Day 2: something that’s illegal but you think it should be legal
I think medicines - at least basic stuff, ought to be made legal and available freely. I really do not criticize the practice of selling drugs without prescriptions. I think it is a good step in countering drug addiction and aiding healthcare. But as somebody exposed to a different healthcare system all her life, this does seem a tad bit confusing and cumbersome.
Given below are two reasons why I maintain this perspective.
1. Impatience of a Patient:
To me it does seem rather hassling to wait for two to three days to get an appointment to the doctor when I am sick. I definitely am not in the mood to haul and cajole myself all the way to the doctor and then have to drag my self-pitying person to the pharmacist to get the required medication. And the while I am possibly coughing or moaning or sweating or aching and sometimes, all of these, and nobody cares a hoot because that is the procedure. Compare this to the family doctors who are always available, close by with medical shops abounding in every street and corner.
2. Homely Remedies, Medical Advice and More:
I am one of those people used to twenty five years of Indian health system. So, it is extremely difficult for me not to long for the simplicity of medication back home. The minute I would show the barest symptoms of being under the weather, I'd have an army of people flocking to make me feel better. The women fussing anxiously and all the father figures pampering me. I'd be presented with an effective, however vile and foul tasting homemade concoction ; the recipe of which is handed down generation to generation. Next would follow OTC medicines with loads of advice from ancient or/and female relatives of the pharmacist who usually mind the cash counter. In the unlikely event that my condition deteriorates, a trip to the doctor would ensue. Here I'd swap stories, symptoms and gossip with other patients seated to visit the doctor. The actual consultation would entail five minutes of check-up, two minutes of prescription handling and half an hour of serious discussion on symptoms- imagined and real, family medical history dating back to the Stone Age and brief updates about our lives in general. Indian doctors definitely ace in the bedside manner department.
I think medicines - at least basic stuff, ought to be made legal and available freely. I really do not criticize the practice of selling drugs without prescriptions. I think it is a good step in countering drug addiction and aiding healthcare. But as somebody exposed to a different healthcare system all her life, this does seem a tad bit confusing and cumbersome.
Given below are two reasons why I maintain this perspective.
1. Impatience of a Patient:
To me it does seem rather hassling to wait for two to three days to get an appointment to the doctor when I am sick. I definitely am not in the mood to haul and cajole myself all the way to the doctor and then have to drag my self-pitying person to the pharmacist to get the required medication. And the while I am possibly coughing or moaning or sweating or aching and sometimes, all of these, and nobody cares a hoot because that is the procedure. Compare this to the family doctors who are always available, close by with medical shops abounding in every street and corner.
2. Homely Remedies, Medical Advice and More:
I am one of those people used to twenty five years of Indian health system. So, it is extremely difficult for me not to long for the simplicity of medication back home. The minute I would show the barest symptoms of being under the weather, I'd have an army of people flocking to make me feel better. The women fussing anxiously and all the father figures pampering me. I'd be presented with an effective, however vile and foul tasting homemade concoction ; the recipe of which is handed down generation to generation. Next would follow OTC medicines with loads of advice from ancient or/and female relatives of the pharmacist who usually mind the cash counter. In the unlikely event that my condition deteriorates, a trip to the doctor would ensue. Here I'd swap stories, symptoms and gossip with other patients seated to visit the doctor. The actual consultation would entail five minutes of check-up, two minutes of prescription handling and half an hour of serious discussion on symptoms- imagined and real, family medical history dating back to the Stone Age and brief updates about our lives in general. Indian doctors definitely ace in the bedside manner department.
