If you want to check part 1, please click here.

Part 1  “Threatened to kill us”

In the next part of our survey, we attempted to understand what the doctors thought about the reasons for doctor -patient disputes.

 From the responses that we gathered, an often-cited reason was inadequate understanding of the disease on the patient’s part which leads to avoidable dispute situations. Doctors also reported that disputes often arose when the patient or patient’s family members did not have enough clarity on the billing. It would be well worth a mention that some doctors also reported interference of family members as a reason for the dispute. A small percentage of doctors also believed that inadequate risk communication on the part of the physician leads to doctor-patient disputes. While all the above reasons of dispute seem to be largely avoidable, one reason that stood out from the gathered responses was the role media played in shaping doctor-patient relation status. And that, doctors, believe, exacerbates the underlying situation.

• The biggest reason for existing doctor-patient disputes is mass media.

“Wrong information and misreporting by mass media” is cited as the top reason that leads to patient-doctor disputes. The other possible reasons cited by doctors as a reason for dispute are “insufficient knowledge on patient’s side”, “lack of adequate hospital facilities, billing disputes and lack of clarity of expenses”

•  80% of doctors responded that they were prepared to handle such situations with their patients or relatives, as and when they arose  

NEXT:

Part 3  What is the biggest reason for the dispute?

If you want to read findings from Part 1 click here 

Part 1  “Threatened to kill us”

Disclaimer

We have presented the data and facts as they are without generalizing the results as a reflection of the views of entire Indian doctor’s population. The demographic profile of the survey participants [shown above] may differ from the population of all Indian Doctors. Also, limiting the sample to the Internet channel only may introduce bias in the results. We have also presented actual doctors' quotes in the article, which should not be interpreted as implying cause and effect.

This article was originally published on 29.06.18