Thursday, October 19, 2006

Doctor. Different!

I came across a very unconventional Doctor in Dubai. An Indian by birth, he has studied to be a heart surgeon but is now pioneering a different kind of service for people (not really patients). He has taken up idea of being a health consultant for people who are willing to get proactive about their health. But it works for reactive cases too. He apparently promises an improvement for the better based on the person's needs and does this once he has studied the person's health at length. He analyzes the person's health and looks into the future to prescribe proactively, at what is perhaps a reasonable fee for a well-to-do family. I guess there is a significant difference between a dietitian's inputs and inputs from a person of this sort. Come to think of it, the benefits this may have would be related to early diagnosis of health problems. The doctor says his 'customers' are forced to sign an agreement to the effect that they'll make themselves available for discussions with the doctor anytime he chooses and vice versa! Prescriptions may range from exercise, food, lifestyle recommendations, etc. Well, whatever it is, I think it takes guts for a well-established doctor to move away from what could be a well-paying job to something that is quite risky and uncertain! A surgeon without practice may not even find a job if he has been away from his profession for too long a time!It is not only about being visionary, innovative, different, unconventional etc but also about knowing when (the right time) to take the less-trodden path!

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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Doctors cannot solve health problems on their own. They require and should use experts from othe medical disciplines to resolve health issues. Obesity, or weight management, is not about seeing a doctor and taking the advice of one professional, who, by the way, probably had one course in nutrition in medical school. Be realistic..it will take a team of experts, registered dietitians, physical therapists, psychologisits, nurses, surgeons and perhaps others to resolve obesity issues. A house call from a doc to answer questions is selling the patient short on real outcomes.