Doc-patient relations stressed

Physicians for Social Responsibility, Bangladesh (PSR) organised the discussion on 'Doctor-Patient Relationship: Present Context and Our Duty' at the city's National Press Club on Tuesday.

Dr Shafiqul Islam, associate professor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), presented a keynote paper at the discussion.

He identified some behavioural problems of both doctors and patients. Doctors' problems include lack of sincerity, commercialism and moral degradation while some patients behave like owner and criminal.

The speakers demanded that the government include a subject on behaviour and etiquette of doctors with the patients in the curriculum of the medical education.

They underscored the need for introducing referral system in order to reduce patients' crowd to a handful of specialised doctors, establishing effective communication between doctors and patients and creating planned workforce in the medical sector.

But the bottom line is to earn patients' trust, they added.

Dr AKM Saleque, general secretary of PSR, Prof Dr Mahmud Hasan, former vice chancellor of BSMMU, Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique, Dr Makhduma Nargis, vice-president of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, Kazi Ali Reza, officer-in-charge of UNIC, Dhaka and Mozzamel Hossain, editor of the daily Shamokal spoke on the occasion with PSR President Dr Kamrul Hasan in the chair.