NEW DELHI: The Indian Medical Association has issued what can be best described as a “good behaviour advisory” for doctors, which comes at a time when physicians are under the scanner for inconsiderate behaviour and are often subjected to physical violence at the hands of patients.
IMA president Dr. K.K. Aggarwal said, “Poor, inconsiderate and uncompassionate communication is why most patients sue.”
He added that doctors have “no business to be inhuman. We not only need to be scientifically and legally correct but also morally and ethically correct. We are supposed to follow two bioethics principles: non-maleficence (first do not harm) and beneficence (welfare of all). Our main business is compassion. It should be demonstrated in practice as much as felt. A compassionate attitude in practice is more important than the science. Poor, inconsiderate and uncompassionate communication is why most patients sue.”
“Today everybody wants to regulate us. If we are what we claim we are, then we do not need a regulator. God regulates others. We the medical professionals need to wake up and follow IMA self-regulation policies and also regulate policies for the corporate,” he said.
According to a study done earlier this year, nearly one in every two doctors suffer violence at public hospitals. The survey, done by the Maulana Azad Medical College, covered 169 junior residents and senior residents, working mostly with the LNJP and G.B. Pant hospitals. It noted that verbal abuse (75%) was the most common form of violence, followed by threats (51%) and physical assault (12%). The survey report, published in the National Medical Journal of India, added that doctors who faced the abuse felt angry, frustrated and fearful.
