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Category: Editorials
January 01, 2004
How many people know that eight patients in Hyderabad who were administered recombinant streptokinase to test its efficacy and safety have died? According to the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), the trial was being conducted by the drug's manufacturer Shantha Biotechnics without tak...
October 01, 2003
Liver transplantation is accepted worldwide as the only cure for terminal liver failure. Although the recent tragic death of a liver donor at a hospital in Delhi underlines the need for caution, a knee-jerk reaction to liver transplantation or liver donation is inappropriate.
April 01, 2003
'What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?' Non-violence in peace and war — Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)
July 01, 2003
The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic has been one of the most dramatic transnational infections of recent times. Images of entire populations of countries carrying on their daily activities with facemasks have perhaps no precedent in the history of man's struggle against infectio...
January 01, 2003
Anyone with even an elementary knowledge of medicine knows that, ideally, drugs should be administered as single molecules based on the specific requirement of each patient. This enables the prescriber to select specific drugs in specific doses for specific durations. Only under exceptional circu...
October 01, 2002
Do medical professionals in India care? A decade after the publication of Medicine Betrayed by the British Medical Association, and barely 40 days after the Medico Friend Circle indicted a section of doctors in Gujarat of gross neglect and violation of ethics and human rights, the media reported ...
October 01, 2002
Once upon a time of Shusruta, it was possible for people to imbibe a large proportion of the knowledge available in society. After all, things changed slowly, at a human pace. As they grew up, students learned about what had happened before, and they could keep up with the rate of change as new i...
July 01, 2002
At last, there is something for us to cheer about. The Medical Council of India (MCI) has just published 'Regulations relating to the Professional conduct, Etiquette and Ethics for registered medical practitioners'. This replaces an earlier version published as far back as 1970.
July 01, 2002
Over the last year, discussions have taken place towards amending the 53-year-old Bombay Nursing Home Registration Act in Maharashtra. The new legislation would be called the Maharashtra Clinical Establishment Act. The proposed bill is a significant milestone and the focus of intense debate.
April 01, 2002
WE hear only too often that all of society is corrupt, morality belongs to the naive, and cutting corners is the only way to survive and get ahead. With this issue we start a new column, 'Inspiring lives', in which respected senior health professionals speak of how they managed to live successful...