Hidden in an Envelope: Gratitude Payments to Medical Doctors in Hungary
Year: 2000
Type: article
Abstract: An ethnographer from a faraway land who visited Hungary these days and carried a hidden camera would notice a strange tribal custom when medical doctors and patients meet. The conversation often ends with the patient bringing out a plain envelope and handing it to the doctor with a gratified smile: “Thank you so much, Doctor, for your kind attention, ” the patient will say. Then the doctor makes a dismissive gesture: “No, I can’t accept that. ” “Oh do, Doctor, I beg of you! ” The exchange may continue for a while longer, but in the end, the physician pockets the envelope after all. Alternatively, the ritual may take place silently: the patient slips the envelope onto the doctor’s desk surreptitiously, but to a place where it will soon be seen and opened when the patient has gone. Inside the envelope, there is money, often with a line or two of 1 In writing this paper, I have relied extensively on research into the medical gratitude system conducted by TÁRKI, an independent
Author: János Kornai
Language: English
Subfield: Issues, ethics and legal aspects
Field: Nursing
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2126692590