Prediction 1: Religion, truthfulness, cleanliness, tolerance, mercy, duration of life, physical strength and memory will all diminish day by day because of the powerful influence of the age of Kali. Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.1 Prediction 2: In Kali Yuga, wealth alone will be considered the sign of a man’s good birth, proper behaviour and fine qualities. […]
By JULIE CRESWELLOCT. 17, 2015 Debra Davidson had been treated by Dr. Arvind Gandhi for over three decades and had open-heart surgery in 2011. She now questions the need for the procedure.CreditJoshua Lott for The New York Times MUNSTER, Ind. — On a spring evening last year, Debra Davidson flipped on the television to watch […]
Hippocrates wrote an oath for Physicians circa 350-370 BC. Medicine in those times was considered a holy service meant to heal the sick and not a profession. With time medicine became a profession and monetary benefit for the work done became an accepted norm. Doctors came under normal laws of the land. The application of […]
This is a Chapter from my forthcoming book, Patient Safety – Protect yourself from Medical Errors. Diagnosis plays a central role in medicine, and making the right diagnosis is pivotal in helping the patient to get the right care. Making a diagnosis is a complex exercise, because patients don’t come with labels saying I suffer […]
One day in 1988, a college dropout named Jonathan Stanley was visiting New York City when he became convinced that government agents were closing in on him. He bolted, and for three days and nights raced through the city streets and subway tunnels. His flight ended in a deli, where he climbed a plastic crate […]
Press release: IMA, HCFI & Indian Oil Corporation release guidelines on dengue management In an attempt to dispel myths and create awareness about the ongoing dengue outbreak in the city, IMA, HCFI and Indian Oil Corporation have released a set of guidelines for the management of the disease. Simple Dengue Fever: Over ninety-five percent people […]
Release Date: August 31, 2015 Zeiler Mouse After a stroke, mice were tested on their ability to re-learn how to reach through an opening to grab a food pellet. Credit: Boone Snavely Working with mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins have added to evidence that a commonly prescribed antidepressant called fluoxetine helps stroke victims improve movement […]
The recreational and medicinal desirability of marijuana (Cannabis sativa), fomented by widespread and generationally shifted social acceptance, has created a perfect storm for the medical community. The emergence of this drug highlights the lack of scientific and clinical understanding of its effects, including those that are health adverse as well as medicinal. This review illustrates […]
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is more common among youths involved in the juvenile justice system than the general pediatric population; the estimated rate of TBI in this population is as high as 30%. • The neurobiologic effects of TBI depend on the severity of impact; in general, TBI is characterized by hematomas and diffuse axonal […]
Pregnancy Complications Following Prenatal Exposure to SSRIs or Maternal Psychiatric Disorders: Results From Population-Based National Register Data Heli Malm, M.D., Ph.D., Andre Sourander, M.D., Ph.D., Mika Gissler, Ph.D., David Gyllenberg, M.D., Ph.D.,Susanna Hinkka-Yli-Salomäki, Ph.Lic., Ian W. McKeague, Ph.D., Miia Artama, Ph.D., Alan S. Brown, M.D., M.P.H. Received: December 21, 2014 Accepted: May 11, 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2015.14121575 […]
© Dr. Rajas Deshpande An old man of 82 was admitted in London ON once with stroke during his “regular” morning lovemaking with his contemporary wife. An accurate history and onset time is necessary so we can use a clot buster injection within 4 hours of onset. He qualified and eventually recovered too. I was […]
What are the details of actual expenditure in training a PG doctor? If the govt wants them to stay and serve, it should pay. Stop this slavery and exploitation of the meritorious! Why are generations of promising intelligent doctors being held responsible for perpetual poverty, illiteracy and a failed govt healthcare system? A state govt. […]
With interview of a renowned Cardiologist. © Dr. Rajas Deshpande Lifehack: a strategy or technique adopted in order to manage one’s time and daily activities in a more efficient way. Are you talented, hardworking, hurried, bitter, artificial, irritable, insecure, obsessive, egoistic, money-minded, dissatisfied and longing for a better life? Yes? Then you must be a […]
A 13 point charter for Indian Doctors Happy Doctor’s Day! © Dr. Rajas Deshpande 1. If we want to survive without being exploited and improve healthcare in India, we must forget all our differences and unite for this cause. We must be able to overcome all personal differences to realize what great strength we are. […]
Humans? © Dr. Rajas Deshpande 2 AM, about 20 years ago. Civil Hospital Casualty Nanded. World asleep. In came rushing a crowded jeep. Panicked passengers carried someone in a blood soaked bedsheet. Huge bearded man in 40s. Heavy bodybuilder. White kurta pajama now blood red. Hacked by many with mashetes (kukri), swords, knives. From head […]
© Dr. Rajas Deshpande “Will I ever win? I feel suicidal.” said the 25 year old orphan with Multiple Sclerosis. In a world drooling over the stories of “10 Richest” or “20 Most Beautiful” women, there’s hardly any scope for noticing an orphan girl who fights alone against an incurable disease. VS, a dignified young […]
