Second opinion OPD

The OPD naming has evolved over the years to reflect the need of the patients.

For layman, OPD is the out patient department, where doctor examines the patients and prescribes medicines. Most OPDs don't have special names. Some can be broadly divided into new patient opd, where taking detailed history takes a lot of time and follow up patient opd where usually the patient is well controlled on treatment and keeps following with the doctor just to screen and pick up any new disease early or sometimes for dosage adjustments.

But you can also find other OPDs like usual (read 'rich') OPD and poor patients OPD.

But looking at the knowledge explosion, patients consider themselves as "i-know-all". Thus they don't trust the doctor.
Also, increasing mistrust leads to erosion of doctor- patient relationship.

The breed of Family doctors is soon become extinct and everyone wants to rush to specialists and super specialists. Thus, patients End up consulting more than one doctor.

Also with rising affluence, the average Indian wants the best health care to be provided for which he is ready to loosen his strings.

The day isn't far, when doctors will keep separate time slots for second opinion, for unsatisfied patients coming after talking to another doctor - the future of second opinion OPDs!

Customised gifts? Now customised surgery...

With increasing amount of options being available to the consumer at their fingertips, they are spoilt for choice.
Also as the consumer becomes more literate, and more vigilant (thanks to so many activists campaigns), health care may just be the next step.

1 January, 1990 : no wraps or burgers
Post 1991 : just choose which meal you want to eat
2017:

At Subway : first choose your bread and its length, then specify the fillings and finally the sauces.
In the hospital : the patient Just gives his consent for the surgery without asking any question

Year 2037 :
While the subway story might still remain the same
There will be a revolution in doctor patient relationship
Here is how it may sound like....

Scene 1-
Doctor : You have right sided uncomplicated reducible inguinal hernia

Patient : what are the treatment options ?

Doctor :
Please create your account and log into our app, where you will have complete control over your healthcare.
I hope you have an Aadhar card, it's compulsory for registration you see. Else I can't treat you.

After registering, you will have to link your insurance details and bank account details to authorise bank transactions. The app will debit 50% of your amount directly, while the remaining 50% had to be paid in cash (hints as- under the table)

Please note that Hernia surgery has been placed under 18% GST. All life saving procedures are free, basic and common surgeries like trauma cases have 5% GST. And sinful cosmetic and luxurious surgeries have 28%.

Now,  select the date. We have preferential and a dynamic price system for booking the date. Just like it existed while booking flight tickets 20 years ago. Pay higher fee for a better date.

Choose whom you want to be operated by. You'll find the list of surgeons on the app. The surgeon with the highest user ratings will be the costliest.

Select the chain of Hospital, location of Hospital, type of room, other facilities in the room. You can use coupon codes of new upcoming Hospitals to get discount.  Use code "GET50OFF". Offer valid till 60 days.

Various suture materials are listed, with advantage and disadvantage of each along with the cost. Select which suits you.

The size of the incision. No brainer that you'll have to pay more for smaller incisions.

After every 30 mins in the OT, the surgery will stop and 2 mins of advertisement will be shown. If you do not wish to see ads, please use the "paid version of the app".

Give video consent on the same.

(The patient selects as per his budget and his needs, weighing pros and cons of each aspect using terabytes of evidence based medicine to customise his surgery for him)

At the end, he hits "submit" button and an acknowledgement message appears.
        "Your order has been accepted. Our customer service representative will get in touch with you shortly. THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING WITH US"

Doctors as Travellers

Like the most other thoughts, even this one originated from the bathroom!

All of us were inspired by Ranbir Kapoor in YJHD, and must have had a thought of roaming around the world, traveling to the must - see places around the globe. Who wouldn't want such a kind of life.

Given a chance, even I would have chosen that. The travel show hosts, air hostesses, pilots, Navy ship merchants, globe trekkers, adventurers, even monks did that matter! are the people who get to visit the maximum number of new places. An addition that I'll make to this list is a doctor.

The essence of traveling isn't just taking photos of those places and uploading to social media. You may very well use Google Earth and Google 360 for that.

The true essence of travel lies in connecting with the place and the people,  knowing their culture and traditions, understanding their way of life. And who else can achieve all of this, better than a doctor?

Few weeks ago I was walking through the corridor of the old building when this young chap with huge spectacles, unkept Hair, checked shirt and a loose formal pant approached me asking where is the radiology department. I just decided to take him there rather than just give the directions. On the way I happened to ask him what does he do and where is he from. "I'm doing MA in Hindi from Ruia" was his reply. And then we ended up talking animatedly about Mr Premchand and I told him whatever little I had learnt about him in school.

Such instances, I m surprised, are engraved in my mind...given the fact that I don't even remember birthdays of my friends.

Looking forward to meeting more interesting people in my life. Looking forward to being a good doctor and Traveller.

Being a doctor

•What goes into being a doc?

•Is it art, commerce or science?

And the answer is- it's all the three!

  Obviously it is science first! Studying medicine requires you to study functioning of a normal body, to study pathologies, to study drugs and surgeries. 

  How is it an art? Well, an experienced physician would like to put it like this-

"Practising medicine is like driving, the more you do; the better you are at it"

 It definitely requires skill to identify the pathology as early and precisely as possible. 

  And commerce? Modern medicine has brought the commerce component to it. Traditionally medicine has been selflessly working for people! But the practice of "cuts" saddens us all.

   These descriptions of medicine are not mine. According to me- medicine only requires devotion of your life! I will also completely understand the meaning maybe after half a century later, and then I hope, when I read my blog again...my 'risorius' muscle would contract involuntarily and  leave two semilunar creases on my face!