Indian Doctors/facilities vs U.S Docs

Hi guys as you can see , am in a "post new topic mood"😃 . Now this topic is important to me as i have a decision to make !! So do help and debate !!

Know i have experienced Indian specialists as well as U.S Specialists . I have an opinion for both of them out of experince .

Indian Doctors -

Good points

1) They are very very well qualified and best in the field and with the knowledge and experience can give any U.S doctor a run for their money.

2) Medical facilities are almost as good as U.S in most fields.

3) You can see a Doctor , even Specialist on a short notice like "today" !!😊😊😊

4) They aren't as expensive as the U.S doctors !!😊

Negative points

1) Indian Doctors DONOT like too many questions asked by the patient , and dislike the patient challenging them . They have a tendency to get impatient !!!😡😡

2 ) Although you can see an Indian doctor at the drop of a hat . Most Doctors clinics are soooo busy on any given day that one often in many clinics does not get the privacy one wants ( with another patient over hearing your case History 😡)

3 ) Most assistant doctors and Nurses lack manners while giving you a physical . They aren't senstive to the patients feelings .😡😡

U.S Doctors

Postives

1) They are very well qualified ofcourse !!

2) They respect your privacy 100% more than Indian Doctors and most of them have very private consultation and exam rooms .

3 ) They are used to 1000 questions being asked by a Patient, them being challenged and infact prefer if you ask questions ( i suppose the poor chappies are afraid of being sued😆)

4) Docs and staff have excellent manners in the exam room and seem to show 100 % more senstivity towards the patient during this vulnerable time.

Negative

1) They are soooooooooo damn expensive . Even after having insurance the co- pay makes them so much more expensive than Indian Doctors.

2) You need to fix and appointment 3 months in advance before you can meet a specialist and even for a GP its a week sometimes. You could be dying of pain( not so much to rush to ER ....but die slow death 😆)

Well can't decide where is it better to get a treatment . Please tell me your experience and feel free to point out where you disagree .

Looking forward to the responses and wisdom .

Aparna, this is good topic. Being a doctor, and having had seen both sides, I have a few comments to make.

Qualified and experience:
Yes, both Indian and US doctors are qualified. But, experience wise, I think the Indian doctors have an advantage. In the wards during internship and house job tenures, the Indian doctors come across a wide variety of patients which helps building up a very rich experience. Also, personally I feel Indian doctors have a better clinical knack than US docs. The US docs are more dependent on tests and investigations.

Facilities - modern facilities are only available only in top notch hospitals and good private nursing homes. Go to some of the state run hospitals - the facilities are pathetic. It is worse in the district hospitals.

Cost:
Yes, Indian doctors are cheaper. In India, only a handful are covered by medical insurance.

Transparency:
Most Indian doctors are not transparent. They generally don't like being asked questions(barring a few ones). In India, you will rarely find a doctor making you aware of the side effects of a prescribed medicine. The reason being that there are hardly any laws against medical negligence.
Regarding privacy, I think there will be no problems with respect to good doctors. Most of their clinics are well organised and provide sufficient privacy to patients. Of course, getting an appointment here also takes time.

Assistant doctors and nurses:
The behaviour depends on the type of clinic that they might be attached to. In general it is not much of a problem.

Before I can advise as to which you should opt for, I would like to know the problem. There are some cases that could be handled in India quite well. There are some for which I feel US would be better. If you think that you wouldn't want to specify the problem here, you may PM me.

Thx mad_cap for responding . But the top most Docs often want to see you in their private clinic and those are over crowded, don't have privacy.

Aparna, really good topic. I have not been exposed to Indian doctors much, however, I had been hospitalized after post partum and had to deal with tons of doctors here in American including obgy, plastic surgeon, neuroser., pediatric etc. I really do like all the positive points about US dr's however there are some serious negative points about them too...like they will leave ultimate decision on you. they won't tell their openion that easily. I had to get a surgory done when my daughter was 7 mths or so... now my dr. asked me if i wanted to get hospitalied and get IV medicine for a week and see or I want to get a surgory done...now being a layman how would I know what is better option for me!!! Also, I don't think they show any emotional attitude... even if you have a cancer they don't tell your family, but you are the first one to know. I remember I was hospitalized for a week and they had to do my MRI and then one specialist knocked my door introduced himself and told me some horrible fact about the report which just scared me to death..he didn't waited till my husband was there or there was someone to give me moral support sometime which is imp. To be frank I really had bad experience with US dr.'s and due to their lack of judgement i had to go through lot of truama. Eventhough the Dr. who was handling my case had years of experience and was well known in her field. However, I have heard that in east coast and west coast there are lot of Indian dr. who are really great and have heard them handling cases like me very well. Bottom line, when it comes to knowledge i think Indian dr's are the best and if you want to get right treatment better forget about privacy and get proper doctor...but again, my openion is biased due to limited exposore i had.

