On Jan 26, 2014, Roland Francis wrote: "The common man knows that what Santosh says is right. Desperate and gullible people will believe in crystal therapy or things like that either from ignorance or desperation, as he said."
COMMENT: 1: Nothing I read in the Herald-interview (Patricia Alvares / Tarminder Manchanda) could be classified as quackery which is an unregulated and dangerous practice of medicine, especially as quacks often attempt to discourage patients from consulting their doctor or following their doctor's advice. (This not to say that some 'regulated modern medicine practitioners do not practice dangerous medicine). 2: There is one mis-representative and potentially dangerous (to the non-discerning reader) word in Patricia Alvares' bye-line and that is "curative". Otherwise, I would have no issues if any of my patients were interested in utilizing these 'Crystals' to assist in the 'healing' process ..... as long as they understood from me that there was a difference between healing and cure. 3: My personal take on physicians, illnesses and treatments includes the following: a: Well trained and up to date physicians should know more about illnesses, drug treatments, the drug interactions and side-effects that those who are not well trained and up to date physicians may not be aware of. (This includes lay individuals). b: Unscrupulous and unethical physicians take short cuts mainly for financial gains; and then there are the unscrupulous among the Pharma Reps who offer inducements to physicians in order 'to meet their targets'. c: Another set of the unscrupulous physicians are the ones who would (say) delay referral of patients to the specialists/sub-specialists and the specialists/sub-specialists who would delay the referral back of the patients to the primary (referring) physician after the specialty consult is completed . d: Patients often get totally confused when different doctors give vastly different opinions about the same medical issue, write a whole set of differently-named (but possibly the same generic) medications AND talk bad about the previous doctor. All this only results in an increased number of medications the patient has at home, the depleted bank account and bewildered patients. e: We should NOT forget the effect the filthy state of the Primary Clinics and Hospitals in Goa and the reported rudeness displayed by the staff (including physicians) has on the patients psyche. I do not even have to comment on the reports that some patients have to pay some officials to secure a much needed admission to GMC or the VIP abuse of the Coronary Care Unit for non-coronary issues. f: Add to this the pompous 'know it all' attitude of some physicians. NOW, let us try decipher who and what the patients are likely to believe / disbelieve. g: This all adds to the intense desperation, even in the non-gullible patients h: My own advice to myself is as follows: Read widely. Spend a good amount of time with the patient and try understand what the problem might be, Some patients may not tell you everything at the first go. One has to work out a possible diagnosis based on what info is available. Order investigations and medicines ONLY when required. It matters little what the patient expects me to do (i.e. request Scans or expensive medicines). I am the physician in this case and the patient is not. The patient has the right (if an adult with Mental Capacity) to refuse the treatment I prescribe BUT, he cannot tell me what to prescribe. i: Be honest always. j: Read the various Alternative Medicine sites that are out there. I definitely do NOT know everything about medical care. There just might be some value in some of those 'remedies'. I know they have not all been scientifically tested and that some of the proponents are practicing quacks. I am willing to listen to what they have to say. k: In my experience, As long as the remedies do not contain harmful ingredients (like ..say..Arsenic) or otherwise might cross-react with the medications I am prescribing or are medicines which I am unable to research, I do not play God Almighty with my clients. Over time, rapport develops and there is nothing like the 'Proof being in the Pudding'. 4: Acupuncture (since the topic came up) is being used by Cancer Centers (including in the US) for Palliative Pain relief, and so is Ganja. The US FDA approved acupuncture for pain relief in 1996. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/acupuncture/patient/page1/AllPages/Print .Recently, a team of Canada Health visited Jamaica to purchase Ganja http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20140121/lead/lead1.html Speaking about Ganja (Marijuana), ganja eye drops have been tested and are being used in the alleviation of Glaucoma related issues. 5: re: the Crystals - as presented in the Herald interview. I have no problems (except the term curative). If they help relieve stress in some of my clients like Yoga or sitting by the ocean front and staring at the water or meditation do, I am happy. Less drugs for me to prescribe and less stress in those homes with super-active kids. 6: FINALLY: If I were a writer in a Goa newspaper or a senior physician in Goa, I would concentrate on cleaning up the reportedly dysfunctional health system (if one can call it a system) in Goa.I would also concentrate on improving the Physician-Patient relationship and the delivery of a reasonable quality of health care in Goa. I would also concentrate on the myriad of out-station quacks who are holding monthly clinics in the various cities of Goa and relieving "desperate and gullible" Goans of money ...and leave town until the next time. What happens if something goes wrong in the interim? Hello Medical Council, Medical Association and Goa Government? jc This post may be re-posted on any site and any forum with the proviso that it is re-posted as written. (inclusive of my typos) I will be happy to respond to questions from Goa-based physicians who can confirm that they refuse 'gifts' and other freebies from Big Pharma
