Reduce ‘diagnostic pain’: Abdul Kalam

Reduce ‘diagnostic pain’: Abdul Kalam
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Highlights

Former President APJ Abdul Kalam has called upon the young and prospective doctors to make efforts to reduce the ‘diagnostic pain’ to the patients who approached them. Speaking at the inauguration of OSMECON, the annual conference held by the undergraduate medical students of Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad he advised the students to treat people with compassion and heart. “When any person comes to you with a complaint of chest or stomach pain, what the doctors normally do? They simply advise them to go in for thorough diagnostic tests like blood pressure, X-ray, scanning etc which were highly expensive and empty the pockets of patients.

  • Primary health centres need to be reformed
  • Work in rural, tribal areas: Former Prez

Former President APJ Abdul Kalam has called upon the young and prospective doctors to make efforts to reduce the ‘diagnostic pain’ to the patients who approached them. Speaking at the inauguration of OSMECON, the annual conference held by the undergraduate medical students of Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad he advised the students to treat people with compassion and heart. “When any person comes to you with a complaint of chest or stomach pain, what the doctors normally do? They simply advise them to go in for thorough diagnostic tests like blood pressure, X-ray, scanning etc which were highly expensive and empty the pockets of patients.

Even for normal problems, a patient is subjected to lot many clinical tests nowadays, which are not necessary. The middle and lower middle class people are unable to bear the burden. This is called ‘diagnostic pain’. You must reduce this pain. Qualitative and cost-effective cost effective health care is the need of the hour” he explained.

‘I request you not to treat just the body but the mind of the patients as well. You have to counsel them. Medical profession is not just physiological but psychological as well’ he added. “You should invite the patients with a smile. The surroundings of hospital shall not only be hygienic but sufficient greenery also helps patients recover fast. Hospitals shall not spread diseases. You must ensure no bio-contamination take place” he exhorted.

Kalam strongly suggested the future doctors to go to rural areas and treat the people there first. “I know many of you will not be inclined to go to rural areas. This is not correct. Primary Health Centres across the country are not in good shape. They need to be reformed with the help of doctors. You can understand the real suffering of people only when you go to rural and tribal areas” he stressed.

Cautioning the young medicos against making mistakes, Kalam said- “ According to a report, in USA, 95,000 people have been succumbing to death due to medical errors. This is highly disturbing. We shall make an introspection of our medical care and take necessary precaution.” Elaborating further, Kalam said, “It was recognised that there is a need for change in approach in medicare to improve the safety and quality of care to patients.

In this connection, it was felt that it is important to train the doctors, nurses, paramedics, technicians and everyone connected with medicare. Modern hospital is a very complex organisation and there are challenges ahead to improve the safety of the patients. Quality medicare is possible only when people work together as a team. Recently, a seminar was conducted in John Hopkins varsity, US, where there was a brainstorming session between the doctors, medicare personnel, patients and the relatives of the patients which brought out all these factors very clearly.

I will be very happy if our super specialty hospitals conduct such type of review periodically in the combined meeting of doctors, nurses and paramedical staff” Advising the students to go in for innovation, Kalam asked them to collaborate with tech institutes to develop new tools. Delegates from 70 medical colleges across the country will participate in the three-day national conclave which provides a platform to share thoughts and identify grey and useful areas.

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