RUN ON MONEY

RUN   ON   MONEY

Dr. T. Rama Prasad       

            Yes, the world is run on money and hypocrisy.  Most people around the world, especially those in the developing countries, are very busy making money.  They don’t have a thought for themselves or their family ... only they have the false feeling that money would take care of everything – jobs to judgments;  taxes to temples;  deprivation to depression.  Adults are busy working for immediate money, and children are busy studying for future money.  They all lose sweet pleasures of little money and get  bitter problems of big money.  Many are vulnerable to venality.  Corruption, kickbacks, cuts, commission, crime, scams and scandals have become the norm.  Nothing vague or amorphous.  Open the newspaper any day, it is full of these.  No field is upheld as sacrosanct.  The evil had taken deep roots in all fields – even religious and medical.

MEDICAL  SCENARIO  IN  INDIA

            Medical profession in India provides tremendous opportunities to serve the ailing humanity.  And it also gives a great chance to make illegitimate money through exploitation without being caught. Take a look at the rat-race for marks in India.  The aim is to get a seat in a course which has the potential to pave the way for a lucrative job, career or self-employment.  That is the case with service-oriented professions like medicine also.  Even inside the medical profession, some choose a speciality which has a high potential for making a lot of money.  The more the earning potential of a post-graduate medical course the more is the ‘donation’ demanded by private medical colleges.  Yes, there are various cost-layers,  from LKG to colleges. 

            A huge amount is invested on education to earn ‘high-yielding’ degrees and training.  And hence, naturally, a high yield is expected from a huge investment, whether it is at a personal level or at a corporate level.  It certainly makes good business sense.  Same is the case with some of the huge hospitals.  They have to run on pure business models – profit-driven ... and naturally so to thrive, as it is an investment of gargantuan proportions.   So, they have their own problems, especially from the point of view of enormous capital inputs, heavy expenditure, frightening 'evidence-based' medico-legal problems and fierce competition.  Added to this is the enormous increase in expenditure to fulfil the mandates by regulatory bodies and legislation.  For them to be economically viable,  they seem to be constrained to resort to do needless investigations, admissions and even surgery, hazardous though.  And, all the expenditure is passed on to the patients, rich or poor.  People are aware of the scenario.  Hence, they try to avoid going to hospitals as much as possible and resort to dangerous self-medication, especially as the good old tribe of 'Family Doctors' has become extinct.  Perhaps, in course of time, individual doctor clinics and small hospitals may also get engulfed by bigger fishes, if not 'medical sharks'.  In this 'Evidence-based Medicine' era, one is frowned upon if a lot of investigations are done and also penalised if they are not done !  A simple ailment of yesteryears may now need expensive scan machines. This is one reason why the smaller ones may fade away and the bigger ones may become bigger with the mutual support between 'Big Pharma' and 'Huge Hospitals'.  Quid pro quo.  Struggle for existence.  

        Over the half-a-century, since 1970s, as the Indian medical scenario became more transparent in certain aspects in certain regions of the country,  some people's TRUST in doctors seemed to have declined, notwithstanding the tremendous increase in 'medical tourism'  in India by people abroad.

            Some busy doctors may angrily say: “We are not businesspersons.  We spent a lot of money to acquire skills, and we sacrifice a lot of our personal life, and work round the clock, out of service-mindedness and professional dedication.  We are misunderstood and even attacked for no fault of us.”  Yes, it is very good of them.  But, just disconnect them from the money generated from overworking,  and make them work for a fixed salary without ‘private practice’ in rural areas.  The ‘service-mindedness round the clock and the professional dedication’ may dissipate from many of them (not from all) quickly,  much like the fizzling out of the effervescence from a soda bottle, and they (not all) may make themselves unavailable outside the duty hours.  Dear sir / madam, no amount of spin or gloss can hide the truth, and now for real though, let’s do away with the hypocrisy and get down to some  'truthspeak'.

