Deen & DoctorsSpeaking the unspeakable

Medical Ethics???Medical ethics is or should be an oxymoronic term. Medical care without ethics should be an impossibility. Like Judicial Integrity or Maternal KindnessThe fact that we have to talk about this shows the extent of sickness in our societyWe are a very sick society

It is not a sign of health to be profoundly adjusted to a sick society. ~ J. Krishnamurthy

HIPPOCRATIC OATH, MODERN VERSIONI swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.

I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures which are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism.

I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug.

I will not be ashamed to say "I know not," nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient's recovery.

I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God.

I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person's family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick.I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help.

Written in 1964 by Louis Lasagna, Academic Dean of the School of Medicine at Tufts University, and used in many medical schools today.

Once broken it can never be put back Trust is like glass

Relationships of TrustParent childTeacher studentHusband wife Employer employeeLawyer clientImam muqtadi/musalliDoctor - Patient

CrimeViolation of trust is the worst crime because the one affected had no defense against it.

The Golden RuleNone of you can (truly) believe if you do not want for your brother what you want for yourself. [Bukhari]Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

Ask Yourself If you were the patient instead of the doctor, would you still approve of the treatment you prescribed for your patient?Would you like another doctor to do to you what you did to your patient?Because a day will come when Allah will put you through the same hoops

The Patient is the only one who pays

Medical MalpracticeHospitals with commercial targetsPharma companies giving commissions/incentivesDiagnostic centers giving kickbacksNeedless hospitalization/treatment/investigations

The doctor is the key decision makerThe patient pays the price

Questions to Doctors who do thisHow are you not insulted to be given a commercial target by the hospital?How are you not insulted when your performance is judged on the money you make for the hospital?How do you take gifts, holidays, whatnot from pharma companies without feeling insulted?One day you will be asked these questions by Allah

The LawBribery is illegal

The LawAll commissions/incentives are bribesAll gifts to public servants are bribesAll bribes are illegal and HaraamThe curse of Allah is on all those give or take bribes

Bribery is cursedAbdullah bin `Amr narrated that Rasoolullah said:

The curse of Allah is upon the one who offers a bribe and the one who takes it.

(Ahmad, Ibn Majah)

Stop evilAbu Sa`id Al-Khudri narrated that Rasoolullah said:Whosoever amongst you sees an evil, let him change it with his hands; and if he is not able, then with his tongue; and if he is not able, then let him hate it in his heart, and that is the weakest of faith.

Gifts to officials are bribesAbu Humaid As-saidi reported that Rasoolullah said:

Gifts offered to public servants are ill-gotten gains (ghulul).

One of the Zakat collectors of Rasoolullah returned with the Zakat and with some more things and said, This is the Zakat collection and these are gifts that people gave me personally. Rasoolullah ascended the Minbar and said, Ask him if people would have given him those gifts if he was living in the home of his mother and father? Ask him if people would have given him gifts if he didnt have this position. Any gift of this nature is a bribe and Allah cursed the one who takes it.18

Beyond salary is HaraamBuraidah ibn Al-Husaib narrated that Rasoolullah said:

When we appoint someone to a (public) post and provide him with an allowance, anything he takes beyond that is an ill-gotten gain.(Abu Dawud)

Will go to JahannamKhaulah bint `Amir (RA) reported that Rasoolulah said,

Some men abuse Allah s property (public funds). They will go to Hell on the Day of Resurrection. (Bukhari)

Ask YourselfHow would you like to be in the care of a doctor for whom you were the first and most important priority?How would you like to be in the care of a doctor who was interested only in your welfare, ensuring that you received the best care, in the most compassionate way at the lowest possible cost?That is medical ethics

Ask YourselfHow you would like to be in the dua of all those you help through their pain and sickness?How would you like to cursed by all those you victimized, deceived, exploited and abused?Choose wisely for the choice is yours

The storyMadras Medical College, 1952

Alaq 96: 14 Doesnt he know that Allah is watching?

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