One of the lacunae in the medical profession is inattention to documentation which has led to low awareness about diseases, said health minister V.S. Vijay.
Though there were several avenues including the internet to gain knowledge, people in rural areas remained unaware of the seriousness of the ailments that afflicted them, he said.
During the launch of a book, Short cases in surgery including orthopedics , at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital here on Wednesday, he urged young doctors to document details about diseases like diabetes, cardiac problems, cancers and HIV. He wanted the doctors to document work on infant mortality rate, too.
Under the Chief Minister’s health insurance scheme, the GH had so far treated 13,000 patients and Rs. 30 crore worth of claims had been approved by the insurance company, Dr. Vijay said. He wanted the hospital to use the funds for improving the facilities in the hospital.
The book, with 130 chapters, comes with a DVD on surgeries. Senior professors and doctors praised the authors, C.M.K. Reddy and J.S.S Rajkumar for their insightful work. Dr. Reddy wanted the Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University to start evaluation of teachers by students. Hospital and Madras Medical College dean V. Kanagasabai said that for the past two years the teachers in the College of Pharmacy had been conducting self-appraisal. The teachers rated their persons on various aspects including paper presentation and patenting of drugs. “We also have a system of evaluation of teachers by students,” he said.
Gastroenterologist S.M. Chandramohan described the book as “a blend of experience and evidence”.
