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        Dr Hisamuddin Papa is leading a lonely crusade to restore medical ethics to its original position in the medical profession in the country.

        Although it is true that there is little ethics in any profession these days, Dr Papa feels that bringing back ethics in the medical profession is very essential as health is the only real wealth of any nation.

Dr Papa is a city-based consultant chest physician and managing director of HUMA Specialists Hospital and Research Centre at Nandanam, Chennai. In a freewheeling chat with News Today, Dr Papa explains how ethics in the profession had gone down from a very lovely and respectable level.         Asked whether the same was not true with any other profession, he said medicine was not just another profession. 'You are only next to God in the minds of the people,' he said and added that medicine is called a noble profession because society believes doctors would conduct themselves in a noble manner.         There are many reasons why ethics had gone down the drain. 'There can be no single or simple answer to it,'         Dr Papa said and detailed how the concept of family doctor had just vanished and contributed to the process of degradation of ethics. In the good old days a family physician used to guide families about appropriate remedies and treatment plans. But with the growth of multiple specialities and super specialities, few go to the general practitioner.

Dr Hisamuddin Papa

        'Today the patient himself decides whom he should go to,' the alumnus of Madras Medical College said and regretted that most times people go about spending much more than what was required.

        Moreover, there is a dangerous proliferation of unwanted publicity material in the media about various diseases. This often confuses a lot of people and that was why they want them tested for different diseases. 'Half-baked knowledge, especially about medicine is very dangerous,' the affable gentleman said and wanted a complete ban on such material in the media.

        'Complete commercialisation and corporatisation of medical services since the early 1980s had also hit us really hard,' the chest physician said and chuckled that whatever was left in the name of ethics was also taken away by this development.

        Dr Papa also wondered how medical practitioners could be brought within the ambit of consumer protection laws. He felt that this was a major reason why most hospitals adopt a 'safe technique' of recommending all related examinations like a CT Scan or an MRI for an ailment, to overcome the charge of negligence under consumer laws.

        Since values have changed in society as a whole, the medical profession, which is only a component of the larger society has also been affected and it is only natural. But this problem has to be addressed and corrected as it alone can help the nation produce better brains.

        Because of huge investments in men and equipment and due to 'unhealthy' competition among doctors and hospitals every treatment plan is motivated by commercial interests rather than anything else. As a matter of fact most ailments could be easily diagnosed with clinical examination. 'There is no need for any other aid or tests,' Dr Papa said and explained that doctors use costly diagnostic equipment because 'it is available.'
 

Health in food         Interestingly, Dr Papa has just launched Lazio, a restaurant in his hospital complex in association with some of his associates which has hygiene and health as its twin motto to serve people and patients better.          'Butter, ghee and oil are not used here. We use only Nutrilite and it is absolutely free of cholesterol,' Dr Papa said and added that it contains margarine which tastes like butter but 'does not have fat.' Moreover, no preservatives, additives or artificial colours are used. A packed special business lunch would be launched soon, the doctor said.

        'But there is no point in just talking. Somewhere a beginning should be made and that's how we founded the Noble Doctors Association,' Dr Papa quipped and added that they were able to offer 'unbeatable' rates at their hospital's diagnostic centre because they do not give kickbacks to doctors that range from 35 to 45 per cent.

        Dr Papa, in an emotive tone, appealed for support from media, paramedics, the profession and the people for a complete restoration of ethics.

        Hope, many more doctors join the bandwagon of Dr Papa and honour the golden principle of 'Do no harm, prevent harm and remove harm' with commitment and devotion so that the medical profession gets back its respect from the people.