Patient Education in Ancient India

Patient Education in Ancient India " The treatise Sutrasthana mentions four essential parts of a successful treatment regime, known as The Quadruple of Atreya.

The four components necessary to treat diabetes, or any other disease, are

1.The Physician.
2.Drugs.
3.The Patient.
4.Attendants. [ = Family = nurses]

Just as successful cooking requires utensils, fuel /fire, food items and a cook, successful medicine requires all the above four. Similarly, the potter has to coordinate earth/clay, water and his wheel to create good pottery.

And just as a strong table needs four equally stable legs to stand, all four components of the quadruple of Atreya have to be equally effective .A chain is just as strong as its weakest link, and diabetes practice cannot be stronger than the weakest link of the quadruple.

Thus the concept of team work, patient education and diabetes awareness was propounded over 3000 years ago. The physician represents today’s diabetologist or endocrinologist, while the patient stands for an educated, empowered person with diabetes in equal partnership with his doctor."

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