Originally posted by: Aparna_BD

Thx mad_cap for responding . But the top most Docs often want to see you in their private clinic and those are over crowded, don't have privacy.

The best thing is to give a call to the doctor and ask him/her to make a house call.

i dont know anything about doctors in india or indian clinics/hospitals so i cant really compare anything to anything else

Hi are we comparing Doctors in India vs. Doctors Abroad
or Indian Doctors Vs Non-Indian Doctors.
I dont have any expierences of dealing with an American Doctor or doctors in the US. But I am in Singapore and have been to Indian as well as other dotors here. And if I were to compare the experiences here with the ones in India, I would feel more safe in the hands of an Indian docotr back home.
Medical care outside India defintely has the edge on facilities and modern techniques. but when it comes to seeking advice on every day ills give me the local GP round the corner anyday.
This one instance for example, my husband wanted gtreatment for a particularly painful abscess and not one but three docotrs here advised surgery! (a regulafr thing treated with medicines in India)

Originally posted by: sowmyaa

Aparna, really good topic. I have not been exposed to Indian doctors much, however, I had been hospitalized after post partum and had to deal with tons of doctors here in American including obgy, plastic surgeon, neuroser., pediatric etc. I really do like all the positive points about US dr's however there are some serious negative points about them too...like they will leave ultimate decision on you. they won't tell their openion that easily. I had to get a surgory done when my daughter was 7 mths or so... now my dr. asked me if i wanted to get hospitalied and get IV medicine for a week and see or I want to get a surgory done...now being a layman how would I know what is better option for me!!! Also, I don't think they show any emotional attitude... even if you have a cancer they don't tell your family, but you are the first one to know. I remember I was hospitalized for a week and they had to do my MRI and then one specialist knocked my door introduced himself and told me some horrible fact about the report which just scared me to death..he didn't waited till my husband was there or there was someone to give me moral support sometime which is imp. To be frank I really had bad experience with US dr.'s and due to their lack of judgement i had to go through lot of truama. Eventhough the Dr. who was handling my case had years of experience and was well known in her field. However, I have heard that in east coast and west coast there are lot of Indian dr. who are really great and have heard them handling cases like me very well. Bottom line, when it comes to knowledge i think Indian dr's are the best and if you want to get right treatment better forget about privacy and get proper doctor...but again, my openion is biased due to limited exposore i had.

Hey Soumya all though i agree that U.S Doctors will speak to you directly since in the U.S , its each to them self . And that can be scary for us Indians who aren't used to this .

But when i talk about lack of privacy , you gotta have been through the experience that when you go to an Indian Doctor for a physical be prepared to swallow your pride and be ready to do away with your dignity !!!! My pride is very important to me especially when i am dressed vulnerably for a Doctor (if you know what i mean) !!😳 Indians in India do not realise it if they haven't been through an experience else where . They don't complain about it , because we Indians by nature do not complain about even the big things and are readu to accept them . Even my Mother in law doesnot understand what i mean .

Originally posted by: Aparna_BD

Hey Soumya all though i agree that U.S Doctors will speak to you
directly since in the U.S , its each to them self . And that can be
scary for us Indians who aren't used to this .

yes, that is true adn I think this has more to do with cultural difference.

But when i talk about lack of privacy , you gotta have been through the
experience that when you go to an Indian Doctor for a physical be
prepared to swallow your pride and be ready to do away with your
dignity !!!! My pride is very important to me especially when i
am dressed vulnerably for a Doctor (if you know what i mean) !!😳
You are cent percent right! I guess you are right to feel uncomfy when they discuss your issues with tons of other patients hearing it...and they are not ready to being questioned...it has more to do with ego adn the whole system. In US dr's know that they can be sued and their profession would be harmed if they don't show respect and privacy attitude with patience. And to an extend the whole US culture is also based on "privacy" compared to india if we look there is not much privacy even in daily life. Your neighbours know everything about your health, financial issues, household tension etc. compared to US so privacy to US citizen is imp. and probably that may be other reason it is also seen in this sector.

we Indians by nature do not complain about even the big things and are readu to accept them .

Bingo!! Very well said Aparna... we are not complainers and get adjusted to the situation rather than raising our voice!!! The basic difference i see in the system is US dr's are not brave enough to tell you what to do and I love the confidence that Indian dr's have sometimes. they tell you that " no go ahead and do this no problem you'll be just fine and this is what you should do" they are so confident in what they are doing compared to US dr's and as mad_cap said about experience Vs study.

Ya Soumya not just privacy ...........but the insenstivity when you got to a gynaec . Nurses while getting you ready for an exam............they see you very stiff and uncomfortable say stuff like " you should be used to it now being a married woman" ......and some other stuff i don't want to mention here". I want to cry at such stuff !!