Senior Consultant Physician at the CWM Hospital, Doctor Shrish Acharya

A research study is needed to understand and analyze the behavior of patients who are not reporting to clinics and taking medications on time.

Senior Consultant Physician at the CWM Hospital, Doctor Shrish Acharya says they have noted an increasing trend on this.

Doctor Acharya says this is resulting in patients risking their lives as it caused severe complications.

“But there should be more research in this area. Generally, even internationally, we find that there are some patients who are very proactive about their health. They really take care of their health. Then they are another group; they’re not so much if they don’t feel anything, whether it is cultural or educational; what are the factors? That’s something I suppose is a good area for qualitative research to look at why people behave in this manner.”

Doctor Acharya says this is also causing resource constraints in hospitals.

“So when patients come in with major illnesses, they end up staying in the hospital for a long time. They require a lot more tests, injections, and medication, so they suffer a lot more if they come in with major, serious problems to the hospital. And then their families are also involved. If one person in the family is sick and admitted to the hospital, the whole family is really stressed out.”

The Ministry of Health is urging patients to take note of their medication and clinical appointments.

This way, they will be able to recover on time without any threats of complications.