© Dr. Rajas Deshpande 1. The sound of restarting heartbeats when resuscitating a patient. 2. Closure after a difficult surgery where only the surgeon knows how he / she has saved a life. 3. A perfect surgery / procedure / stenting without complication. 4. Seeing the beautiful cute face of a healthy newborn. 5. Managing […]
© Dr. Rajas Deshpande “He is angry with us, doctor. He refuses to recognize us, even his parents and children sometimes. It was all my fault, I fought with him so many times over small things. I have said sorry so many times now.. But he is not ready to talk again like he did.. […]
© Dr. Rajas Deshpande “You are in our prayers everyday”.. one of the greatest achievements in becoming a doctor is hearing this sentence. But hey! You all are also there in our prayers every day! Whatever the religion, whichever faith one may come from, whether rich or poor, whether our concepts, philosophies or traditions match […]
© Dr. Rajas Deshpande The whole city awaited a murder, just like in the book ‘Chronicles of a death foretold’ by Mr. Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It was during my internship. I was posted in the civil hospital casualty along with Dr. Anwar and Dr. Junaid, my batchmates. The postings were phenomenal in that we got […]
© Dr. Rajas Deshpande “Ready?” As I held the knife, Dr. PTJ said: “Hold the knife like a pen, keep the tip on the skin, and with a controlled but firm pressure downwards, swipe its edge down as you feel the skin resistance. Don’t go deep at all. I am here. Start”. Sweating a little, […]
© Dr. Rajas Deshpande “Insecticide Poisoning. Needs intubation. Quick” I shouted and started suction from the frothing mouth of this 27 year old Ayurvedic Practitioner. The casualty servant rushed the primitive version of crash cart that had bare minimum upon it and relied upon the cosmic arrangement of two emergencies at a time, with enough […]
(c) Dr. Rajas Deshpande Time and again, relatives dump the invalid, disabled, psychotic or infectious patients in govt. hospitals, provide false addresses or names, and disappear. By default, the ward staff (mainly nurses, servants / ward boys and resident doctors) look after such patients. We sometimes help by shifting them to wards where there are […]
© Dr. Rajas Deshpande Recently there was a study saying that Doctor’s Aprons may (not definitely) spread infections. This inference is quite established and proven many years ago, and solutions for this have been discussed at length. One must congratulate that this is proven again in India. However, the news headlines “Ban the Doctors from […]
© Dr. Rajas Deshpande Alcohol addiction and heavy drinking for decades. Over 5 packets of Gutkha / tobacco per day for many years. Few accidents due to drunken driving, once head injury after a bike accident, without helmet. Poor diet control. Diabetes, blood pressure, heart disease, obesity. Rich landowner. Came to OPD with a personal […]
(c) Dr. Rajas Deshpande “Is the patient Dying? Operated? Bleeding severely? Dead?” “No” “Then we will not pay his / her medical bills”. The insurance companies (most) have been giving a hard time to both patients and doctors: no patient’s bill is fully paid even if they have a genuine illness. OPD bills and investigations […]
© Dr. Rajas Deshpande “Doc we have come for a second opinion. We think the earlier specialist was wrong.” said the patient’s daughter in law. Complicated case of Parkinsonism. 82 years old. “But the earlier Doctor (a senior bigwig) has in fact written the probable diagnosis here, and started correct line of treatment.” I said. […]
© Dr. Rajas Deshpande “Doc I have severe headache since last three days, with nausea, vomiting, and giddiness”. Young girl of 24. Recent break-up from first love, changed job. Completely normal physical examination. Accompanied with a caring new boyfriend. Both work in same software company. Simple, common problem. A few years ago, just a painkiller […]
© Dr. Rajas Deshpande From primary schools in inaccessible villages to metropolitan Universities, almost all teachers in India suffer poverty, neglect, transfers, non-teaching dumped duties and multiple tasks that the administration forces upon them, immense bullying and insecurity. Living in different hells, these angels still smilingly create heavens for their students. Suffering due to honesty […]
A friend’s wife was once admitted with severe burns, she had caught fire while cooking alone at home. After admitting her at a govt. hospital where I was a student, my devastated friend called me for help. Their whole family was in a wordless shock. The couple had married a year earlier. The doctors had […]
The Last Medicine © Dr. Rajas Deshpande “Do you love someone too much, DucKtoor?” asked this Iraqi student in hesitant words with an awkward face. He was just translating what his countryman had insisted him to ask me. A young lady in late twenties was paralysed below neck, and her husband had risked his life […]
“The Free Fetish” © Dr. Rajas Deshpande “I want to treat all patients free all my life, Sir.” I told my most beloved professor on the day that I passed my MD Medicine exams. Always fair to me, my Prof. did not brush away my words as overexcited blabber of a passing student on the […]
© Dr. Rajas Deshpande “Anyone Treat Anything” and the “Add-On complaints”. “Doc I have come to you for this severe headache since last five months”. Examined, investigated, prescription given. 5 days later: “Doc there is no relief. This back pain is killing me”. “What about the headache you had?” “Oh that went away the next […]
