Health care as a human right?

 – Most advanced health care should be a human right – along with food & shelter, health care is a basic need of every human being.  I don’t think there will be a problem in reaching a consensus about such a right. 

of course, any discussion about ‘human rights’ will take us to ‘inequality’ among human beings, and whether all of us believe in some sort of equality for all of us.  Logically human beings should feel some sort of franternity as we all are one species and also should agree on need to look after each other to some extent.  It’s also insurance, i.e. saving for a rainy day – such as, when we will become ill and require help / health services to survive.       

Now let me narrow down breadth of this blog to current scenario in an undeveloped part of the world, where lots of poor people do not get best health care possible.  To figure out multitudes of problems of this right.

Just any health care wouldn’t be enough for a person suffering from temperory or chronic ill-health.  The best methods (evidence based) should be available.  But, for that, we have to reach a consensus on what is ‘best health care’ standard.  Some would vouch by a faith healer, or even a religious ritual.  What to do about that? One man’s faith is another’s blind faith.

Is the current modern medical care evidence based? Most educated people might agree that allopathy gives logical explanation and concrete information about physiology.  Maybe not ‘most’, but ‘many’ educated people.  There are many systems of healthcare and faith healing methods as well.  A poor / un-educated person might never had exposure to modern science, thus he/she will be forced to have faith even in modern medical care based on logic. Then i read about 2 way stethoscopes – which has 2 earphones, instead of just 1 pair for the doctor.   

Imagine, a doctor checking a patient who never had exposure to human anatomy and how stethoscope works... now, imagine he/she getting to listen along with doctor while their chest is being examine by this 2-ear phone stetho... the doctor can explain as they check, and thus give a short health awareness communication while check-up.  In such a case, the patient will have more information about his/her body and increases chances of accepting modern medical methods with understanding, rather than just develop faith in it.

It will be very many years, by the time, the world will be able to agree on standard health care treatments – currently multiple schools of medical care exist – allopathy, ayurved, Chinese, homeopathy and so on.

There are also faith healers, astrologers, and religious rituals etc – which provide proxy health care – through innumerable ways.  They often are using what’s known as ‘placebo effect’ as well.  But one thing is certain – they do provide one necessary requirement, and that is, psychological aspects (comfort, hope, assurance etc).  These psychological requirements needs to be addressed and should be part of standard health care.  Till then, divisions and incompatibility will exist to make us ever more miserable than the health problems themselves.

Along with these health care related thoughts, another related one rolls in.  Suppose in India, where there is such a mad rush to get admission in medical school (MBBS), a new policy is formulated.  That is, after 12^th standard, every MBBS applicant will have to first serve for 1 year in a health center as an apprentice/ doctors assistant? Right now, there is 1 year bond period which the medical graduates have to serve in govt. Hospitals, but that doesn’t always happen... so, putting it before admission – will it be more applicable and effective?