Black money in white coats: whither medical ethics?

Black money in white coats: whither medical ethics?

Medical practice is a big business now and healthcare is a purchasable commodity. And for every (un)necessary diagnostic lab test, the “temptation” of receiving monetary benefits (“percentage” or “cut-money”) is there. To be and to remain ethical is no easy job. In academic medicine it is not easy to bluntly hang up the telephone when you are asked to “take care” of a few examinees related to colleagues and VVIPs of all kinds. I had the good fortune to be the house physician of a professor of medicine in Kolkata who refused to follow the order of the state health minister and was subsequently fired during the infamous Emergency era. Role models of this kind are becoming rarer these days. What has vitiated the present state of affairs is that the medical establishment, by and large, appears to have lost its moral compass. Recently I was asked by a young representative of a company whether I could introduce (if possible market too!) their nutritional products in my department and hospital. To my surprise, I was told that many physicians were involved in this “service” - directly selling the high-priced nutritional products of unproven efficacy from their chambers and clinics.