Why don’t patients complain if they are unhappy?

I was disappointed when a couple came to me to seek IVF treatment, after having failed 2 IVF cycles at a clinic in Mumbai. Why? you may well ask - after all, I see patients who have failed IVF treatment all the tile !

My greatest disappointment was because even though the two were doctors practitioners , they were pretty clueless about the medical details of their IVF treatments. I had expected them to know better and be expert patients. 

The husband was an ophthalmologist and the wife a dermatologist and yet with all the knowledge they have about hospital procedure and services, they still did not have the courage to ask their IVF doctor for medical documentation, including photos of their embryos . 

Out of embarrassment, their explanation was, “We thought that this was the standard procedure in Mumbai”. It got even worse when they told me that they had paid for their expenses in cash and were never provided with a receipt! This is why I had no details about their IVF cycle, which means I had to start from scratch.

It's very worrying that these two medical experts felt intimidated and joined the band wagon of patients who are afraid to demand their rights. How much worse off are the ordinary patients with no medical training? 

Patients need to learn to be assertive and complain whenever they are given sub-standard treatment. Hospitals must therefore change the way they deliver services to patients and patients must rise above their fear and know their rights during treatment. This is the only way this unhealthy trend will end.