On Friday, Khatiel Suresh Kudwa, president of the Indian Medical Education, Karnataka Chapter, said the government should give free medical education so that everyone in society has access to free or inexpensive healthcare.
According to Dr. Kudwa, the relationship between physicians and patients is deteriorating with each passing day as medical education becomes more commercialised.
Free medical education on merit basis could address this issue, he said. The ‘family doctor’ system wherein the physician was completely aware of health issues of patients, was on the wane, he said urging the government to take steps to promote the system.
Dr. Kudwa said the government spent more than the usual spend of 1.5% of the GDP on healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic. This should continue on a par with other countries wherein governments spend over 10% of their GDP on healthcare. IMA, Dr. Kudwa said was striving to restore doctor-patient relationships by forming a district council comprising senior IMA members that provides continuous learning for doctors, arranges free medical check-up and treatment camps and arranging public health awareness programmes.
Dr. Kudwa said besides ensuring affordable healthcare, the government should check quacks to ensure a healthy society. There were 1.5 lakh estimated quacks in the country. Even after amendment to the Karnataka Private Doctors Regulation Act in 2017, the punishment for quacks was negligible, he said urging the government to ensure stringent action against such persons.
IMA-Mangaluru president Satyamoorthy Aital, Secretary Sadananda Poojary, Treasurer G.K. Bhat, State Vice-President K.R. Kamath and others were present.