July 1 is observed as Doctors’ Day in India to honour the legendary physician, Dr B C Roy whose birth & death anniversary falls on the same day.
The day is an opportunity to raise awareness about the doctor’s role in our daily lives – a day when people across the country acknowledge the commitment and dedication of the medical and health care fraternity towards society.
It is also a significant day for doctors themselves as it provides them an opportunity to reflect on their career & remind themselves of ethics of medicine.
India is unique in the sense that patients revere their doctors majority of whom are sincere, honest and ethical.
Greed, lack of regulation, lack of accountability, lack of firm laws and a lenient society has allowed unholy nexus between doctors, hospitals, diagnostic centres & pharma industry.
In no other profession does the individual place so much trust and faith. In some regions, particularly in rural India, the doctor is equated with God.
The doctor is, therefore, duty-bound to have a higher level of moral code of conduct than those in other professions and must understand that he/she is in a very privileged position.
BY ASWIN KUMAR
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