Brain on Fire

Last night , I was watching this movie called Brain on fire , starring Chloe Grace Mortez. The movie was based on a story of a 21 year old girl ,Susanna, living her dream life, working her dream job , having a perfectly imperfect life , when one day her life turns around. She starts experiencing and showing signs and symptoms that no doctor she goes to, has the diagnoses for. She starts losing herself . The doctors around her fail to figure out what's wrong with her and start suggesting alcoholism , drug abuse and psychiatric problems and insist to move her to the psychiatric hospital because they didn't want to deal with it any more.
Soon, an amazing doctor shows up and saves her life. She basically had an autoimmune disease that was fortunately treatable and all was good at the end but it made me wonder.

I wondered how many people were thrown into the psychiatric wards just because doctors couldn't diagnose them. I wondered how many people were labelled with mental illnesses and simply sent home to die.

I understand that doctors are not angels, they are humans. There's only a limit to what a person could do and most doctors put everything they have in saving their patients. But why does it happen so often that a person with any disease that is not easily identified is labelled as a drug abuser, mentally ill, psychiatric or a faker. Why is the spectrum of being ill so small ?

We see it on a daily basis. A woman aged 50, going from one doctor to the next with knee pain or shoulder pain or elbow pain. And after 10 minutes of a regular check up she goes home with muscle relaxants and pain killers. If it doesn't help, she returns and this time she leaves with anti depressants and anxiolytics and sleeping pills or even vitamins and iron supplements.

I recognize that some patients really do need all of these prescriptions but I'm talking about those who don't. I'm talking about patients that are just blown off because the doctor isn't bothered to spend more than 10 minutes examining or listening to the patient.

This is not okay. This is dangerous. The woman may be more sick than being depressed or anxious or seeking attention. She may be more than just a money-machine. She may really need close attention as to what's going on in her body.
This needs to stop.

Doctors of every domain and every specialty need to be true to the oath we take.
Every patient needs to be taken seriously. Examination, evaluation and referral. These are not just steps in a book. They are a right of every patient. If you can't figure out what's wrong with a patient, refer them to somebody who can. Don't use the patient to fill pockets and don't feel ashamed to admit that you have failed to make a diagnosis. We, as doctors, should work as a community. Not compete.

It's bigger than us and our finances. It's about much more than just clinic hours and fees. Bigger things are at stake.