'Business as usual'

Dr. Rama Prasad's article on health check-up is hilarious. Once I went to a skin specialist. He asked me if I ever suffered from TB. I told him that was one thing I was spared of. Promptly he scribbled a test (an expensive one). I decided to oblige him since he would skin me if I ever saw him again without the test result, which indeed was a foregone conclusion. For the doctor it was ‘business as usual.'

D.J.S. Sekhar,

Secunderabad

The article is a wake-up call to doctors and patients, who are being exploited by big pharmaceutical companies and vested interests. Most of our discomforts can subside without medication. We need to exercise abundant caution before going to a doctor.

K.S. Thampi,

Chennai

Rapport with patients is hardly a factor these days; it is the report from the laboratory that is important. A doctor should first earn the trust of the patient — that he will not harm him intentionally or unintentionally, due to ignorance or negligence.

D.V.G. Sankararao,

Vizianagaram