agree when I say this.
One big chain of hospitals on old-mahabalipuram-road in chennai has only one way of treating the customers (yeah the patients)
1. Take ECG
2. Take X-Ray
3. Scan
4. Blood test
5. Urine test
With all this, let me find out why you have a high fever. One of my close doctor friend agrees that they are compelled to do what they are doing. These hospitals are fixing targets for each of the in-house doctors and their renumeration is tied to the target.
Now you might want to consider doing a "MBA" after your Masters in the medicine field. With corporate hospitals doing this to the health care, people are slowly moving away from these hospitals.... Once I was rushing this employee of a small mechanical lathe shop to a hospital. He was bleeding badly as he had his hand crushed in the machine. The only thing he said in the state of pain is "Please do not take me to that premium private hospital. Take me to 24-hrs hospital (govt run)"
Can doctors out there do something abt this?
24 comments:
another standard question nowadays =
will your company pay for you ?
i think more than mudhalvan... u r affected by ramanna.. esp. that hospital scene!!
'die-and-finish-it' ....hmmm do u get that option really.....for me it is only 'finish-it-and-then-die-becoz-it's-ur-problem-then' option only....
aanalum onnu...atleast neenga (IT pasanga) nalla kaasu paapinga illae? when compared to usthe scientists-the poor, good for nothing worldy, always in minus account holders!
Anyway atleast for the stress part-same pinch!
Can doctors do anything about it? Absolutely not! If they want to make some money, they've got to do what their bosses tell them to do. If they choose to 'serve' the people instead of 'squeezing them of their money'...they can look for government jobs!
There is a strike of government doctors in kerala because they are not paid enough or their pay raise is close to nothing!!
And yes, this is a despicable and humiliating thing. You go to the private hospital with a fever and next thing you know you're paraoid that you've got cancer or something! Yes it sucks! But if you go to a government hospital, you probably might have to wait hours and hours for a doctor to show up!! Well..let's just say that you might be lucky if the doctor shows up!!
It is absolutely pathetic that the people who were sworn to SERVE the people have to make such decisions!! Blah!!
Is the system in India ever going to change?
What is this post all about? It strays into so many topics and finally ends with a question that has nothing to do with the topic.
Then it's absolutely exaggerated and some of the comments (ela's and Absconding's) too.
Hospitals in India are far far better than most of the developed countries.Sorry to break it to you, I've never had any bad experience with Hospitals in India. Also, in 21st century Healthcare = Hospitals + Health Insurance providers. Even here we have made a lot of progress.
I know you all **responsible citizens** hate money but don't you think Corporations' only goal is to make money and keep their shareholders happy? I would love to see one of you build a corporation that doesn't care about money... oh wait, that would be called a NGO not a Corporation.
Sworn to serve? Really?
I'm not going to argue. I took an aspect of the blog and decided to comment on it. We've all had different experences at different hospitals.
Venkat, I invite you to visit a government hospital in Kerala and you'll see how pathetic the system is there!!
I'm not questiniong anything here, man. Ethics, morals, values...blah..whatever!!! One man's meat is another man's poison!
I don't think that anybody hates money. It's what money does to people that we are not so fond of!!
Venkat, don't you think that you're exaggerating our comments a TAD BIT??
@ Ramki - Yes. Thts the order of the day!
@ Nivyakimbi - I am just ranting on the way they operate these days.
@ Ela - Pls. Don't even get to the renumeration part. But yeah...its mental drain
@ Merin - If only there is a solution to this... it must be us. Don't you think?
@ Venkat - Some one might as well think that I have got you here to get more hits to my blog :P
Thanks for contributing. Next time some one known to me falls ill, I would definitely tell them tht its easy and far better here.
Can cricketers do some thing abt Indian health care and hospitals? I am confused. Whom should I ask?
@ Merin - I suppose, its only us who are treated that way or have seen these things happen. Its fortunate that all hospitals that Venkat visited or seen or heard of are doing perfectly well. Let's learn!
