Greedy Doctors: A Medical Emergency?

They’ve been worried quite a bit for the last few months, for a doctor of a metro city where they lived regularly before having to move to another city for special work told his wife in no uncertain terms that cataract was developing in both of her eyes and that in the coming three months she had to get the surgeries done. The doctor magnanimously suggested she had a good eye clinic and she would space out the surgeries nicely, apart from giving his wife special discounts on the fees. The husband and the wife discussed the issue in all possible details as they could not avoid moving to the other city: he suggested getting it done in the other city as nowadays cataract surgeries are quite easy and risk-free to which his wife objected saying that as the lady doctor has been very nice and understanding, she’d do it with her only; and finding her determined, if not adamant, he then decided to somehow visit their home city in-between just to get it done and they both agreed playing with the eyes not advisable at all.

The three-month deadline passed off, to their dismay and growing concern. It was just not possible to plan a visit amid all the priorities of work and other health issues afflicting both of them—they agreed on that too.

But a solution must be found, he thought, lest the cataract harm his wife irreparably. So he, with all the concern and empathy he was capable of producing, finally managed to convince his wife to visit an eye specialist nearby just to find out if it was getting dangerous, and if so, they’d rush to their home city. Accordingly, an appointment was fixed with a specialist at the nearest health clinic.

The gentlemanly doctor was very nice and seemed an expert in his field. He took a lot of time to examine her eyes—first doing the preliminary test and then telling her to wait in the lounge with eye-drops applied to both the eyes for a detailed survey.

To their utter relief and big surprise as well, the doctor announced that there was nothing wrong with her eyes and that cataract hadn’t yet developed—except for minor power changes. However, for the overall ocular health the good doctor prescribed a tablet to be taken daily for three months.

Back home he couldn’t help himself but be critical of the happenings. “Look how that doctor lied to you…only to make some more money! And this doctor prescribed such a costly medicine! If everything is normal why the medicine? And why for three long months and not two or four weeks only?”

The wife dismissed his concerns saying the good doctor must be protecting her eyes for the future and that they must have faith in doctors rather than the distrust, usually linked to expenses.

After about a week hence his wife began having uncontrollable itching and rashes almost all over the body. Since her allergy issue had always been there in some degree more or less for many years, they thought perhaps the unusually tough summer this time was the primary reason. But his wife expressed her desire to have an opinion of another good doctor she often visited for routing guidance and the lab tests.

The good general doctor listened to her issues very attentively and then suggested her visiting a skin specialist. He also prescribed blood tests including an allergen test.

The allergen test was very expensive and took days for the results. He was greatly concerned finding the report positive and the value extremely high. However, he also read in the internet that such values are mostly inconclusive. But they did secure an appointment with the dermatologist at the next available date.

The dermatologist was a handsome guy with glowing skin, occupying a revolving chair at his impressively furnished and well-illuminated chamber, reminding one more of a beautician’s den rather than a doctor’s. He started examining the affected skin of her hands and fingers, and immediately seemed to arrive at a logical conclusion. We produced the profoundly mysterious allergen report on his desk; but, to our shock and related pain, he didn’t take even a single look at it, almost pushing it away. He also ignored prescriptions of other doctors, test reports and her medical history.

Instead, he launched himself into an elaborate campaign of drawing circles and squares on his notepad along with some wordy notations. He then declared that all the skin creams, moisturizers, hair shampoos and dyes and all the related cosmetics she’d been using since decades were all wrong and he started putting names of new and newer brands in the circles and squares he prepared. Brands they never heard of before. Must be only his favourites, he thought icily.

Something happened at that moment that surprised him a lot: his wife gave him a look apparently making a silent resolve to not follow the doctor’s advice. Normally a devout unquestioning believer in doctors her sudden resolution was truly astonishing for him.

As the handsome fortyish doctor finished filling his sheets and all the talking, a person entered the chamber. While waiting in the passage with the other patients he noticed this person moving in and out of the doctor’s chamber, often accosting the patients to the pay counter. A medical assistant or simply a broker? He speculated rather cruelly.

So, the person accosted them now to the pay counter where another shock waited for them: the handsome doctor with the glowing skin charged nearly three times higher than the other doctors of that medical centre.

As he paid with a sullen attitude the person wrote his phone number on the prescription, promising all assistance if the medicines or rather the beauty products were not available. The normally placid compounder there also came up as they prepared to leave, requesting them to buy the products or medicines from their in-house pharmacy and adding that all of those would be available. He now got very angry. He almost snubbed the compounder. “No! we’ll first check the prices of these brands and then only will decide whether to buy or not!” and he moved out immediately gesturing his wife to follow. They never bought or tried the medicines. More than a month passed off.

He became increasingly worried as his wife’s allergy problems worsened further. He then got an impulse that was clearly a result of his growing suspicions about the medical practitioners. He examined the tablet prescribed by the eye specialist and surfed the internet on its possible side effects. Several pages confirmed that the said medicine does have allergy side effects like itching and rashes on sensitive patients. He told his wife. She decided to stop taking it immediately, perhaps influenced by her husband’s constant suspicions and distrust.

After a few days her allergy issues had been reduced quite significantly. They sat down together one evening and had an open discussion.

“Dear, do you see the pattern? First the lady specialist lied about the onset of cataract; then we went to the eye specialist here and he prescribed a costly medicine without there being any need, realistically speaking; then we had to go consult your physician who prescribed an expensive test and referred you to the skin specialist; and we had to go to the dermatologist who charged thrice than others, ignored the test reports, only trying to make us spend thousands more. So, in the process, haven’t we lost several thousand bucks so unnecessarily? All add up to the greedy doctors’ nexus: earning hefty commissions by prescribing the most expensive medicines, earning commissions by giving unnecessary lab tests and earning more commissions by referring to others of their fraternity! You see! Your otherwise nice and able physician asks us to go for tests every month while we know that tests are to be done at the most twice a year. You saw me refusing in his face to go for monthly tests! I also shudder at the thought of moving home and getting the surgeries done in the healthy eyes!”

His wife while listening attentively said, “yes! No doubt they eye the commissions much more than before! But some of them are very good doctors too. We cannot afford to distrust all of them!”

“True! But it’s a goddamn dilemma! Because looking for a scrupulous doctor is like looking for an enlightened priest among the greedy many! And yes! Some are good doctors who are very proficient in earning commissions too! So, it’s imperative to examine even a good doctor’s prescriptions and advice. And it’s the unscrupulous unskilled doctors we should avoid at all costs!”

His wife smiled at him now. “Right! Didn’t you notice how effectively I dismissed that beauty parlour specialist?”

“Yes! Thank you for that great decision! I also profusely thank you for not telling the eye specialist about your vision history and what that other specialist said about the cataract! Had he known that he might have supported that flawed verdict just to have the surgeries done under his network of commission agents! No?"