India’s private healthcare sector treats patients as revenue generators

To find out about malpractice in India’s private healthcare sector, I recorded, with their consent, face to face interviews with 77 doctors, and I interviewed one doctor by email. They came from the cities of Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Pune or from towns in Maharashtra. Given the sensitive subject I began with some doctors I knew well (I ran my own small maternity home for 20 years as a private gynaecologist) and approached many more. The doctors I interviewed and colleagues in the People’s Health Movement, India, a nationwide network of doctors and grass roots activists, referred more doctors to me who wanted to share their experiences. No one I asked refused an interview. These doctors represented almost all specialties, from a small town GP with a degree in homeopathy to a superspecialist in a corporate hospital. Some of the doctors did not have private practices but had close knowledge of the sector. …