I know I bring in little bit of controversial debate. :P
If you know me well, you'll know that I have a very very poor health record (from an emergency overnight operation to almost all conventional diseases that you get in Chennai) but I've never had a bad experience in Indian hospitals... may be because my parents were able to afford proper health.
You guys should watch Sicko to understand how screwed up American healthcare is. I have spoken to my friend who stayed in UK for two years.Eventhough they have free health care in UK, it comes at a different cost.. "the wait time" which can be horribly long most of the times.
I am not a social worker or a reformist. I am not here to comment about how we can improve our Government hospitals.It's of no use.Poor people will suffer.But it's no different in other countries. Poor people suffer everywhere.
In India, everything comes down to population.You solve that crisis,you are done solving most of our long pending problems.But then you know,it's not going to be that easy.
I do agree that there are exceptions.. a la Ramana incident happening here and there in private hospitals but for each such incident there are at least another 100000 patients walking away happily from Indian hospitals.
The healthcare in the US has its pros and cons. Well..the system of government in the US has its pros and cons. Let's talk about the MedicAid system!
On the positive note: My friend's mother survived ONLY because she had come to America and relied on the MedicAid. I should say that her family did not have to spend a single penny on her. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and also had a severe heart condition.
On the downside: A homeless guy can spend days and days in the hospital because well...because he has AIDS and renal failure and all.. but he refuses to be transfered to another facility. He demands his way in the hospital and unfortunately..damn customer is first in this country! He's having his way with OUR MONEY who are WORKING our asses off!
The healthcare system in UK is a completely different story. There's a reason that there are a hell lotta UK doctors who're pissed off..because their system sucks!
In India, everything comes down to money! You have money, you will be treated. It doesn't matter how you get your money (be it that you sell your property, your house, and anything else that you have)! People have lost faith in the system. And no one is trying to revive it...!
There are 100000 people dying of not getting proper treatment in an Indian hospital!!
@ Prashanth
Our actions could be solutions..not us, per se! It's only when you have seen the worst condition would you be able to force yourself to think that humanity can stoop lower!!
I haven't lost faith in Indian health care. I am perfectly fine with what is available right now. You can call me selfish but I am least bothered about it.
I may be going too far,but I cant resist saying this. This is plainly the effect of capitalism . :) What I was afraid of sometime back is now becoming a reality. The only value that people are seeing these days is the time 'value' of money.
Our facilities are probably better than most countries. I can't comment about the US but its certainly better than Europe. But then again, it all depends on how much money you can shell out. If you don't have the moolah, you might as well sit and home and apply vibuthi on your forehead cos you're not going to encounter anything more sophisticated than that..
@ Venkat - Some one might as well think that I have got you here to get more hits to my blog :P
LOL...
@ Merin - Our actions! Thats wht I meant.
@ Venkat - I never commented abt the quality of the Indian health care. If you read my post it clearly says that its the one of the best in the world. If you have money there is no disease that you cannot cure in India.
The problem is that they are putting people to unneccessary tests. I remember a doc suggesting my friend to go for "ECG every one hour". Now does tht make sense?
Even for people who can afford.. its after all hard earned money man!
@ Victorious - It was all gud (probably better) until these corporates came in.
@ Gayatri - Precisely, thats ma point.
@ Ramki - LOL ;)
Venkat,
You should be too bored out of life. And should be idle. I pity you.
Arun,
You are right. But don't feel pity about it. It's luxury very few people can afford.
"The problem is that they are putting people to unneccessary tests."
No, they aren't.
@ verbal
You shouldn't make such a statement without knowing the 'truth' behind these things!
Oops. Verbal is just another id of mine.
"The problem is that they are putting people to unneccessary tests."
"No, they aren't."
Both are blanket statements.
@ Venkat - True. "Put to unneccessary tests" is a blanket stmt. But more hopsitals DO than NOT.
//But more hopsitals DO than NOT.
Very True in recent times especially for the IT people. Don't know if they do this for other normal people.
btw, after these unnecessary tests (2 ECGs, 3 Scans, etc) if the Dr. says everything is normal, How should I react?
Feel happy becase I m normal or Sad because all the expences have gone waste [:)]
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