Daily Post 1351
MEDICAL EHICS
Gods on earth is an epithet exclusive for Doctors. While all other professions have a code of conduct or some guidelines of behaviour, Doctors are wedded to Medical Ethics. Ethics becomes the cardinal principle of this profession and the professional journey starts with Hippocratic Oath. This is primarily a lifelong commitment to humanity and dedicating ones life for the sick and the ailing. From the days of Hippocrates of Kos, Greek Physician, referred to as Father of Medicine to the present day, COVID-19 situation can be treated as one of ultimate testing time for this profession. The doctor today comes bundled with a hospital and a medical ecosystem, which might or might not be under his control.
The bigger the crisis in a specific field, the greater is the opportunity for that profession to take it to the skies. It is one in a life time chance, for the profession and the professional to turn out to be a trailblazer for humanity and the world. COVID-19 is one such opportunity for the medical profession. The backdrop was not very enthusing, the corporatisation of the hospitals, the cartel type operations of pharmaceutical companies and the prohibitive costing of state of art medical gadgets had already poked gaping holes all through medical ethics. The trust which was at the core of doctor patient relationship had recently been waning away. This was the pre-COVID-19 scenario.
The onset of this disease was a health crisis world had never heard or experienced in recent times. The pandemic spread like wildfire globally and with the same nature of information flow, we felt being chased by Corona virus relentlessly. Life was in the hands of the doctors, health care professionals, the gadgets, the hospitals, the health Infrastructure and overall governance ecosystem. We once again reposed complete faith in them. These were the frontline warriors. We all fell in love with them. It was a war, strategised, lead, and fought by our health care professionals, there couldn’t have been a nobler task / purpose in life. It seemed Hippocrates himself was showering his blessings from the skies.
World Health Organisation opened the Pandora’s Box with their information, the lack of it and many a times its completeness. The leader could not lead the war. The COVID-19 was also a grave for the health care professionals. This is the risk of the true soldier in war. The health infrastructure came in for severe criticism in a few countries and closer home too – public, private, costing, availability of beds, oxygen, ventilators, quarantine facilities et al. As the disease progressed, the patients started being shooed away by hospitals, contacts helped in admission, money started raising it’s ugly head, advance in cash, the cost of PPEs broke the backs of the recovering patients, it’s pricing was questionable too and endless woes came to the fore. This started turning out to be a bigger battle than that of the patient with the disease. The very thought of the patient’s plight can send chills down your spine.
DEEP FISSURES IN MEDIAL ETHICS IS FOR THE REASON THAT IT DID NOT HAVE AN ORGANIC GROWTH.