Monitoring Medicine

I'M not sure that doctors will be happy at the suggestion of the Medical Council of India (Ma) that they should put up outside their consulting rooms a small board with detail of the fees charged for services rendered. That would bring the practice of medicine to the level of barber shops where boards state what it would cost to have a hair cut, a shave, a shampoo or just a plain massage. The argument adduced is that a patient must know beforehand what the charges of a particular doctor would be so that he is able to select a doctor who suits him. I think this is hogwash. Most people have family doctors and their charges are known. If the family doctor suggests that specialist be consulted, the patient would have a rough idea about how much he may have to shell out. But the MCI has a point. Far too often, doctors are known to charge outrageous fees, especially if surgery is involved, but there must be some other way of putting an end to such practices.