Somewhere along the century, healthcare has become a virtuous life-giving industry into a demand-supply industry. No longer is medicine about treating the illness and sending the patient home cured.
Now, it has become more similar to a negotiation between the patient’s demands and the limitations of what the doctor can supply. Add to that the fact that the doctor’s bonus is based on the extra mile that he is willing to make to fulfill all the patient’s (un/reasonable) demands.
This situation comes into light especially in the heartlands when the scale between the patient and the doctor balances out. in the hospital, the doctor still maintains the authority to dictate the patient’s treatment course. The patient remains a pawn moving about the hospital system and he is lost without a doctor’s guidance. Outside the hospital, it remains but a clinic table between the doctor and the patient.
It is not uncommon for patients to walk in with a mission. After the initial preamble, the final sentence is always the clincher.
“I didn’t go to work today so I’ll need a MC for today”..
“can i get 2 bottles of cough syrup? I always keep one at home and another at the office”..
“I want antibiotics for my sniffles so that I can recover faster”..
Is it within my rights to refuse you a MC? After all, you’d taken the day off even before I’d declared you unfit for work.
Even if i refuse to give you 2 bottles, who knows, you may go to another clinic anyway.
Why don’t you believe me when I say this is a viral infection that doesn’t need antibiotics??
Somewhere along the line, both parties have to compromise
~ by Dr Maureen Chua
Dr’s Blog is a feature of the CMG web site that aims to encourage interaction between Guild members. We hope to foster a spirit of community through the sharing of thoughts and personal experirences. The opinions expressed in these blogs are entirely those of the contributors and not of the Catholic Medical Guild of Singapore.
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