© Dr. Rajas Deshpande A court recently awarded a compensation of 12 crores to a patient because that’s what she would have earned if alive, as she held a job in the US. While human life is invaluable, there has to be a logic / discipline to such punishments. What compensation was ever awarded to […]
I’ve finally accepted that all doctors are uniformly and completely corrupt. There’s no hiding from this obvious truth. It must be true because the greatest intellectual of the modern era, Bollywood superstar and busybody Aamir Khan, says so. Another great humanitarian Akshay Kumar has confirmed it in a movie called ‘Gabbar Is Back’ which showcases […]
Living wills and advance directives describe your preferences for end-of-life care. These documents speak for you when you’re not able to speak for yourself. By Mayo Clinic Staff Living wills and other advance directives are written, legal instructions regarding your preferences for medical care if you are unable to make decisions for yourself. Advance directives […]
Living wills and advance directives describe your preferences for end-of-life care. These documents speak for you when you’re not able to speak for yourself. By Mayo Clinic Staff Living wills and other advance directives are written, legal instructions regarding your preferences for medical care if you are unable to make decisions for yourself. Advance directives […]
In the last canto of the Bhagavata Purana there is a list of predictions and prophecies about the dark times for the present age of Kali Yuga. The following 15 predictions, written 5,000 years ago by sage Vedavyasa, are amazing because they appear so accurate. Despite the negative tone of these prophecies, there is still […]
(c) Dr. Rajas Deshpande “We don’t want her to suffer. We don’t want any ventilator etc. treatments”. Said the calm son, no traces of emotional tones in his speech. His mother was admitted last night with stroke. Quite a sophisticated family, this son owning a company of repute. His teenager daughter was sitting by her […]
© Dr. Rajas Deshpande It was raining hard as I started on a Sunday noon for my escape long-drive. Staying on the outskirts of town has the advantage of lower noise and longer roads. On one such long road I always saw an elderly couple sitting on the footpath selling vegetables, not plenty, but two-three […]
I can deceive myself and others by pretending to understand.. Hold hands and falsely reassure myself and someone else of things being shared, but then we both choose to close our eyes to the reality: that no pain ever can be shared. No happiness, no personal achievement, no mental evolution, even peace cannot be shared. […]
When we set out to perform and dazzle the world, we seldom analyse ourselves: a cause of great discomfort and pain to others, and mostly, ourselves! Much as it is impossible to dislike oneself (we cant hate ourselves, all said and done!), it would be worth a try to atleast analyse. On the inside, we […]
Stop “Doctor Bashing”!! The said firm in this news is said to have conducted research about this. What is its standing in medical research? Has it obtained permission for such research from ICMR/MCI/local medical councils? Has it obtained permission also to publish such studies in the general press/media? Who has verified the statistical/medical authenticity of […]
Parenting is the most difficult career, don’t know when it became unfashionable for some who claim success “outside” parenting. However successful one may have been otherwise, if they have neglected growing kids for want of money/ fame / career they have committed a crime. There is no greater insult to childhood than a parent NOT […]
Doctors, especially surgeons should stop all forced “deadline and ultimatum-based” government programmes unless and until: 1. All the world-class standard equipment and theaters are available for every surgery / procedure, and the number of procedures that can be done without stress and hurry is decided by the treating doctor / operating surgeon. 2. An “All-is-well” […]
GM Sir. I am pursuing PG after MBBS. I follow your posts regularly. I have a question: Does the passion we have to actually become doctors and serve society and those who need us actually fade away? Many of my friends tell me that there’s nothing like passion, only money matters after a while, and […]
I can’t ever adequately express the beauty of the neuronal organisation within the Brain, realising once again that it feels far more rewarding to study than to explain it, to understand its poetic yet mathematically perfect logic rather than to describe the names of its components, to know that it functions as beautifully without one’s […]
We don’t even grasp the threat! (c) Dr. Rajas Deshpande Imagine someone without consciousness / awareness of self / self control handling a gun around you or driving a truck / train or flying an airplane with you in it. The recent claim about a pilot “deliberately” downing his plane with many others will make […]
(c) Dr. Rajas Deshpande Sir, What about the responsibility of quality of drugs used for the treatment? These are the only weapons with which we fight a disease. Does it make pharma a share holder of responsibility in case of adverse outcome ? This is another grey zone to elaborate. Dear Dr. Sachin Jaybhaye, Thank […]
(c) Dr. Rajas Deshpande This simple looking girl in her early twenties walks into my OPD with her parents. They all are dressed up typically worker/ lower middle class, just enough to avoid obviously torn clothes. Everything humble, barely touching middle class, but very well behaved. She starts telling her father’s complaints in perfect English, […]