 JUSTIFICATION

        I hasten to add that we should not outright blame the doctors and private hospitals entirely, for two reasons.  First,  it is the money-centred educational system which made them doctors, at a huge cost, as mentioned above.  Second, it is the unsound economic background of many in the country, in general, which constrains them not to be very charitable, especially when they have to clear the huge loans taken for their education and establishment, and to fulfil the expectations of family members.  And it is gratifying to note that all the doctors are not of the same kind.  Many doctors are very kind and helpful to the society, sacrificing personal comforts. For a more analytical comment, read my 'scribblings' titled ‘Medicine in Rural India’ and 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Modern Medicine' and 'HCQ, Ivermectin, Coronavirus and Frauds' on this blog, and some of the articles published in The Antiseptic (medical journal) --   Rama Prasad. T., COVID medical literature – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.  The Antiseptic, 2022 September; Vol. 119; No. 9; P: 07-19; Indexed in IndMED – www.antiseptic.in ; Rama Prasad, T.  The Science and Nonsense around COVID.   The Antiseptic,  2021 November;  Vol. 118;  No. 11;  P: 8-14;  Indexed in IndMED --  www.antiseptic.in  ;  Rama Prasad, T.  Disastrous Second COVID Wave in India.  The Antiseptic.  2021  June; Vol.118; No.6; P: 20-27; Indexed in IndMED – www.antiseptic.in  , etc.

PATIENTS'  ATTITUDE

    Dear patient,  you are also to be blamed for the exploitation.  If a specialist doctor spends half an hour of his valuable time, you would think it is too much to pay Rs. 500 for a consultation.  But, if needless investigations are done and presented with a bill for Rs. 1,500, you would think that the service is worth the money.  So, you are treated that way to your satisfaction and also to that of the doctor.  Dear sir / madam, is your economic brain very sound ?  ‘Penny wise pound foolish’ ?  And the economic brain of some of my wealthy patients does not permit them to drop more than a small amount (or nothing) into the ‘Hundi’ at my ‘Pay what you can’ CLINIC  where one may pay whatever one can and wish !!!   In this context, the rural poor are less parsimonious than the urban rich. 

            In my 'Pay what you can'  Clinic,  patients have the choice to pay whatever they can -- deposit into the tiny 'Hundi box' kept for that purpose.  Nowadays, I use that money entirely for charity -- to help the needy.  It may be surprising to know that some of the rural poor choose to pay more than what the urban rich do. The educated urbanites seem to be more frugal, and the innocent rural are more generous.  In fact, it is the lower income groups which contributed more to the sustenance of this clinic than the rich people.  Sometimes, at the end of a consultation, when I say "Don't pay anything, it is free," many of the poorer patients insist on depositing some amount into the Hundi,  while most of the wealthy patients 'deposit' a broad flashy smile of satisfaction and exit, but not before taking another chunk of my time narrating their connections with some big shots. To know more about this clinic, you may read the 'Scribbling' titled: 'Pay what you can' Clinic, on this blog.  Money is not everything in life.  The more we chase for a thing the more it becomes elusive.  Money, name and fame -- I never tried to earn them ... it's my nature to take things as they come -- no targets, no goals, no ambitions ...

       

WHAT  AILS  OUR  SYSTEMS ?

            If you study deeply (not the official reports or the political comments) the case of 'Gorakhpur tragedy' (not just the 20 deaths per day),  you would know how to make India healthy.   And, on every World TB Day (March 24) we make a lot of noise (of 1000 deaths every day in India due to TB, as of now), forget about it, and wake up on the next March 24.  And, if you study analytically (not just the media reports or political observations),  the suicidal digital game, ‘Blue Whale Challenge’, you will understand how much the younger generation is confused, stressed and depressed.  ( Rama Prasad, T.,  COVID and Tuberculosis.  The Antiseptic, 2021  December;  Vol. 118; No.12; P: 11-17;  Indexed in IndMED --  www.antiseptic.in )

            It seems we are inherently resistant to learn our lessons and to see things outside the box.  Our systems are such that we prefer to run in circles as it is the easiest way. The pernicious influences of the deep-trenched systems make it seem that it is easier to get marks, jobs, licenses, approvals, certifications, notes and votes by running in those well-oiled circles and machinery.  God help ! You may visit other 'Scribblings' on this blog / website, for deeper comments, under various headings related to medicine and education ('scribblings' titled "Dr. Peon, PhD" and "Devalued Degrees" and "School Education")

            

Dr. T. Rama Prasad, 

'PAY WHAT YOU CAN’ Clinic, Perundurai, Erode Dt., TN, India.

