By the time we cross 40, most of us suffer from minimal cognitive impairment and have a memory loss of very recent events or objects. This is age related and should not be confused with dementia. This can also happen in patients who are vegetarians and vitamin B12 deficient. People often have difficulty in naming objects and name of the people. Just as a computer hangs up while doing multiple tasks, so does the human mind. When you handle multiple projects at the same time, you may experience thought blocks, which is natural and not a sign of a disease. When we introduce ourselves to a new person, we often tell our name first. It is possible that by the time you finish your conversation, the person may forget your name. Therefore, one should either introduce themselves last after the conversation is over or introduce oneself at the start and also at the end of the conversation. Some people introduce themselves before the conversation and hand over their visiting card at the end of a conversation. This is also taught in how to market yourself. As medical doctors, we face these difficulties quite often. People send SMSs without their names or call without telling their names. For example, I once got a call "Malhotra Bol Raha Hoon Pehchana Kya?" As a doctor, we may have had hundreds of Malhotras as our patients and it is not expected from us, especially after the age of 40 to recall a person just by his surname. Unless we are given complete information by the patient on phone, mistakes can be made, especially if it is a phone consultation. In any way, phone consultation needs to be avoided. Even Supreme Court in one of its judgments said that giving phone consultation may amount to professional misconduct on the part of the doctor.

(Disclaimer: The views expressed in this write up are my own).