I recently had a bad experience with a greedy doctor, something all of us must have faced at some point of time. But I feel such experiences need to be told over and over by all of us individually, in different medical situations, to call out the black sheep in white coats. I will try to make my encounter interesting; if you can bear with the boring background.
So, around World Health Day, I notice an Advt on newspapers about a ₹999/- complete heart health checkup at a Devi Shetty (top notch doctor of our times) chain of Narayana hospitals. This unit is close to my house, so it looks like an affordable and comfortable quick visit. At wife’s insistence, I book an appointment. My experience are as under, in a dialogue format
Me: Good morning. I have come for a heart checkup package
Staff: Sure, sir. Are you on fasting for
last eight hours? And would you like to add any other tests besides the regular
package?
Me: Fasting, yes. And may I have an LFT (Liver Function Test) added
to this?
Staff (smiling): No problem sir. That will be an extra ₹1400/-
(I am pushed to a blood sampling
unit first. Then to a separate room for ECG. Drama begins now)
Doc: Hullo. May I know why you have
added LFT to your heart checkup?
Me: I am a regular drinker, so…
Doc: How long have you been drinking?
Me: Humm, about 20 years roughly…
Doc: Daily?
Me: Well, almost
Doc: And how much, daily?
Me: About five to six pegs, I would say
Doc: Five to six? 30 ml peg?
Me: I am afraid, yes, doc, but the peg measure is 60 ml.
(ECG starts. Machine stutters and
stops. Technician comes, knocks a few buttons. It starts and stops again. Page
roll is changed. But it still stutters, stops, whirrs.., finally it delivers)
Doc: Please lie down for a chest
ultrasound. Yes, turn to your left a bit
(He rolls a device on my ribs, I
hear throbbing sounds of my heart pumping)
Doc: Have you ever had a heart attack,
even a minor one?
Me: Bloody no, doc! Why do you ask? I have always felt fit
like a fiddle
Doc: Do you take any medicine related to
heart condition?
Me: No, doc. None
Doc: Can you climb a staircase without
breathing heavily?
Me: Boss, I can race through six flights of stairs in under 2
minutes
Doc: Three storey or four storey
stairs, sir?
Me: I just told you I can zip through six flights, doc
Doc (after a long pause): I have some
doubts about your echo reports. I guess you should go for a a TMT (treadmill
test, or stress test with ECG)
Me: All right, if you ask. How much will it cost?
Doc: Do you have an attendant? The
charges need to be paid at the billing counter.
(An assistant informs my wife to go and pay the charges. I later found it cost ₹2,600/-)
Doc: Please tell us if you feel any
discomfort during the Treadmill run
(For 12 minutes, I walk through a
treadmill, barely breaking into sweat)
Doc: Any discomfort? Breathlessness?
Me: None, doc. Are you done?
Doc: Are you a sportsman?
Me: (I am getting irritated now) Not for three decades, doc
Doc: My name is ***Nayak. You can note
down my room number for any future consultation.
Me: Is the Treadmill Test done? Are your doubts cleared?
(No Answer. I am told to collect the
reports in an hour and be ready for medical consultations based on the reports.
I report two hours later)
Staff: The senior cardiologist will see
you here, sir.
(I am ushred into a room where the
same doctor who attended me at the Treadmill Test is sitting)
Doc: (Flipping through the reports):
Humm, you have been drinking too much. Your liver enzymes are high.
Me: I told you about my drinking, doc. Is there anything
worrisome? Was the treadmill test ok?
Doc: I have some doubts. You must
monitor your BP for ten days then return. You may need to go for an angiography.
Me: Is my BP okay? Anything wrong with the treadmill tests?
Doc: All reports are fine. But your ECG
report is giving me doubts. Go for an abdomen ultrasound too.
Me: Doc, your ECG machine also needs a test. It stopped twice
during the run, btw. And how much the Ultrasound cost?
Doc: Please ask the billing counter.
And see me after ten days
(Here, I felt I had had enough. I
moved out, and sent a phone camera shot of my reports to a doctor friend for a
second opinion.)
Friend Doc: All fine, dear. Avoid that doctor.
But no harm in going for an Ultrasound, since you have been a heavy drinker,
bugger.
(I go for an ultrasound in a couple
of days, and forward the report to the doctor friend. Response is immediate)
Friend Doc: Bastard, have you got a steel
liver? All well, but Pankaj, I still advise you to cut down on the amount;
enjoy sustainable drinking…
Me (Teasingly): And angiography?
Friend: Pankaj, medical profession also
have its share of black sheep. Don’t judge. Are all journalists fair players?
Me: All right, all right! You got me there, man. I owe you a
drink at Press Club soon, bloody sermonizing priest.
