Medicine is built to heal but in real clinical practice the line between helping and harmful is very thin.
The treatment started with the intension to cure but sometimes may lead to side effects , complications or sudden burdens that impacts the patients more than disease itself.
It’s never about just treating the disease it’s also about constant balancing.
Benefit v/s risk
Intervention v/s observation
As every decision in medicine carry consequences.
When the treatment becomes harmful?
When multiple interventions trigger new complications. When aggresive treatments reduce quality of life . When disease is more harmful than treatment itself.
Sometimes best decision is not doing more, not over treating because sometimes in medicine less can protect more.
The goal of treatment is not just to fight disease but to ensure that patient is not harmed in process of healing.
What do you think sometimes doctors should stop adding treatments and start observing?
I feel that is the best way to proceed but majority of the patients want quick fixes and they are not ready to wait for the results of the treatment with the least side effects.
When treatment starts reducing quality of life or causing more side effects than benefit, it’s better to pause and observe.Goal is not just to treat, but to avoid harm.
Well said. I recently read in the news about a doctor who resigned hours after joining a reputed hospital, stating that the authorities were pressurising her to admit every case, even if it did not need admission.
Any medical management/ treatment should be decided taking into consideration the cost - benefit ratio. Being in the patient’s shoes can give a different perspective.