Every new tool of surgical technology that develops in the western world, we in India imbibe and put into practice with the expectation of improving the quality of care of our patients. Improved and sophisticated intensive care facilities, improved investigative procedures, minimal access surgery and organ transplantation are some such tools which have come into India within the last twenty years.
Albeit, every new tool has come with a price tag. In Western Europe and USA, where most of these tools have developed, the price has led to a revolt by the payers, be it their governments or the insurance companies. And these payers challenged the surgeon-industry nexus to find out how much of it benefited the consumer and how much of it was to promote the profit of the industry and glamorization of the surgeon.
