Do what you say to improve Doctor-Patient relationship – Dr. K K Aggarwal

Delivering the key note address on Doctor’s Day, Padma Shri and Dr. B C Roy National Awardee Dr K K Aggarwal, President Heart Care Foundation of India and Chief Patron IMA New Delhi Branch said that an analysis of complaints of over 1000 patients has shown that major cause of Doctor-Patient dispute is either lack of communication or lack of documentation. He said that the triad of ‘Plan, Communication and Documentation’ can be the answer to this, where ‘Plan’ means observations and treatment decided by the doctor and if the same is ‘Communicated’ to the patient, ‘Documented’ and then implemented, there can never be a dispute.   

A dispute arises when there is a disparity between your plan and the outcome. or example, if you say dispute.  If you communicate properly to the patient the risks involved in the surgery and that the patient is a part of risk then a dispute can never arise. 

Dr. Aggarwal said that the five components of better Doctor-Patient relationship are: Acknowledge, Introduce, Explain, Define the duration of time and finally Thank the patients.  If you cannot practice compassion-based medicine, then at least practice etiquette-based medicine, he said. Defining the ABC of a doctor, he further added that three components of a good doctor are: Available, Behavior and Competency.  Remember available and a well-behaved doctor is much more important than a doctor who is competent.

Dr. Kaushal Madan from Medanta - The Medicity delivered the guest lecture. He said that there are only two types of Hepatitis or Jaundice, one that originates from contaminated food and water, and the other, which spreads from blood and other internal secretions. Both are preventable.

Dr. Madan said that one should follow the principles of food and water hygiene to prevent Hepatitis A and E and strictly observe the following hygiene principles in the hospital settings to prevent Hepatitis B and C:

Avoid finger stick blood test without a disposable special non-hollow needle.

Avoid high risk sexual behavior without condoms.

Take all 3 doses of Hepatitis B vaccination for full protection.

Say no to blood transfusion unless it a must.

Say no to surgeries unless they are a must

Dr. Yugal Mishra, Director, Dept. of Cardiovascular Surgery at Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, who gave away ‘Doctor of the Year’ awards said that doctors should write legibly to prevent drug errors.  To error is human as long as prevention is taken. Even an experienced housewife can cut her hand while chopping vegetables in a kitchen. Similarly, an experienced surgeon too can have accidents while doing surgery. 

As long as you have taken precautions and you have communicated the risk, there is no Doctor-Patient dispute, he further added.

Awards Distribution

IMA NDB Lifetime Achievement Award was given to

Dr. Yugal Mishra, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute

IMA NDB Doctor of The Year Award were given to

Dr. P K Julka, Padma Shri Awardee; Dr. H K Chopra, President-Elect, Cardiological Society of India; Dr. Smitha Mishra, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute; Dr. D K Satsangi, G B Pant Hospital; Dr. Shekhar Agarwal, Sant Parmanand Hospital; Dr. Kaushal Madan, Medanta - The Medicity;Dr. Rakesh Gupta, President CSI Delhi Branch; Dr. Shakti Kumar Gupta, AIIMS; Dr (Prof.) Rani Kumar, Hindu Rao Hospital; Dr. Deep Goel, BLK Super Speciality Hospital; Dr. Ambrish Mithal, Medanta - The Medicity

IMA NDB Distinguished Service Award were given to

Dr. Anil Aggarwal, President DMA; Dr Anil Goyal, President-Elect DMA; Dr. Narendra Saini, Secretary-General IMA; Dr. Rajan Gadhiok, Moolchand Medcity ; Dr. Madhu Handa, Medical Administrator, Moolchand Medcity; Dr Ramesh Hotchandani, President IMA NDB; Dr. Vandana Chaddha, Secretary IMA NDB; Dr. Manoj Kumar, Moolchand Medcity; Dr. Shiv Chopra, Moolchand Medcity; Dr. Sudesh Rattan, Past President IMA NDB; Dr. Dinesh Negi, Past President IMA NDB; Dr Pavan Gupta, Past President IMA Haryana; Dr Rajiv Garg, Past President IMA NDB; Dr. Satish Mehta, Asst. Secretary DMA