It is raining polyclinics and private hospitals in Oman these days, but they still have a long way to go in terms of quality of healthcare being offered. I recently went to a hospital in Ruwi to treat my nagging shoulder pain, and the physician advised me to go for an ECG and X-ray. Both the reports were normal, and the doctor referred me to an orthopedic. I decided not to see an ortho and called it quits. My shoulder pain eased by itself, thankfully. While waiting for my reports, I noticed that the same physician had referred most of his patients for either a blood test, X-ray or an EGG. It is no secret that hospitals are money-making ventures these days, and they use the insurance facility of patients to the hilt by making them undergo tests which are unnecessary and doesn’t make sense at times. So much so that it is tough to come out of a hospital without undergoing a few tests these days. The health-conscious patients don’t mind these tests because they don’t have to spend from their own pockets. In some cases, the insurances companies make it necessary (depending on the bands) for the hospitals to take permission for some routine test like ultrasound.

A doctor who has been working in Oman for more than a decade said he sympathized with doctors of these big hospitals who are given a target to achieve every month. It is more business-like, he said. Other than the consultation fee (which is negligible in many cases), they are forced to refer patients for unnecessary and sundry tests which will add to their targets, and to the hospital’s coffers ultimately. Recently, a gentleman approached a decent private hospital in the capital for a nagging headache, and without blinking an eyelid the physician said he might be having a brain tumour, and advised a CT scan and many other tests. It is a different story the man scooted from the place and took a second opinion from another hospital. It was not a tumor after all. The physician might be qualified, but his corporate-job requirements make sure that he sees a revenue model in every opportunity. So much for healthcare here.