shadamarshanavasu

Monday, February 13, 2006

Marketing health

I have been seeing lots of advertisements about doctors, hospitals and health services in newspapers and bill boards. Wonder if this shrill pitch is of recent origin.Has health and health delivery become marketing commodities?Of course this phenomenon is in addition to the loud name boards proclaiming doctor's clinics and nursing homes,also with neon signs.
My uncle is a doctor and he belonged to the era where he felt his clinic (a part of his house which doubled up as one)should have a simple name board in ordinary letters and nothing jazzy about it. S Rangarajan, M B B S it used to proclaim.He used to tell us kids, that DR should not precede a medical practitioner's name, as it deserved for PhD scholars and of course M D's.My sister and her husband who are doctors also practise with under stated nameboards.It seems medical code of conduct and ethics demand that you shall not advertise.(I think other professions like CA's also have such code of conduct)Being brought up on such a diet, it is jarring to see the latest trend, when medical profession is advertising itself heavily.
India has emerged as a medical tourism destination, and a recent study by Ernst&young,exhorted doctors and their hospitals to get their act together and put up a good show to reach out to the world.The strident tone of the study was jarring, to say the least.

2 Comments:

At 3:00 AM, Blogger vasukumar said...

My sister and her husband still practice the same old 'family doctor'practice.They are a rarity as we can see in the city of Chennai.She is very good in diagnosis and cuts through several layers of diagnostic tools.
But it is a tough life being a doctor and more so one with principles, commitment and involvement to sound ethical principles.
But her patients get the best deal!

 
At 12:02 AM, Blogger bluejagger said...

Already health services have become very expensive. Even regular check ups(not treatment) cost so much money. Now we know that the cost of the jarring or otherwise advertisement cost also will be put on the consumer I mean the patients.
I only hope the public health system improves so that common people get the proper treatment.

 

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