Medecine and Culture by our fellow Dev

Dev briefly introduced himself and explained the different steps that led him from India to the UK and finally to the Netherlands where he worked for a pharmaceutical company where he was in charge of the development of new drugs.

During his years in the field he observed that patients had different reactions to the same molecule according to their geographical location and cultural background. He then started to ask himself the question whether medicine was universal or whether the cultural aspect had to be taken into account since it influenced all the steps that led to the treatment of patients.

He then started by saying that a doctor will make a different diagnosis based on his culture, his background and on what can reassure the patient, he then made a few concrete examples of different ways in which medicine works in different countries like France, the U.K., Germany or the United States.

The presentation was greatly appreciated and Dev answered a few more questions on placebo effect, alternative medicine or generics vs. patented drugs.

Malcolm thanked Dev on behalf of the Club.

Parting thought: I'm interested in "next practices" and not merely in best practices

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