On doctors day, Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Saturday has urged doctors to rebuild patient trust which has been broken, shaken and misplaced.
“There has been erosion of patient trust over the years and once revered doctor-patient relationship is on the rocks,” said DAK President Dr Nisar ul Hassan.
Dr Hassan said doctors are no longer held in high esteem as they were decades ago. Once considered next to God, doctors now often have just transactional relation with patients.
Commercialization of medical profession has created mistrust among patients about health system and health care providers.
“There are many instances when surgeries are done unnecessarily for financial gains,” he said adding even prescriptions are driven by pharma companies who provide doctors freebies for writing their products.
The DAK President said patients feel alienated by the non-committal attitude and professional distance they encounter at health institutions.
Kind words, compassion and empathy have equal hand in cure as much as medical competence has, but the need is often not met.
“No matter how competent a doctor is, he/she cannot be a good doctor, unless he is a caring person,” he said.
“Patients recover their health simply through the contentment with the goodness of a doctor,” he added.
Dr Nisar said patients leave hospitals dissatisfied as doctors do not spend time in talking, listening and more importantly hearing them.
There are reported observations of doctors avoiding discussion on social and emotional aspect of patients’ problems which adversely affects their recovery.
“Failure to take into account patient concerns and expectations has created a gap between doctors and patients and the gap is widening at an alarming speed,” he said.
“You might have healed their physical illness, but hurt their feelings by the inter-personal treatment they receive,” he added.
General Secretary DAK Dr Arshad Ali said the success of medical care depends on patient trust.
Patients are more satisfied and compliant if they trust their doctors.
“We must do everything to restore trust which is the core and moral principle of doctor-patient relationship,” he said.
