Medical Scenario “Mom you are running a fever since yesterday and it doesn’t seem good. Let’s go and meet Dr. Chopra today. It’s been a while since we have met him and anyhow we had a follow-up due for your counselor for depression and diabetes” said Natasha Chauhan to her 52-year-old mother Mrs. Gayatri.
Dr. Chopra is a general practitioner and a family physician of Chauhans for years and knows their medical condition well. This is a typical scenario that was seen in Indian Medical Practice and is still seen in most small towns. However, times are changing fast. If Mrs. Gayatri was staying in a city like Delhi today, she would be meeting an endocrinologist for her diabetes, a psychiatrist for her depression, and then would have to finally meet a physician for fever. She would be carrying three different files of three different doctors with three different sets of medicines bundled with a lot of confusion of whether there is any repetition of medicine or if there is any significant interaction etc. Also if she has a side effect like say rashes, whom to contact among the three doctors? Not that this scenario is totally wrong. It has its own benefits.
Doctors having specialized knowledge in one field makes them more knowledgeable and updated to provide the best care to their patients. But the purpose is not solved unless doctors when treating clients requiring treatment from multiple colleagues review the medicines given by other doctors as well in order to avoid duplication and interaction. Also, it is expected that doctors treating a common patient need to interact and discuss among themselves so that the medical plan is planned for the patient is wholesome and holistic.
In absence of these two principles, the whole “multiple doctor treatment” plan may not serve the purpose. Ultimately its the choice of patients to go for a single-family physician and get an opinion from specialists wherever required, or go straight away to a specialist or a superspecialist for their treatment.
Doctors also may vary in their opinion about what is the best way to go ahead….
Dr. Srikanth Reddy
MD Psychiatrist and De-Addiction Specialist Indore
Best Psychiatrist in Indore
Sridhar Reddy
June 1, 2018Very true
Dr. Srikanth Reddy
June 7, 2018Thanks Dr. Sridhar Reddy.