Why is there so much corruption in medicine?

 

Why is there so much corruption in medicine?

13 days have passed since the Kolkata scandal broke and yet, with every passing day, more shocking revelations come to the fore.

What is most shocking is these two statements from the top doctors of the State;

"What is happening in R G Kar is happening in all medical colleges of Bengal", Dr Utpal Bannerjee to India Today

"This is not peculiar to Bengal. This is happening in medical institutions all over India." Dr Kunal Sarkar speaking to a digital channel.

Such statements induce anxiety and fear. We go to clinics and hospitals to be cured and regain health, not to become victims of corruption and politics.

Why have we reached such a deplorable state?

Medicine ought to be about health and wellness. Both of these have positive connotations and indicate a state of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing. Sickness is about deviating from the healthy and happy state. Cures are about addressing the deviations and restoring the happiness.

The problem starts when we assume that disease is about pathogens, they ought to be managed and not cured, complications are normal and inevitable, the human being is just a body, dissecting the body is the most important part of medical education, symptoms are the disease, and that the focus ought to be the disappearance of symptoms by all means possible.

The body centric approach, and the commoditization of the individual (he is just an assembly of parts) paves the path towards sadism and corruption. By stripping the person of his humanistic traits the doctor too is stripped off the humane traits that are to be treasured.

The difference is between the words disease management and healing. The former is an earning opportunity; the latter is about emerging as a better individual benefitting the society in the process.

The holistic healing sciences look at disease as an energy imbalance. Something has disturbed the energy flow in the body and the ripples have spread to the body, mind, and emotions that are visible aspects of the person. By restoring the energy channels the other aspects are back in shape and wellness is experienced again.

This energy is a happy energy. It is to be approached with a happy and contended mind that genuinely seeks to help. Happiness depends upon positivity and simplicity. These are the essential qualities of the healer; a person with good character who genuinely wants the subject to regain wellness and has meticulously studied the methods to achieve the goal.

The healing ambience too ought to be about positivity and happiness. Negativity induces disease, positivity leads towards the cure. When the healer understands the unease of the sick person and establishes a positive relationship with him or her, and the person is full of hope having trusted the ability of the healer, the healing process has begun.

In my book I have mentioned that emerging from sickness can be a enjoyable experience or a traumatic shock depending upon which treatment system you have chosen.

Healing is not a business. It is an uplifting experience for all involved in it. In the process a positive energy is created that protects both healer and the subject as well as the place where the healing takes place.

Healing is about understanding the person in his or her entirety, knowing the deviations, mapping the deficiencies, understanding the inconveniences faced, and working together to address them. The healer guides, the person follows, and by the time the healing is achieved the affected knows how to stay healthy. Then health becomes an individual responsibility.

Today there is so much talk about an overburdened health system leading to stress in healthcare staff. The solution is to keep people healthy by ensuring the basic and social determinants of health, and spreading awareness on the value of nutrition, exercise, lifestyle, and detoxification. As these result in a healthy population the disease burden will reduce benefitting all. It is medicating the healthy, and remaining ignorant about the pathway to good health and cures that are leading to the plethora of illnesses that plague society.

We have created hell by establishing the modern day hospitals that ignore all essential aspects of healing. While earlier it was known that a positive mentality and lifestyle is the key to health, the modern doctors laughed at the concept and declared; do whatever you want, we are there with our drugs to address the consequences. This provided license and created the base for corruption that has spread to all corners of the world and lies concentrated in the hospitals where horror stories are being scripted and enacted every day.

The very profession that ought to ensure that populations are healthy and follow moral and ethical rules to stay healthy and perform vital functions in society has become the means to destroy health and demolish the values that occur naturally in the healthy.

It is not easy to rectify the situation because the modern philosophy is that illicit pleasures are the goal of life and all should have the right to do as they please. Once again it is in sharp contrast to the wisdom that discipline is required to experience the innocent joy that breathes life into the world.

Our mentality, vibes, actions, and energy is creating the world around us. All are anxious and fearful adding to the negativity. This is a vicious cycle. It cannot be broken unless all stakeholders agree to the right solution. However this world believes in creating conflicts and ensuring that no two persons agree. Here everything good is evil and everything evil is embraced as right. This is the philosophy we have adopted with our modern day intelligence.

Sickness is guaranteed in this world; sadism and corruption the inevitable consequences.