Corruption in India has been rampant. There have been many scams that have taken place and the politicians are the ones who are mainly involved in the corruption. This is because they are the authority in any decision that has to be taken and when that happens, they use the money power to influence decisions that are being taken by the bureaucracy.
Corruption in the Indian Medical system has been one of the banes of the Indian society. Though the politicians are the ones who are making money in crores, there are many physicians who are also trying to make a quick buck, mainly because of the ignorance of the patients.
It should be said that there are thousands of doctors in India who are committed to their patients and work hard for their betterment and do their work as a service to the patients. These are the people at the other end of the spectrum who live in very poor conditions in remote areas and work so that the people in such areas will have medical facilities. There are various mission hospitals where the compensation is very less, but these physicians work there too. These people should be the ideal role models for the others who try to make money by hook or by crook, from patients.
There are many ways in which the money centric doctors try to corrupt the Indian medical system. There are some students who enter medical college with influence and money power and these are the people who are mainly involved in trying to earn back the money that they spent on medical education. Here are a list of methods that they use to earn money through corrupt means.
1. Unwanted treatments:
There are some doctors who write a lot more treatments than what is needed for a patient. This is because the pharmacy companies give the physician a commission when the medication is bought from them. This is one of the common methods of trying to make money from patients.
2. Diagnostic procedures:
There are various diagnostic procedures that are available these days. These procedures are very expensive too. Some of the common ones are CT scans and MRI scans, nerve conduction tests and so on. As the doctor refers the patient to undergo this tests, he will get a commission of up to 40% of the amount spent by the patient. This is a significant amount and so the doctors earn a lot through referring even those patients who do not need these tests.
3. Surgeries:
One of the common methods in which the money centric doctors make money is by doing surgery on patients who may not need them. One of the best examples is the sudden rise in the number of Caesarian section surgeries that have taken place. The treating doctor can say that it was absolutely needed for the patient as it could have caused risk to the life of the fetus or to the mother and the people who hear that have to believe it. This is one of the methods that are followed by doctors to make money.
4. Referrals:
Referrals to other specialty doctors without reason is another method of earning commissions.
These are some of the methods that help the corrupt doctors to make money, when they are able to use the ignorance and the needs of the patient to their benefit. These doctors should learn a lesson from the many professionals who are upright and work for the patients benefit than money.
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