Is It Right for IVF Patients to Make Complaints Against Their Doctor when their cycle fails ?

All doctors wish to see their patients get better. Rightly so, because helping and healing others is one of main motivations for someone to become a doctor in the first place. Doctors have chosen a profession which is the pinnacle of service provision. Doctors have a direct personal relationship with their patients. The best doctors invest plenty of time and energy for their patients’ happiness.

Even business-wise this is the right thing to do. Satisfied patients offer good reviews about the doctor, which become attractants for new patients.  Doctors are well aware of this strategy which is the best form of marketing for the medical profession. Therefore, if the patients are happy , so are their doctors.

Sadly, not all patients respond well to IVF treatment. Sometimes medication may not work or the body may not respond properly to treatment. In IVF treatment, a major chunk of the outcome is beyond the doctor’s control. Even the best doctor can only make the embryos in the IVF lab and then transfer them into the uterus. What happens thereafter is out of the doctor’s hands. Unfortunately, a major portion of embryos do not become babies. It implies that the chances for the success of a single IVF cycle are less than the chances for failure.

This harsh truth is irrefutable. So we put in our best efforts at educating our patients at Malpani Clinic and preparing them for all eventualities.  We are frank with our patients and show patients photographs of their embryos even when the odds are not in their favor. We encourage patients to get as well informed as possible , so that they may expect realistic results out of our efforts.

Patients are visibly depressed when an IVF cycle fails, and even though they may appreciate our sincere endeavor. . When an IVF cycle fails, rather than complain, a smart patient must analyze the failed cycle with their doctor. 

Need help in analysing your failed IVF cycle ? Please send me your medical details by filling in the form at www.drmalpani.com/malpaniform.htm so that I can guide you better !

The reasons behind IVF failures

Even the perfect IVF cycle does not guarantee a pregnancy despite the best efforts of the best IVF doctor. The failure of an IVF cycle can be highly depressing for both doctors and patients. IVF doctors get baffled at why the IVF cycle failed and their competence gets questioned. They try to figure out whether there were other factors involved. Patients with complaints of repeated IVF failures even consider switching clinics as they are emotionally susceptible and need solutions immediately. They woes at the inability to conceive even when seemingly perfect embryos were transferred translates into frustration and extreme distress.

A successful pregnancy by IVF is determined by just two factors: the quality of the embryo created by the doctor in the IVF laboratory and the uterus of the recipient. A top quality embryo is logically expected to develop into a baby in a receptive endometrium, putting the theoretical success rate of IVF at a hundred percent. But the most baffling fact is that even the best embryos in a receptive uterus sometimes, do not implant. This unknown realm depicts the presence of yet another factor. To learn more about this X-Factor in IVF treatment see http://blog.drmalpani.com/2012/09/the-x-factor-in-ivf.html

Can technology help doctors understand patients better?

Patients have a growing concern that the influx of computers in clinical care will greatly depersonalize clinical care. Their complaints against technology concern the disruption of the doctor-patient relationship as the doctor might pay more attention to the computer screen than the patient. In accordance with this idea, doctors do find technology highly interesting, especially to review medical reports, images and scans as they consider it a part of their scientific core competence. Then again, it is unfair to pit digital technology against humanistic clinical care. Instead of a confrontation of such extreme sides it is wiser to have technology work in tandem with a humanistic approach for the benefit of both the doctor and patient. Rather than a distraction, technology helps doctors diagnose easily and better, thus, sparing them more time to interact personally with their patients.

The first requisite for a doctor upon seeing a patient is medical, that is, to correctly diagnose the condition and design a treatment plan. Doing a good job of this as a clinical scientist is a necessary prerequisite for the doctor to move on to the next part of handling the patient’s emotions and psyche. A doctor must be equipped with the skill set required to perform these two complimentary tasks. Read more about the tasks at http://blog.drmalpani.com/2012/11/how-computers-can-help-doctors-to.html

More than meets the eye at free medical camps

From free fertility camps of IVF clinics for aspiring mothers to urology hospitals offering free screening for prostate cancer, free medical specialty camps offered by several hospitals are widely conducted everywhere.

Be it cataract surgery or family planning, there is no doubt as to the popularity of medical camps in India. Initially intended to provide medical services to poor patients residing in remote areas, medical camps made it possible for rural citizens to avail of health care services without having to travel far to a city. Run by philanthropists and charitable organizations, most of these camps were relatively inexpensive methods of ensuring that healthcare services were available even to the poor.

It appears that medical camps are more of a promotional campaign for hospitals these days. Needless to say, free camps offered by hospitals generate a lot of public attention, bringing to emphasis their dedication to community service. Beware though, that many of these medical camps might be cheating gullible patients with their ulterior motive of helping hospitals build a database of potential patients to whom they can sell their services. Many complaints have been received about their misdiagnosis and profit mongering over-treatment for a health condition that was better off untouched. More facts revealed at http://blog.drmalpani.com/2012/12/why-free-medical-camps-can-be-bad-for.html

Why do patients hesitate to change IVF doctors when they are dissatisfied ?

It is common for a patient to experience failures with IVF not just once but several times. In addition, many patients are also dissatisfied with the kind of medical services provided by their clinic of choice. What is astonishing is that nevertheless, they choose to continue with the same clinic.
Many patients are stuck because they do not have any alternatives. For instance, when they are undergoing a government aided treatment procedure, they have to necessarily go to a particular clinic mandated by the government. However, when patients are paying a hefty fee for IVF treatments at private clinic, they do have the option of switching clinics, which, surprisingly, they do no avail of.

Patients may feel they are cheating their chosen doctor by discontinuing with him, even though they may be discontented with him. Some believe that the doctor who has already done one IVF cycle for them might have got considerable insight into their case and thus, may be successful the next time. Many patients simply refuse to consider better clinics either because of their false generalized perception that all IVF clinics offer the same quality of treatment; or due to their reluctance to take the effort to search for a better choice. Their reluctance may stem both from a lack of awareness and lethargy. It is possible that they may not know how and where to look.

Take a deeper look into this issue at http://blog.drmalpani.com/2012/12/why-dont-patients-fire-their-ivf-doctor.html.