Saudi Gazette

HEALTHCARE has changed greatly from a noble profession of curing patients to a money-making venture.

According to Dr. Peter Rost, vice president of the drug company Pifzer, "There is no question in mind that today most doctors are businessmen first and doctors second.”

Many doctors focus more on making money by overcharging and selling unnecessary medicines than the well-being of their patients. Doctors get richer and richer at the expense of their patients.

Talal Hamza, a Saudi businessman in his 50s, explained why he hates going to see a doctor when he gets sick. Most doctors lack in-depth knowledge in their specialties, he said.

“Whenever I went to hospital with cold or flu, most doctors never examined me to see what caused the condition. Sometimes the doctor is not sure whether the illness is due to a virus or bacterial infection,” said Talal.

He said some doctors gave him wrong information and treatment that was unnecessary for his illness.

Talal said he preferred to help himself at home with traditional remedies as well as some basic medicines. In a worse scenario he would ask a pharmacist's advice.

“I prefer asking a pharmacist because he provides me with the exact medicine that would relieve my illness. But, if I see a doctor, he would most likely give me a lot of unnecessary medicines, and I have to pay for all that medicines, which is a waste of money.”

Talal believes doctors do not have fixed prices. He said hospitals and clinics charge patients different rates to see the same specialist. For example, in Madinah he paid SR200 to get examined by a specialist while in Jeddah I had to pay SR500 to the same specialist.

Omar Talal, who is in his early 20s, said he had not trusted any doctor 100 percent ever since he had a bad experience when his mother had an accident in her arm. He took him mother to the emergency room for a check-up.

After examining her, the doctor told his mother that she needed an urgent surgery. Omar wasn’t convinced. He sensed something weird and had an uncomfortable feeling as the doctor was playing with the price.

He told Omar to do the surgery for SR2000, but Omar refused. Then, the doctor reduced the price several times while trying to convince Omar that his mother needed the surgery.

Omar decided to leave the hospital and go to another for a second opinion. “When we went to another hospital, the doctor said my mother needed only splint and doesn’t need surgery. The injury did not reach the level where surgical intervention was needed,” said Omar.

Jumana Fatani, an industrial engineer, had a negative experience with a dentist who cheated her when she was fixing her teeth. The doctor said Fatani had a cavity that obviously needed to be cleaned and filled. As a result, the doctor did the cleaning and filling for her, but he put cotton under the filling.

Fatani started having bad breath as a result. She went to another dentists for a checkup. The doctor took a tooth X-ray and discovered a piece of cotton inside her tooth.

“I don’t think I had cavities in my teeth but that dentist was weird and I believe he cheated me to take more money from me,” said Fatani.

Manar Bafageeh does not trust all doctors, especially cosmetic surgeons and dermatologists. “The doctor did not even look at my face when I went to see him. He prescribed medicines without examining me,” she said.

Every time she sees him, he prescribes a different medicine although the derma medicines are very expensive.

"My husband prevented me from buying these medicines although the doctor said that I must match my face color with the color of my neck skin by using these medications," Bafageeh said, adding that her husband told her the doctor could be cheating her and wanted to earn some money.

Mohammed Alhajaj, a pharmacist, said one of the main reasons that prevent patients from going and seeing a doctor is that it is time-consuming. People will have to book an appointment or wait in the emergency room for hours. They need fast service, which they can find easily in a pharmacy over the counter or through the pharmacist's counsel.

“I can’t recommend that people see only a pharmacist or a doctor because we all have spent years studying medicine. I can say that many people come to me with or without prescription," he said.

"Most people believe that some countries are better than us because they have to see a doctor first to get a prescription. I have been working in some other countries where they insist on a doctor's prescription to exploit insurance companies and people who pay cash. As a result, they take it as a business, not a professional career,” he added.