Medical care is today a prisoner of specialization, say two senior doctors with more than half a century of practice to their credit.

On the event of Doctors Day today, Covai Post spoke to Dr P Subramanian and Dr Sri Hari who while agreeing specialization is important with the advancement of medical science and spread of numerous diseases, treatment cannot be always addressed in isolation.

Dr Subramanian, a surgeon and who has been practicing since 1967, said, “Too much dependence on machines and technology has inhibited clinical acumen with most doctors today missing key symptoms during diagnosis.”
The doctors’ intuition has been lost to machines, he said.

With specialists crowding the system, family medicine has taken a back seat, said Dr Subramanian, who runs a nursing home in Nanjappa Road, Coimbatore.

The family doctor knew the medical history of every member of the family from childhood and their genetic disposition, which helped in accurate diagnosis and limit prescription of too many drugs and tests, he said.
“Today two or three specialists examine the patient and write out too many drugs that are not necessary.”

They see their patients in parts, not as a whole, he said.

Dr Sri Hari, who has been practicing from 1964 and still sees a few patients a week at his clinic in Puliankulam, said, “Then, family doctors enjoyed a close friendship with their patients and were a source of reassurance to them.”
Now that relationship does not exist with mushrooming specialists spending little time with their patients, may be due to a lack of time and fast-paced development contributing to commercialization of medical practice, he said.
“Only if totally necessary, they direct their patients to specialists.”

Dr Subramianian also pointed out to the “insurance impact” that is prevailing today.

“Patients today demand more tests to make full use of the insurance they are entitled to,” he said.

Sedentary lifestyle and food habits have drastically changed leading to an increase number of illnesses, Dr Subramanian said.

“We have to learn to live with nature.”

Dr Sri Hari said 95 per cent of the doctors don’t spend the time their patients deserve.

“Typically, a patient today is prescribed a battery of tests, and sent from one department to another,” said the doctor, who was professor of medicine for 25 years at the Coimbatore Medical College.

Quoting Hippocrates, who is regarded as the Father of Medicine, Dr Sri Hari said: Cure rarely, comfort mostly, console always.

But which doctor today can stand up for this, he said ruefully.