Published via Ecency

Last week, I went to a hospital twice. First time, it was a general checkup of my father. Second time, my cousin who is facing seizure attacks since 2019. Alas! Life is not same for all of us. But talking about the inevitable is not the concern here. Anyways, for the first one, we had to pay a fees of Rs.100 (Pkr Rupees equals to $0.36 USD). Cheap, isn't it? Few tests were conducted, and my father has some connections, so it took us merely an hour for the proper checkup and testing. Otherwise, it would have taken a whole day. CRUEL US! Second time, the fees was same, but the tests and medications were not. It did cost a huge sum, approximately $326 USD. Now, I am not very much aware about the ground situation for the health system of the Western world, but I have read a few times that it is expensive over there especially in the US.

Back in 1970 era, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto - a prominent leader in Pakistan's history - was giving an interview to an Egyptian editor, and he quipped a very famous slogan: "Roti, Kapra or Makan." (Food, clothes and shelter.) He acknowledged that these are the must for a nation to thrive, and there is no doubt that these are the most basic necessities. So, one can say that the poor’s only concern is wheat/bread to combat hunger, cotton cloth to cover the half naked body of their children and shelter to save their family members. But, these few visits made me realise; we are missing the most important thing. It is the health.

Health is Wealth.

Since childhood, I, maybe we all, have been using this short phrase. But, we only come to value it, when we fall ill. And this is the irony of health, or maybe human beings. We treat it as our greatest wealth, and does not care much about it, until we fall a pray to it.
Before moving forward, the Government of Pakistan did introduce a "Health Card System." A much appreciated step. I, too, was a beneficiary of it. But, as of now, it has been shut down.

So, what can be the reason behind it?

The inhumanity of us i.e. humans. From personal story, the treatment costed around Rs.17,000, and guess what the staff did? They simply added a "ZERO" ahead. The number which has no value in itself, but it can result in great devastation if added somewhere else.
Adn this is where healthcare stops being merely about hospitals, doctors and medicines. It becomes a question of humanity.
Someone is lying on a hospital bed, fighting for their health, there is family worried about him. And, on moral grounds, the last thing they should have to fight is the person standing at the billing counter.

Patient is a Customer

It reminds me of "Gabbar is Back" movie scene. Where Gabbar - the protagonist - takes a dead body to a private hospital. The nurse tells the doctor that patient has already died. But, the doctor scolds here, and says that they do not know about this. Doctor prescribes few must medications, and it can only be bought from hospital's pharmacy. Skipping forward, after few hours, doctor come out and says, "Sorry, he is no more." And Gabbar shows him the death certificate.

Of course, the scene is exaggerated, or maybe not. But that is precisely what makes it disturbing. Because healthcare, which was supposed to be a module of humanity, has become a business in itself. The patient is not a mere patient, rather he is treated as a customer. Even a dead body can become another opportunity to make a profit.

Some Goodness

Now, before anyone comes after me wiith a pitchfork, let me clraify: I am not saying that every doctor, hospital or pharmaceutical company is corrupted. Though, I do believe - we all are corrupted. But, for the sake of self-defence, hospitals need equipment. Medicines need to be researched and manufactured. And most importantly, doctors need salaries. And none of these things magically appear out of nowhere.

The problem begins when profit becomes more important than the person.

Capitalism works beautifully with many things because, in most cases, we have the choice to choose. Like if I cannot afford a phone, I can simply walk away.

But can I walk away from cancer?

When someone is sick, there is very limited freedom of choice. Whether to go to the governmental insitution for treatment. The demerit? Well, you will die patiently, waiting for your turn to come. Then there is private hospital. The demerit? You will die econimically. So one thing is for sure - death is inevitable.

In this system, the patient is vulnerable, frightened and desperate for betterment. But this desperation is monetised. The irony is straightforward. We have created such an economic system where human suffering is cashed out. And then, we have convinced ourselves that the invisible hand will somehow know exactly what to do with a visible patient.

Basic Necessities

As usual, I wonder: we have enough nukes to annihilate the whole world tons of times. We have achieved Artificial Intelligence for everyone. We have landed on Mars, even ready to live there. But, we are not concerned with our basic necessities.