Enhancing Healthcare: Doctor-Patient Relationship in India

This report delves into the critical role of the doctor-patient relationship in the Indian healthcare industry. It defines the doctor-patient relationship as a consensual agreement built on trust, regard, knowledge, and loyalty, exploring its significance in enhancing the quality of healthcare services. The research investigates the impact of this relationship, particularly on mental health services, considering factors such as increasing corruption, inequity in healthcare delivery, technological advancements, and the doctor-patient ratio. The study reviews existing literature and presents research questions evaluating the importance of a strong doctor-patient relationship and its influence on mental health services. It highlights the contributions to practice by emphasizing the impact on medical interventions and the real-life conditions of patients. The theoretical contribution involves a deeper understanding of the doctor-patient relationship's significance in service delivery and the factors contributing to its development within the Indian healthcare context. References from various authors support the analysis.

Role of maintaining a doctor and patient relationship to run the
health care industry in a better way in India
Introduction
The doctor patient relationship can be defined as a
consensual relationship between the patient and the
doctor where each of the parties knowingly accept
the others as one is seeking assistance and the other
provides assistance. The presentation is based on
role of maintaining a doctor and patient
relationship to run the health care industry in a
better way in India. The study presents two
research questions on the mentioned topic
(Árnason & Hjörleifsson, 2016). Along with that,
the study delivers a detailed review of the literature
on the selected topic. Apart from this, the paper
presents some important contribution of the study
to the theory and the practice. The improvement in
the doctor patient relationship ratio is crucial for
enhancing the quality of the health care industry of
India. The enhancement of the quality of the doctor
patient relationship is important for the better
management of the services of the healthcare
industry in India.
Research Questions:
With a close look at the topic of the study, the research
questions are as follows:
• The research is evaluating the significance of a
strong doctor patient relationship?
• What is the impact of doctor patient relationship
on the mental health services in the Indian healthcare
industry?
Literature Review:
The importance of having a strong doctor patient
relationship.
The four basic elements on which the doctor
patient relationship is based include- trust,
regard, knowledge and loyalty. The relationship
between the doctor and patient is based on trust
and vulnerability (Bridges & Smith, 2016). The
relationship between the doctor and the patient
is a fiduciary relationship because when the
doctors enters into this relationship, they agree
to maintain confidentiality, to respect the
autonomy of the patient, gets their informed
consent and the doctors try to provide the best
quality of care to them (Löffler-Stastka et al.,
2016). However what really strengths the
relationship between the doctor and the patient
is the trust that exists between them (Roberts &
Siegler, 2017). Therefore the relationship
between the doctors and the patients is based on
knowledge, loyalty, trusts and regard.
Knowledge includes the knowledge that is
available to both the parties that is the patient
and the doctor.

Impact of doctor patient relationship on the
mental health services in the Indian healthcare
industry:
• The profession of doctors was considered as a noble one
due to the care and treatment provided by them in India
and therefore there was good doctor patient relationship
in India (Namazi, Aramesh & Larijani, 2016). However
this relationship has been deteriorating since the end of
20th century and the beginning of the 21st century
because of the increased dissatisfaction on part of the
patient (Paul & Bhatia, 2016). There are a number of
factors that has contributed to the same. these includes-
• increasing corruption in the industry of health care,
• equity on the delivery of health care,
• technological development in the health care sector,
• the inadequate ratio between doctors and patients in
India,
• the continuously expanding population of the middleclass
citizens
• and growth in health insurance and the desire of the
patient to become a part of decision making in health care
and
• the increasing literacy of the citizen of India.
• There is high level of inequity on the health care sector in
India because all those patients who are able to pay for the
expensive treatments are able to get the highest quality if
treatment and on the other hand, lower classes of people
are dependent upon the government treatment
(Sprumont, 2017). Further the fraction of the doctor and
the patient is inadequate that is due to the increasing
population the number of registered practitioners is quite
low. With the increasing rate of literacy the patients are
raising a number of questions upon the doctors that is also
affecting their relationship.
According to the comment of (), the development of a
strong doctor patient relationship is important for the
accurate delivery of mental health services. The
improvement in the doctor patient ratio has the potential of
enhancing quality of the mental health services.
On the other hand, a poor doctor patient ratio will lead
towards increasing service errors and unavoidable decline
in the accuracy of the services.
Contribution to practice
The study is expected to highlight the impact of the good
doctor patient relationship on the delivery of medical
interventions such as mental health or psychological support
services. In addition to this, the study hopes to identify the
real life condition of the patients serving in the health care
industry of India as a result of the result of the current doctor
patient relationship.
Contribution to theory
The research is expected to contribute to the literature by
delivering an appropriate understanding of the
significance of the strong relationship between the doctors
and patients on the delivery of medical services such as
mental health services or psychological support services.
In addition to this, the study is expected to provide a brief
account of the factors that contribute to the development
of a strong doctor patient relationship in the Indian
healthcare industry.
• References
• Árnason, V., & Hjörleifsson, S. (2016). The person in a state of
sickness: The doctor-patient relationship reconsidered. Cambridge
Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 25(2), 209-218.
• Bridges, H. A., & Smith, M. A. (2016). Mediation by illness perceptions
of the association between the doctor–patient relationship and diabetes-
related distress. Journal of health psychology, 21(9), 1956-1965.
• Löffler-Stastka, H., Seitz, T., Billeth, S., Pastner, B., Preusche, I., &
Seidman, C. (2016). Significance of gender in the attitude towards
doctor-patient communication in medical students and
physicians. Wiener Klinische schrift, 128(17-18), 663-668.
• NWochenamazi, H., Aramesh, K., & Larijani, B. (2016). The doctor-
patient relationship: toward a conceptual re-examination. Journal of
medical ethics and history of medicine, 9.
• Paul, S., & Bhatia, V. (2016). Doctor patient relationship: Changing
scenario in India. Asian Journal of Medical Sciences, 7(4), 1-5.
• Roberts, L. W., & Siegler, M. (2017). The Doctor-Patient
Relationship. Clinical Medical Ethics: Landmark Works of Mark
Siegler, MD, 57, 91.
• Sprumont, D. (2017). Informed consent: Do not be afraid. Journal of
the Formosan Medical Association, 116(4), 322-323.