Misdiagnosis...

When a doctor gets the patient's condition wrong, what are the repercussions? Does he get to goof around like House M.D? You know the answer to the second question, I'm sure. Though it's every practising doctor's worst nightmare, misdiagnosis is quite common in our country, thanks to the overburdened health care system. Another factor contributing to the same is the standard of medical education in India, which is taking a nosedive.

If the patient gets misdiagnosed he/she could lose his/her life, or develop debilitating complications of the disease. The economic burden that the patient & family have bear because of the misdiagnosis, if he/she doesn't die, has to be factored into the equation. Emotional distress accompanies every malady & this will be compounded by a misdiagnosis. Loss of job(s) can affect both the patient's family & the society at large. 

The practising doctor could lose his job, or face legal consequences based on the disease that was misdiagnosed. Under the current scenario getting beat up is something that's highly probable. In that case maybe the doctor will also end up dying & the doctor patient ratio could be further compromised (more so if this cycle repeats).

How to prevent misdiagnoses..?

• Beef up on the basics:- Do this & your chances of a screwing up a diagnosis go down..
• Get acquainted with the latest developments in modern medicine:-Learn about the latest diagnostic tools, newly described entities and so on..
• Attend Conferences & Webinars:- Now this can be both enjoyable & enlightening at the same time..
• Patient education:-This is very important, especially if the patient's primary illness predisposes him/her to a condition eg, a diabetic developing emphysematous pyelonephritis.
• Oh yeah! Watch all the seasons of House M.D...😁

Read..?

Why read books? A question that kept bouncing around in my head during my college days. Well, most good novels end up being movies & the interesting non fiction stuff can be combed from the videos on YouTube. More importantly at that point in time I was checking out new music under the Alternative rock/Post Grunge genres. That was then, but now I read voraciously.. I'd recommend reading to pretty much everyone I meet...

You have only one life, so you can't experience everything (& quite honestly you shouldn't). Books help to open up new vistas of growth, each in its own way nourishing your soul. Whether it is learning to empathize with the villain in a love story or learning how to embrace a better version of yourself, every book helps you become better. But as a practising Rehabilitation Physician, my focus is on the therapeutic benefits of Bibliotherapy...

For starters, this works for anxiety & related neuroses. I do suggest patients with mild anxiety to read, provided they don't find reading books a chore. This not just allays anxiety but improves their relationships to a certain extent. There are Psychologists who suggest self development books to their patients with mild depression. Reading improves your emotional quotient, helps you to slowly grasp new ideas & outlooks. Many experts suggest that reading 30 mins a day has far reaching benefits...If you want to read about Bibliotherapy at your own convenience, here are a few links...

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/bibliotherapy

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/de-stress/how-reading-changes-your-brain-according-to-neuroscience/articleshow/87820274.cms

https://harpersbazaar.com.au/what-is-bibliotherapy/

Legal Rites!!

The law & order situation in a society can be best assessed by how stringently offences are punished, irrespective of how trivial the offences are. In certain societies if an atrocity is repeatedly perpetrated, & there are no legal consequences, the people cook up excuses to continue perpetrating that injustice. Now, if grave atrocities can be perpetrated, just because the victim is isolated, what does it say about the society? 

Societies where the truth is inconsequential, just because its members are adept at lying to carry out grave atrocities, should be punished for the same. If a whole community behaves like a criminal organization, prompt measures should be taken against the members(or as many of them as is feasible). If the whole society targets & destroys lives, one by one, just imagine the plight of isolated victims?? Will they even be willing to seek justice? If they do file a case, do you think this kind of society will let them be? 

Justice is supposed to be the highest of all virtues. It is the responsibility of every human being to see that it is served, if possible every time an atrocity is committed. The legal authorities should ensure that false eye witness accounts, political clout & well crafted lies don't hinder the legal process. 

"Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.”

— Benjamin Franklin

Prejudice & Injustice...

One of the best indices to judge the social outlook of a society, is to see if the society upholds the rights of the vulnerable classes above it's own interests. By vulnerable classes I mean:- orphans, permanently disabled people, psychiatric patients & other classes of people who can be isolated & harassed. Any society which wantonly abuses its vulnerable members & takes pride in it, is a draconian one. 

The strong prejudices held by all the members of society, based on which they feel entitled to abuse the isolated classes, could be difficult to curb. Just as one drop of poison can contaminate a whole bucket of water, a commonly held prejudice can taint everyone's perspective. Under such circumstances the chances of the vulnerable victims getting justice will be slim. 

Law, human rights, & ethics are all based on the fact that all human beings are equal. But in a society which is depraved & shameless, these concepts are hollow & pointless. The result is that these concepts get violated repeatedly, sometimes even by people who are supposed to uphold them.

"There are not enough jails, not enough police, not enough courts, to enforce a law not supported by the people."- Hubert H. Humphrey