Burden of Mistrust: A Curse generated by media for medical profession

Every news item presented on TV about medical profession creates an anxiety in minds of doctors. As almost always, these  are  cooked for media business to  create sensations. Medical profession can not fight with media power and remains  at receiving end always.  Painful burden of mistrust against them grows further.

News article or TV programs are created so convincing  and so capable of  sway public opinion against  doctors. while the fears in the minds of patients  is not without basis, but risk to life of patient does not really comes from doctors, but it is from mistrust generated from inexorable creep  of media into our lives.

Even the most enlightened humans have biases. Media by negative publicity enhances and multiplies negative bias and propagates mistrust, beyond reasonable limits. These negative and uncertain prejudiced feeling in the mind of patients is difficult to identified , and more difficult to correct and treat .

Prejudice against doctors 

While the news being aired, gave an impression like a judgment  is passed, which is unable to take into account, the large good work being done by the medical community at large. As if the treatment done and life saved every minute is of no consequence.  Such judgments are not based on any objective measurable data, and therefore they are highly susceptible to human biases. Unfortunately, a vicious cycle of mistrust and misfortune and more bias is created and   there is no circuit breaker or any assessment of the  mistrust thus  promoted, whether it was good for society  or  patients. It can be at the best a late or remote  afterthought by few wise ones.

Growing awareness about risk of medical interventions or its limitations, has not slowed the rapid ingestion of toxic negativity into the fabric of society. We are living in times, where media  tends to influence what people see, hear, feel and buy. Spread of negative news rapidly spreading into nooks and crannies of minds of masses, but in the guise of magical optimization of medical profession and treatment. Masses rely on the one example presented before them, without knowing it was one of millions, a rarity rather than routine, without factoring in the biases and problems underlying that one patient. In majority of such cases, biases are hidden, hindsight analysis are baked, submerged and woven into an emotional fabric that is wrapped around  business under the banner of  better medical services optimization.

These  sensational news, promoting mistrust against medical profession,  if unchecked will put lives of patient more at risk than real benefit to society. People will suffer because of  a relationship of mistrust with doctors, will refrain from seeking treatment. But still no one will know that it is  “a curse  generated by media”.