An ailing patient should have easy access to his or her doctor s record of treating similarly afflicted patients Through gaining such access the ailing patient may better determine whether the doctor is competent to treat that medical condition

As it is rightly said that “Health is Wealth”.Every person cares about his as well as the health and well being of the people close to him . The point that the author is trying to make about whether a patient should have easy access to his or her doctor’s track record for the similarly afflicted patients through which the doctor’s competency can be determined . I disagree with the author’s statement as the patient , generally a layman to the field of medicine won’t be able to notice the subtle differences in the treatment of the past patients.

Firstly,health and condition varies from person to person.The disease a patient is going through might include various others ones which are not as severe but important to be treated in order to help ailing the severe one . A common man given the access of doctor’s records might not notice these things and might consider the doctor as incompetent. For instance , if a person suffering from diabetes is affected with some other disease i.e anything from simple burn to cancer takes a longer time to heal than a regular patient as diabetes depletes the work of immune system. In such a case if a regular non – diabetic patient is suffering from the same disease as the diabetic one , seeing the slower or stagnant growth of that patient the other one would consider the doctor as incompetent and will not start the treatment with this doctor.

Secondly,the sharing of persons record breaks the code of conduct which is the doctor-patient confidentiality.As almost every case is unique in itself ,every patient shares some details which are private and should not be shared with anyone unless the he/she permits the doctor to do so. These things are peculiar things about that particular individual and should not be shared with anyone else to maintain confidentiality.The entire case history of any person with all the intimate details should not be shared with any other stranger.

However, health being the most important factor in any persons life . They should have some kind of guarantee about whether their disease is going to be treated fully.People with enough prior knowledge can determine the competency of the doctor depending upon his past records. For instance , comparing the price of the treatment with other hospitals/clinics might help the patient better analyse as not everyone is able to afford the exorbitant prices of medical treatments . It might also be that the hospitals infrastructure is a bit old fashioned i.e not equipped with the latest technology with might help to cure the disease faster.These facts should be considered by each and every individual before starting his treatment with any doctor.

In conclusion, I would like to say that an ailing patient should opt the doctor depending upon his overall reputation and past experiences with any of his/her close relatives , rather than deeply analyzing the doctor’s track record which would sometimes misguide him to take the right decision.