This cult of speed reaches its crowning glory during that peculiar Indian spectacle called medical camps. Medical camps are an activity in which doctors from cities travel to underserved areas, often on weekends, where the poor are then herded in hundreds for deliverance, photo-ops and freebies.

As Asia surges forward in attempting to meet the rising demand for replacing failed organs, efforts across the region to develop viable deceased donor programmes are visible. According to reports, these efforts have met with limited success.

HOTA, along with its amendments, was a step forward in recognising concepts such as brain death. Nevertheless, there are numerous ethical challenges still to be resolved, particularly with regard to consent, incentives to donors and families, and equitable distribution of donated organs.

One would think that there has been an abrupt spurt in corrupt practices or a major scandal. Nothing of that sort has happened. However, there have been some interesting developments for the focus to shift back to what is really a very old affliction.

While the Supreme Court decision in the recent Novartis case has cleared the way for production of generic drugs in India, doctors have to prescribe cheaper alternatives to costly brands if patients with limited means are to benefit.

Given the increasingly commercial and corporatised nature of healthcare, organisations like the IMA should provide leadership and a sense of direction to the individual medical professional overwhelmed by change.

Why is the safety quotient so low in our society both in general, and in healthcare? Should our natural instinct for self preservation not make us sensitive to basic safety issues? Are there some socioeconomic and cultural factors at work here which numb us to safety?

I have often wondered whether individuals like me are, by being in the belly of the beast, contributing to the growth of the beast in its present form.