Medical Practice

Spent a Friday morning with the SEARCH team, Gadchiroli, Maharashtra. Learned a great deal about a study that asks key questions about stroke in a rural tribal community. When researchers ask a research question that comes from the community they serve and try to find an answer that can help the underprivileged people live longer- … Read the essay

We ought to congratulate Sri Lanka for eliminating malaria. Yes, there is no malaria in Sri Lanka. The success story is remarkable for several reasons. The country is poor. Eight of ten Sri Lankans live in villages. The rural milieu provides an ideal environment for malaria mosquitoes to breed, grow and multiply. And the government … Read the essay

Four hundred thousand patients in the hospitals in the United States die every year because of medical errors—from mistakes that could have been prevented.  The BMJ article, published three days ago, says that “if the medical error was a disease, it would rank as the third leading cause of death in the US.” Preventable medical … Read the essay

When I began practising Medicine at MGIMS, whenever I ran into a medical problem, which I thought I could not solve, I would seek a super specialist’s help. This indeed made sense. After all, their years of training and rich experience would help me order the best test, choose the drug that works or pick … Read the essay

Did I stir up a hornet’s nest when I tried to examine the benefits and harms of mammography? I’m  glad I did. I might have been less than generous in my remarks about mammography, but that does not diminish my unqualified admiration of those who believe that it works. I am happy that some of … Read the essay