New Delhi: The Vice-President, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar today expressed his disapproval of the commercialization healthcare, stressing that equitable access and fairness, and not fiscal gains, must be the touchstone of healthcare.
Referring to India’s civilizational ethos of 5000 years, he said that health and education were always taken to be services to the society, giving back to the society, not earning out of it. “Now these two sectors are becoming Industries. I strongly recommend that we get back to our age old values that will do lot of good to our nation and to humanity,” he added.
Addressing the 79th Annual Conference of the Association of Physicians of India (APICON-2024) at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi today, VP observed that no profession is as elevated and glorified as medical profession, and called for the highest degree of ethical standards, ever highest next to a lawyer.
"Ethical dilution in any profession is painful but ethical dilution in medical profession is unacceptable. I commend all of you that our doctors, our nurses and compounders have exhibited the highest ethical standards even on global horizons. If there are some transgressions I leave it to your thoughtful process and you must visit them with exemplary consequences because when the vast majority of doctors, nurses and compounders are at the highest platinum level of ethical standards, We cannot allow the fair name of this profession to be tarnished, tainted by miniscule category who create this profession into commerce," he said
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Shri Dhankhar further said that we need 5-star facilities in hospitals, not just as a source of attraction, what we really need is “5 star services”. Referring to certain questionable practices in vogue in super speciality hospitals, VP hoped that APICON-24 would debate those practices and bring reforms that will help the patients & the nation greatly.
Observing that good health is not merely being free from disease or having facilities to treat everyone, VP emphasized that preventive and precautionary mechanisms must be our first choice and called for focusing on that.
Mentioning that we are on a marathon march to a developed Bharat@2047, Shri Dhankhar underlined that this will only be possible when we have a fit India and fit India depends on the contributions of our medical professionals.
Describing India as a hub of medical excellence and a fast-growing centre of medical tourism, VP urged to ensure the highest degree of professionalism and ethical practices when dealing with patients coming from various countries as this gives us a great soft diplomacy advantage also.
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