Decoding Healthcare in India: Part II

Part II: At the Time of Illness - The Decisions that Define the Outcome

UdaipurTimes, Oct 12, 2026 - A successful recovery begins with informed choices. Patients should understand their diagnosis, discuss treatment options with doctors, evaluate potential risks and actively participate in decisions about their healthcare. In this article, the writer explains what are those important and crucial decisions to improve recovery and achieve better health outcomes.

Your Intelligent Advisor: The Most Underrated Asset

A medical crisis puts a family under enormous emotional stress. In that state, well-meaning people relatives, friends, neighbours all offer advice. Some of it is based on experience. Much of it is based on hearsay, superstition or what they read on WhatsApp.

The single most important non-medical resource in a medical crisis is one clear-headed, knowledgeable person in your circle - a friend, a family member, perhaps a colleague who can think rationally, gather information and help you make informed decisions about hospitals, doctors and treatment. The person should not be inclined towards superstitions.

This intelligent advisors helps you in triggering the doctor, questioning or challenging the doctor if need be, comparing opinions of various doctors, arguing with doctors and helping you to choose right hospital, right doctor, right diagnosis centre, right understanding of the disease  and also filing of all medical related papers appropriately, etc.

Find that person before you need him.

Keep the Patient Away From Negative Influences

Equally important: keep away the patient  from those who will influence the patient negatively, spread pessimism or promote superstitious remedies. The emotional environment around a seriously ill person has a measurable impact on recovery. Protect it fiercely.

Keep Away From Street/Folk "Solutions"

No illness has ever been cured because someone prayed harder or applied a folk remedy that their grandmother swore by. If such cures worked, their inventors would have received the Nobel Prize and would be billionaires. The people who spread these cures typically can explain away their failures conveniently and attribute their occasional coincidental successes to the remedy.

Choosing the Right Diagnostic Centre

When diagnostic tests are required - like MRI, PET scan, CT scan, pathology - the right diagnostic centre matters enormously. Do not simply default to the hospital's in-house facility because it is convenient.

Understand the specifications of the machines being used. For MRI, for instance, higher Tesla units (3T versus 1.5T) produce significantly clearer images that can reveal abnormalities which are invisible on older machines. A reputed independent diagnostic centre may have better equipment than the hospital you are admitted to.  And, vice versa sometimes the hospitals have better testing machines and better technician. Compare specifications, check the centre's reputation and then make a considered choice, even if it requires some extra effort. The technician of the diagnostic centre matters too, because most doctors just read his report only and do not see the detailed reports.

Choosing the Right Hospital

Bigger is not always better. A large corporate hospital is only as good as the doctors practicing within it. For some conditions like major cardiac surgery, complex oncology, organ transplants, top hospitals in major cities are genuinely superior because they have the right multi specialists, the right equipment and the volume of experience that produces skill. For other conditions such as ophthalmology, orthopaedics or routine procedures an excellent clinic or a mid-size specialist hospital may deliver equally good or better outcomes at significantly lower cost.

Think through what you need. Then choose accordingly.

Many times government hospitals are also very good. One must do proper research  in advance as in which area they are good. Persons who have less value insurance need more of such government hospital. Also people, where affordability is an issue or insurance policy is of low value, they should register with government medical support schemes.

Choosing the Right Doctor

This is the most important decision you will make in a medical crisis and it is the one most often made poorly.

Do not choose a doctor because they are known to your family. Familiarity is not a proxy for skill. Do not choose a doctor because they practice in a large hospital. Large hospitals have a mix of talent.

Be cautious about doctors who travel to multiple cities regularly for consultations. Doctors who are truly at the top of their specialisation have more than enough patients at their primary location; they generally do not need to travel extensively, unless they are in initial years of their career.

Doctors of small town are not exposed to all modern treatment and this fact must be well noted. Doctors of big hospitals in big cities have better exposure because of their patient affordability or the hospital management initiatives.

For any serious medical condition, seek minimum three opinions… sometimes even four or five. One in your own city. One or two from specialists at major hospitals in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai or Ahmedabad. For very serious conditions, paid international opinions (whether in-person or via telemedicine) are worth the cost. A free or verbal opinion is worth less than a paid written opinion because when a doctor writes a recommendation, they are accountable for it in a way that casual verbal advice is not.

A doctor who reacts negatively to the idea of you seeking multiple opinions is not the right doctor.

Use AI also to compare with what your doctor is saying. Most of the time, AI offers fantastic results provided you give exact facts and question it appropriately.

India would benefit greatly from adopting practices common in developed medical systems, such as: the 30-minute appointment model, medical board consultations for complex cases. These standards do not yet exist uniformly in India, save for exceptions. Go for such options if possible .

Handling Doctors Effectively

The doctor-patient dynamic in India often works against the patient. Appointments are rushed, three minutes is considered adequate and the patient rarely asks the questions he should.

Here is a better approach:

• Before your appointment, write down every question you want to ask. Do not ask unnecessary questions. Arrive with that list. Request explicitly that you need ten to fifteen minutes.
• When the doctor is speaking, note down the answers in front of them, with no hesitation. If the doctor is distracted by their phone or by other activities, stop talking.Wait politely. Resume only when you have their full attention.
• Do not pressurise the doctor into telling you what you want to hear from him. Do not resist uncomfortable answers. Your job is to ask good questions and absorb accurate information.
• Patients need to trigger the doctor into giving his research-based knowledge. Otherwise, the doctor will treat the patient like a commodity. When he is triggered, he will think hard and the patient will end up getting the best treatment possible.
• Have all important discussions in the doctor’s chamber and not in the ward where the patient is admitted.
• Do not hide any facts from the doctor because your medical history matters .

A critical point: many doctors in India assume that patients cannot afford certain tests or treatments and therefore, self-censor their recommendations. This deprives the patient of the information they need in order to make their own choices. Make it clear to your doctor that you want to know the complete picture, the costs, etc., and that you will decide on affordability yourself. Well-informed patients, who research their conditions and engage doctors intellectually, consistently receive better care. Doctors respond better to patients who engage them thoughtfully.

Choosing the Right Treatment

Once a diagnosis is established and treatment options are on the table, do your own research. Use reliable online sources to understand the standard treatment protocols for your condition. Compare what you read with what your doctor is recommending. If there is a significant divergence, ask about it to your doctor directly and respectfully.

This is not about disrespecting doctors. It is about exercising your right as a patient to understand and participate in your own care. Multiple medical opinions, combined with your own research, will equip you to make the most informed possible decision.

Rajesh Chaplot is the recipient of:

• Pravasi Bhartiya Samman Award 2019, the highest Non-Resident Indian Award, conferred upon him by the President of India
• Golden Jubilee Award 2020, the highest Civilian Award, conferred upon him by the President of Uganda