It is common place for patients to walk into a doctor’s office, give their story, get evaluated and then simply walk out with a prescription and a return appointment. No questions asked, after all the doctor knows what’s best for patients. Is that so? Think again. Whenever you seek healthcare, you should always have your own perspectives about what you want. Disease states can have very diverse outcomes, depending on how you look at it. There are universally desired outcomes, more desirable for looking at populations. And then, there are individually desired outcomes, better termed as patient-centred outcomes.

Terminal illness is a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated, and is usually expected to result in death within a short period of time. Terminal illness is mostly associated with cancer, though it may also relate to other conditions like advanced heart disease. In medical timelines, one is considered terminally ill if they are expected to die within six months. The six month standard is arbitrary though, and the estimation is never accurate.

Reproductive healthcare is very much akin to any other service provision industry. There are quality standards to be met, equally balanced by service provision targets. Sometimes things fall short, and you may find yourself on the aggrieved end. Dealing with human life demands much more than a casual approach to service delivery. There is so much potential for things to go wrong in reproductive healthcare.