Several patients in Kabul are complaining about a shortage of specialist doctors and poor medicine quality as illnesses rise across the city. They say the shortage of specialists and lack of access to high-quality medicine have multiplied their problems. Doctors often prescribe numerous tests, they say, some of which have no apparent connection to their illness. Speaking to the Hasht-e Subh Daily, these patients said some doctors, instead of accurately diagnosing an illness, identify additional problems to bring the patient back for a repeat visit. They also complained about the lack of a fixed price in the medicine market, noting that the same prescription can vary significantly in cost from one pharmacy to another. Meanwhile, several specialists say Afghanistan’s health system suffers from more than just rising illness rates or a shortage of specialists. They point to weak coordination in supplying specialized personnel, delays in diagnosis, inconsistent oversight of medicine quality, and a lack of sustainable financial resources as the system’s core challenges.
Arman (pseudonym), who has been ill for several weeks, says he has seen no results despite visiting several doctors. He says the entire medical system has become commercialized: when patients go to public hospitals, doctors hand them the card and address of their own private clinics and tell them to go there for proper treatment.
“I got no results at all,” he said. “On the one hand, it’s impossible to find a competent, knowledgeable specialist, and on the other, the medicines are low quality. What’s strange is that the whole medical system has become commercialized. When we go to a public hospital, the doctor gives us his private clinic’s card and address and says, ‘Come there so I can treat you properly; it won’t work here.'”
Arman said prices in the medicine market are not fixed either, and the same prescription can cost very different amounts at different pharmacies. “One doctor wrote a prescription that cost 3,700 Afghanis at his own pharmacy, but I bought the same medicine at Hotel Parwan for 600 Afghanis,” he said. “When we see a doctor, they order every kind of test, even ones that have nothing to do with our illness. One doctor recommends Pakistani medicine, another Indian, and some recommend Turkish, Uzbek, or Bangladeshi medicine. Neither the quality nor the price of these medicines is clear. Even in public hospitals, you won’t get proper treatment unless you know someone.”
Behtareen (pseudonym), another patient dealing with several illnesses at once, says the shortage of specialist doctors in Afghanistan has multiplied patients’ problems. She says many specialists who practiced in the country before the Taliban took power have since left, and the low quality of some medicines has made treatment even harder.
“I’m sick, and I have several illnesses at the same time,” Behtareen said. “The doctor prescribes medicine and injections that I take at night, and I feel better that same night and the next day, but then the illness comes right back. The medicine is so low quality that it only works for a short time. If a doctor gives me a month’s supply, I only feel well while I’m taking it, and as soon as it runs out, the illness returns.”
She added: “Most doctors just want to collect money. Before the Taliban came, one prescription was enough to cure me, and I wouldn’t even need to see the doctor again. Now they give five or six days’ worth of medicine and tell me to come back. When I go back, they prescribe the same medicine again, just so they can charge a fee each time and bring me back in five or six days.”
Zahra (pseudonym), another patient, also says rising illness rates, a shortage of specialists, and low-quality medicine have compounded patients’ problems. She says three members of her family have been sick for nearly three weeks, and despite numerous tests, doctors still haven’t reached an accurate diagnosis.
“The air and water have become polluted, and illnesses have increased,” she said. “At the same time, it’s hard to find a specialist, and if you do, the consultation fee is high. The medicine has also become low quality. In our house alone, three people have been sick for close to three weeks. No matter how much medicine we take, nothing helps. We go to one doctor, and he orders a lot of tests. We go to another, and he ignores the previous results and orders new tests all over again. Even a sore throat takes days to clear up. Doctors can’t identify the right medicine, so they give us several kinds, hoping one of them works. We spend our money, and our patients don’t get better.”
Shekab (pseudonym), an internal medicine specialist, says the problem with Afghanistan’s health system goes beyond rising illness rates or a shortage of specialists. He points to poor coordination within the health system in supplying specialized personnel, timely diagnosis, procurement and oversight of medicine quality, and securing sustainable financial resources. He says the shortage and poor assignment of specialists, weaknesses in diagnosis and referral, problems with medicine quality and oversight, shortages of resources and equipment, and rising health needs are among the system’s major problems.
This comes as Kabul residents have also complained about improper and unprofessional treatment by doctors and health workers at some public hospitals.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
بیماران در کابل از کمبود داکتران متخصص و کیفیت پایین دوا شکایت دارند