Former Medical Superintendent (Special), RTS & IRT Perundurai Medical College and Research Centre, Perundurai.

Website: www.rama-scribbles.com  *                                               Blog: https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com  *                           Twitter: @DrRamaprasadt     *..Facebook: T Rama Prasad  *        E-mail: drtramaprasad@gmail.com* WhatsApp: +91 98427 20393.

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An anecdote

During my childhood, one of my schoolmates had huge nails.  Her name was Gowri.  We nicknamed her as ‘Goru’ (meaning nail of a finger or toe in Telugu).  They used to say that her huge nails caused a problem in her heart.  It might be a case of ‘Digital Clubbing’ (abnormal nails present in some ‘Congenital Heart Diseases’).  After one summer vacation, ‘Goru’ didn’t come back to the school.  It was learnt that she died due to the nail / heart problem, and that heart surgery couldn’t be done as they didn’t have money to pay for it. 

Perhaps, this incident prompted me to look at everyone’s nails from that time which might have led me to report the first case of ‘Yellow Nail Syndrome (YNS)’ from India in 1980 and the first case in the world of ‘Yellow nails & Covid’ in 2023.  

 

And perhaps, the preventable death of ‘Goru’ due to inability to pay for the treatment motivated me to start my ‘PAY WHAT YOU CAN’ Clinic (PWYCC) half-a-century ago where patients may pay whatever they can.    The credit for these case reports on YNS and the starting of my PWYCC should go to ‘Goru’.

                                                        --     T. Rama Prasad

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This is not an ad,  it’s about an odd service.

 

GREETINGS  from

 

‘PAY  WHAT  YOU  CAN’   Clinic

 

“Thena  thyakthena  bhoojithaha”– Ishopanishad

   ( Translated by  Prof. B.M. Hegde  as: “Rejoice  in  giving.”)

          True to this quote, I have been rejoicing at what little I could give.  Defying stereotypes, this clinic has been in existence for a very long time, sans glitz, blitz, ads, microphones, speeches and noise.  As a matter of my policy, publicity is shunned.  The reason is simple.  Good work needs no noise and nonsense.  My ‘SCRIBBLINGS’ on related topics may be accessed at:  http://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com  or www.rama-scribbles.in

 

 

My consultation fee is not decided by me.  It is the patient’s pleasure. The patient may pay (donate) whatever he can and what he wishes.  If one is short of money, he or she need not pay anything.  And the money thus received is used for charity to help the needy, the poor and the less fortunate.  If interested to know more about this facility, go to:  http://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com/2017/06/pay-what-you-can-clinic.html

 

          "We need not run after money.  If we are meritorious and compassionate, money would run after us, and it eludes us if we run after it.”      --  T. Rama Prasad

 

            “Richness is not having lots of money.  It is the feeling that one has enough of it.   Contentment sans comparison is what makes one really rich.”     --  T. Rama Prasad.

Dr. T. Rama Prasad, Director, ‘PAY  WHAT  YOU  CAN’  Clinic, PERUNDURAI,   Erode Dt., TN, India.    Former Medical Superintendent (Special),  RTS & IRT Perundurai Medical College and Research Centre,  Perundurai, Website: www.rama-scribbles.in , Blog: https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com, Email:drtramaprasad@gmail.com, Facebook: T Rama Prasad, Twitter: @DrRamaprasadt, WhatsApp: +91 98427 20393

                                                              

Ironically and understandably, none is interested to carry on the legacy of this 'Pay What You Can' CLINIC !!!   

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August and September 2023

During these two months, there had been a hectic activity between National Medical Commission (NMC) and the Indian medical profession. 

        To have an idea of what made the NMC to allegedly subterfuge for dismantling the widely believed 'pharma-doc' relationship / nexus in conducting medical conferences, you may go through my 'scribbling' titled 'MEDICAL CONFERENCES ...' on this blog.

         The might of the money and the need for it make people to have a 'modern' perception of Modern Medicine.  Why don't the medical schools, medical associations, hospitals and doctors ask the pharmaceutical and related companies the following question ? :  "Why do you spend so much money on us and recover that amount from the patients, both rich and poor ?"

 It's because the present world is RUN ON MONEY.