It is intriguing that despite the medical profession being considered to be the noble one, the government has to take stern action and come up with revised guidelines on a number of occasions for ensuring patient welfare in a failsafe manner and stop certain entities in this profession from deceiving or misleading the people in different ways.
In this context, another set of guidelines has been issued by the Directorate of Health Services, Jammu asking the medical practitioners to take a certain course while providing consultation to their patients visiting them in government healthcare facilities to ascertain that chances of confusion as far as medicines prescribed in the prescriptions are minimized and a clear picture comes into the minds of those approaching medical professional for assistance seeking good health.
Reportedly, the guidelines issued in this regard have directed the Chief Medical Officers and Medical Superintendents of various Govt. Hospitals of Health Department Jammu Division to adhere to directives/guidelines which include writing the prescriptions in capital form so that the patients should know what drugs they are prescribed to eliminate the chances of wrong medication and deception by chemists, mentioning generic names of drugs only following the provisions/guidelines of Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulation, 2002, and provide details of the disease besides writing the medico legal reports also in capital letter in their respective Districts/Health Institutions. These guidelines if implemented in letter and spirit will go a long way in ensuring patient welfare as in the absence of these the chances of deception of people and unscrupulous fleecing the patients were quite high.
Now it is to be seen how well these guidelines shall be allowed to work on ground bailing out the people especially the uneducated lot from the misery of being cheated, and remaining confused on many issues.
It is advisable that similar guidelines should also be implemented in the Valley by DHSK to meaningfully enhance healthcare facilities in the entire Union Territory. Until and unless all the medical practitioners will not consider the nobility of their profession, the people sitting at helm should have to take such steps to make the healthcare sector robust and helpful for the people of J&K.
