4.47 AM Friday, 29 March 2024
  • City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
  • Dubai 04:56 06:10 12:26 15:53 18:37 19:52
29 March 2024

Is your doctor treating you, or making money?

Published
By Majorie van Leijen

You have just been examined by a doctor. The diagnosis: you have a skin disease. In order to treat the disease, you will need a list of medicines; a cream, soap, and two kinds of drugs in tablet form. You wonder if you really need all of these to treat the condition. Your doctor assures you, all of these have a different purpose. 

It is not uncommon that patients are prescribed more than what they expected. And since it is your doctor giving the judgment, it is difficult to verify whether the prescription is necessary, or a little more than what is really needed.

Not only that prescriptions sometimes reach into the multiples. “I went to the hospital with my son the other day, because he had bumped his head. He had a wound, and I wanted to make sure there was no risk of infections. However, I was referred to a pediatrician, which I did not think was necessary,” narrates Joseph Gupta, a 37-year-old Indian father.

Marianne Stein, a German resident, said: “I am always scheduled for a follow up visit, even when the problem is very simple. The other day I had my eyes checked, and the doctor diagnosed that I had dry eyes. She prescribed some eye drops, and told me to come back after one month, to see if my eyes were any less dry.”

“I never buy the prescribed medication immediately,” elaborates Michael Gauge, a Canadian resident. “Whenever I receive a prescription, I first go online and read about every single medicine on the list. If some are clearly overlapping in their purpose, I only get one of the two.”

Self-prescription or diagnosis is, however, a risky thing to. With the little knowledge a patient may have, it can become difficult to judge what is really needed, and what is not. But with the frequent doubt cast by patients, it is a last resort.

“I am reluctant to take too much medicine, and I believe that many doctors make use of the health insurance policies of most patients. The insurance company will pay anyway, so they may just as well get a little extra out of it. They forget that drug resistance can be a consequence,” said Michael.

Similarly, another doctor’s visit means another couple of hours out of a day, which might be a working day. For every visit, the patient may lose a little of his annual leave.

The solution according to Layla al Marzooki, Assistant Director of the Health Regulation Department (HRD) at the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) is to ask for a second opinion when any doubt arises. In addition, a complaint can be filed with the HRD, she urges.

“Patients who feel that their doctor is prescribing too much medicine or the wrong treatment can file a medical complaint. We take these cases very seriously,” she said.

However, she acknowledged that complaints of such nature are rare. “I do not recall receiving such complaints.”

The HRD can be contacted at 04-5022901 or 04-5022996, or by e-mail at regulation@dha.gov.ae.