Hospital bills are mostly on the higher side today, and with
the increasing number of private healthcare centres, the situation for the
common man will only worsen, cautions well-known cardiologist and former
Vice-Chancellor of Manipal University B. M. Hegde. The Hindu, 22 Sept 2014,
Hyderabad edition.
You censured the western health care system during your talk.
Why so?
Their health care is the leading cause of death. Take antibiotics
for example. They are very dangerous, because when taken for treatment in
excess, the body becomes resistant.
So what is the alternative? If I have fever, what do I take?
If you take a tablet to cure fever, it will bring down the
temperature of your body, going against the natural course of cure. Most fevers
– except malaria and a few others – are self-limiting, and after some time they
recede. You should take rest and drink lot of fluids.
However, what happens today is the exact opposite. Why do you
think doctors are not inclined towards helping people?
If hospitals and doctors become altruistic then their income will
fall. The situation will improve if State-run hospitals are developed.
Can medical costs be low? Can you give an example?
Take the case of stents. They cost around $150 in the US, and if
you cross waters from there and reach Cuba, it costs only five Pesos, equalling
to few hundred rupees.
