Tajikistan
Pictures are more fun in some ways then boring words. SO I'll post some more. We are almost done with the trip. It's been a blur of activity. Literally family medicine as a specialty is brand new here in tajikistan. So, our lectures and workshops are helping shape the future of family medicine here. The system is very "sick". 30-40% of doctors here don't work as physicians, they are taxi drivers and such, because the pay is so poor. A doctor here makes 15 dollars US a month... that's right only 15 dollars. They live only by taking extra money from patients. This has created an impossible system. If someone comes to the hospital then, they must pay out of pocket the doctor, the nurse, the cleaners that sweep the room, the security people that guard the hospital... every single person demands pay. The patient must even go supply their own medicines, even in the hospital. Doctors must also pay bribes to hospital leaders- so dept. chairs demand a portion of earnings, and hospital heads also must get gifts and money. It is all very corrupt. The gov't also assigns patients to doctors. So someone is given approx 1500 people they are to see...then, the rules are that the family doctor must see each of the 1500 patients, at their homes, every three days. IT is RIDICULOUS. How can anyone person see 500 people in one day? For this, again ,corruption ensues, so doctors fake their records...they make up all their visits, and really only get to 4-5 homes a day. This is only the beginning of the problems. The picture above is of a Foley catheter in the hospital...at least their version of such.
Pictures are more fun in some ways then boring words. SO I'll post some more. We are almost done with the trip. It's been a blur of activity. Literally family medicine as a specialty is brand new here in tajikistan. So, our lectures and workshops are helping shape the future of family medicine here. The system is very "sick". 30-40% of doctors here don't work as physicians, they are taxi drivers and such, because the pay is so poor. A doctor here makes 15 dollars US a month... that's right only 15 dollars. They live only by taking extra money from patients. This has created an impossible system. If someone comes to the hospital then, they must pay out of pocket the doctor, the nurse, the cleaners that sweep the room, the security people that guard the hospital... every single person demands pay. The patient must even go supply their own medicines, even in the hospital. Doctors must also pay bribes to hospital leaders- so dept. chairs demand a portion of earnings, and hospital heads also must get gifts and money. It is all very corrupt. The gov't also assigns patients to doctors. So someone is given approx 1500 people they are to see...then, the rules are that the family doctor must see each of the 1500 patients, at their homes, every three days. IT is RIDICULOUS. How can anyone person see 500 people in one day? For this, again ,corruption ensues, so doctors fake their records...they make up all their visits, and really only get to 4-5 homes a day. This is only the beginning of the problems. The picture above is of a Foley catheter in the hospital...at least their version of such.
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