A patient had injured his perineum with a straddle injury, sustained a rupture urethra, and needed a suprapubic catheter. He has been visiting hospitals for the past three months, where he had radiological imaging but no definite date for surgery. He had a short segment stricture of his urethra. He underwent a repair and urethroplasty and should be fine to be discharged home soon.
Patients who have recourse to medical services have only the issue of having to pay for it. Medical insurance companies help, but this industry is heading towards trouble, with hospitals overcharging and bleeding the system. One can imagine that in ten years time, all bills will be viewed skeptically and soon restrictions placed on treatment, the way it is now in the United States.
What happens to patients who are not insured? The government attempts to meet this need with the Smart card and the RSBY program, a project of the NRHM. This ensures free treatment for those below the poverty line.This program works well, however, one does find many smart card holders riding up to the hospitals in latest vehicles!
What about the poor below poverty line who do not possess a smart card? They are left to fend for themselves. It is not only the economic condition of the patient, but the availability of hospitals willing to undertake for them.
Mission hospitals have long been havens for the poor and disadvantaged. The word mission now has come to mean different things to different people, much maligned and ill treated. However, they still can be places where the focus is still the poor.
How to maintain and run them, is another issue altogether, one fraught with many challenges and battles.
The bottom line however, still remains, the successful treatment and solace brought to the sufferer. We are grateful for all who allow us to do what we do.
Patients who have recourse to medical services have only the issue of having to pay for it. Medical insurance companies help, but this industry is heading towards trouble, with hospitals overcharging and bleeding the system. One can imagine that in ten years time, all bills will be viewed skeptically and soon restrictions placed on treatment, the way it is now in the United States.
What happens to patients who are not insured? The government attempts to meet this need with the Smart card and the RSBY program, a project of the NRHM. This ensures free treatment for those below the poverty line.This program works well, however, one does find many smart card holders riding up to the hospitals in latest vehicles!
What about the poor below poverty line who do not possess a smart card? They are left to fend for themselves. It is not only the economic condition of the patient, but the availability of hospitals willing to undertake for them.
Mission hospitals have long been havens for the poor and disadvantaged. The word mission now has come to mean different things to different people, much maligned and ill treated. However, they still can be places where the focus is still the poor.
How to maintain and run them, is another issue altogether, one fraught with many challenges and battles.
The bottom line however, still remains, the successful treatment and solace brought to the sufferer. We are grateful for all who allow us to do what we do.
No comments:
Post a Comment