A doctor makes a presentation at the 19th Indian Association of Clinical Medicine annual conference at Maurya hotel in Patna on Sunday. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

Patna, Oct. 16: At a time when most of the doctors’ organisations are discussing latest advancements in healthcare system and their usage, physicians from across the country stressed the need to go back to the traditional and applied forms of treatments.

The physicians had gathered today under the aegis of Indian Association of Clinical Medicine (IACM) in the capital.

R.P. Srivastava, a renowned physician and organising secretary of 19th IACM annual conference, told The Telegraph: “Most of the doctors now stress more on diagnostic evidences rather than applying their knowledge and experience for detecting the disease. While we do respect science, we should also not forget the art of treatment. Our emphasis is to integrate scientific evidences with experience and practice.”

He added that till a few years back, most of the doctors believed in talking to and touching patients.

“However, the trend is diminishing now and doctors prescribe pathological or other diagnoses at the drop of a hat. While it is always good to go for the tests, doctors should respect the traditional ways of checking up a patient and to find their maladies,” Srivastava added.

The two-day conference — in which about 500 doctors from across the country having expertise in various diseases, took part — was inaugurated by Bollywood actor and also Patna Sahib MP Shatrughan Sinha yesterday. Leading physicians of Patna and Bihar were present at the meet, where several advanced research papers on clinical medicine were presented.

Dr Madhuchanda Kar from Calcutta presented a comprehensive clinical paper on cancer. “Technical advancement has come as a Godsend for cancer patients. It has significantly increased survival rate. Now, patients need not worry as anxiety because of cancer is as dangerous as cancer itself,” Kar said.

Dr Anita Sharma spoke in length about HIV. “If one is HIV positive and also suffers from malaria, there is no need to panic. Many people consider HIV, accompanied with malaria, fatal. Timely intervention, however, can work wonders in such cases,” she said.

Dr Anita and Dipanjan Bandopadhyay presented separate clinical papers on emergency medicines during scientific deliberation. Dr A.K. Agarwal from Apollo Hospital, Delhi, delivered his presentation on kidney transplant in people who get HIV infection.

Through his presentation, Dr A.K. Virmani from Jamshedpur tried to allay fears of patients who undergo routine function test, in which some minor abnormalities crop up.

“Most of the patients start worrying about their health and also go for the detailed treatment. In such cases there is no need to panic as the problem can easily be controlled by making some changes in diet and lifestyle,” he added.