Rohit Shishodia
Dr D R Rai, Member, Indian Medical Association (IMA), has said that doctors should stick to ethics and regulate themselves so that no one can point a finger at them. He made the remark in the context of apparent deterioration in patient and doctor relationship due to inflated medical bills charged by the hospitals.

Addressing healthcare providers at the Six Sigma Healthcare Leadership Summit and Awards Function organized by Dr Pradeep Bhardwaj in Delhi, Dr Rai said, “You are aware what the condition of health services in India was after independence. And since then, how health conditions have improved you also know. It is just because of you who are running healthcare services."

Dr Rai said that at that time there was a bonding between the doctor and the patient. Patient used to feel safe that he had landed in safe hands. After some time, insurance and pharma companies came. They did something. Somewhere, we deviated from ethics."

“I don’t feel ashamed of confessing that being a doctor we deviated from our moral practice that we were doing about fifty years back. Since then, things deteriorated,” he added.

“Now the artificial intelligence is coming which will replace doctors. Now you see reports that a doctor has been assaulted and a hospital has been ransacked. Are we there to get a beating from the public? When patient gets cured in ICU and he is shifted to the ward, the treating doctor is respected as God and after seven days when you people give the bill, the same doctor becomes a dacoit,” he said.

“Today, 75% healthcare services are given by private sector while 25% are given by the government sector. We should encourage the private sector. Secondary and tertiary care is very expensive, which requires caliber. But in spite of providing these services, we are discouraged and criticized. It hurts us a lot. IMA never supports those doctors who indulge in malpractices. But you cannot paint all the doctors with the same brush,” he explained.