Doctor bashing.....

[Guest guest]

This is in response to the news paper report in The Hindu and the letter by

Dr Umesh .

It is Impossible many a time not to mention the diagnosis in the hospital

records and the prescriptions. As Dr Umesh mentioned, what is the use in not

mentioning the diagnosis if you are prescribing HAART and PCP prophylaxis?

Isn't the pharmacist responsible for what happened? What about the HINDU it

self?. Are they supposed to publish the identity of the patient in a national

daily? Is it not the breach of confidentiality? Doctor bashing is becoming a

fashion...

Dr Ajithkumar.K

Sr Lecturer in Dermatology

Medical College Chest Hospital

MG Kav ,Thrisur,

Kerala,India

PH 0487-333322

E-mail:<trc_ajisudha@...>

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[Guest guest]

This is in response to the news paper report in The Hindu and the letter by

Dr Umesh .

" It is Impossible many a time not to mention the diagnosis in the hospital

records and the prescriptions. As Dr Umesh mentioned, what is the use in not

mentioning the diagnosis if you are prescribing HAART and PCP prophylaxis?

Isn't the pharmacist responsible for what happened? What about the HINDU it

self?. Are they supposed to publish the identity of the patient in a national

daily? Is it not the breach of confidentiality? Doctor bashing is becoming a

fashion... "

You make very important points!!

The fact is not the profession of the individual but the behavior. Whether

physician, journalist, pharmacist or government official.

The thing that must be attacked is not the profession but the stigma and

discrimination that make life for people with HIV hell. Vajpayee could

spend more time making loud statements about this! Where is he?

I have just had the great joy of visiting India all too briefly. But I

have come away convinced that activism can and does thrive in India, as

developed and carried out by Indians. It is CRUCIAL that more folks step

forward to fight stigma and discrimination, carrying on the memory and

activities of folks like Ashok Pillai.

Make sure that the genuine problem is always identified. Stigma and

discrimination is one area. Lack of access to treatment is another. And

there will, I think, be more and more Indians with HIV, pharmacists,

physicians, politicians, journalists beginning to recognize the necessity

to work together and fight together to overcome the ultimate enemy--HIV

(and other important infectious diseases like TB, cryptococcal infections,

etc.)

I'm looking forward to returning to India and learning more. As much as I

learned is but a sliver of what there is to know. And while I see many

differences, I also see lots of parallels between the issues we face in the

United States and the west and the struggles in India and Nepal.

And of course, the vicissitudes of human nature are common to us all--the

greed, corruption, stupidity. They merely take on different flavors of

local cultures. We must overcome these weaknesses in ourselves--and not be

afraid to illuminate them in others when they have the effect of causing

unnecessary suffering and death.

I'll be posting a more complete report of my experiences at the First

International Conference on Siddha Medicine as well as the efforts of

FIAR's sister organization in Kathmandu, the Blue Diamond Society in the

next week.

Let's all keep up the good work--because I think things are changing in

many ways for the better.

M.

Director, FIAR

http://aidsinfonyc.org/fiar/index.html

E-mail: <gmc0@...>

(PS--is there more information on National NGO Forum on HIV/AIDS? Ref the

message " Please contact yuvak@... for membership form for National NGO

Forum on HIV/AIDS " ) ?

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