The nexus between the pharmaceutical company and the doctors

Priyanka Saurabh *

There is such a nexus of drug retailers-wholesalers, doctors, and companies that the pharmaceutical market is climbing the ladder of progress. The situation is that money is being wasted by taking money out of the pockets of the sick to reach the summit. Due to lack of control in the medical market, the arbitrariness is such that the salt which gets 10 tablets for nine rupees is being sold by giving a branded tag of ninety rupees. The magic of this ever-increasing market is such that neither the government nor the authorities could control it. The dark side is that even when officers are sick, they also have to buy branded medicines.

The Supreme Court is hearing a petition regarding the gifts received by pharmaceutical companies to doctors. The Supreme Court has sought a response from the Central Government in this matter. In a petition regarding the nexus of companies and doctors for the sale of medicines, such a claim has been made, which the judge himself is surprised to hear.

It has been said in the petition that for prescribing a particular medicine, the company gives gifts worth crores of rupees to the doctors, for example, to increase the sale of medicines of a company which is often given in fever, doctors are given gifts worth Rs. Gifts were given so that their medicine could be promoted. It has been said in this petition that the doctors who advise on medicine by taking gifts, should also be responsible for it.

There is such a nexus of drug retailers-wholesalers, doctors, and companies that the pharmaceutical market is climbing the ladder of progress. The situation is that money is being wasted by taking money out of the pockets of the sick to reach the summit.

Due to lack of control in the medical market, the arbitrariness is such that the salt which gets 10 tablets for nine rupees is being sold by giving a branded tag of ninety rupees. The magic of this ever-increasing market is such that neither the government nor the authorities could control it. The dark side is that even when officers are sick, they also have to buy branded medicines.

If this kind of work is done, then not only will the cases of overuse of the drug increase, but it can also adversely affect the health of the patients. Such scams also create problems with the price of medicines in the market and also unnecessary medicines. It may be that such drugs were promoted more during the corona epidemic and were supplied in the market in an unethical manner.

The nexus between the pharmaceutical company and the doctors is increasing through bribery and inducement by the pharma companies to increase the sales of their products. Medical representatives also cited that only 10-20% of doctors adhere to the MCI code of conduct, while in some cases doctors even seek "incentives" to push a product. Not only allopathy, but medical representatives of ayurvedic and homeopathic companies have spoken of being under immense pressure to meet higher sales targets.

The report cited medical representatives as saying that company executives also monitor the business generated by doctors in which they have 'invested'. Pharma companies are conducting training workshops or sessions for medical representatives, focusing more on sales skills and 'management of customer (doctors) relationships', rather than enhancing their technical knowledge about the product they are handling. are focusing.

The report also mentions a new trend – promotion-cum-distribution companies these days create new entities which are franchisees of pharma companies that buy drugs in bulk from manufacturers, give their brand names, and sell them directly to retail. Sellers and doctors at discounts and incentives including gifts, cash, hospitality, and travel facilities.

The Medical Council of India has a code of conduct for doctors that prohibits them from accepting any gifts, cash, travel facilities, or hospitality from pharma companies. Although there is a voluntary code for pharmaceutical companies known as the Uniform Code of Pharmaceutical Marketing Practice or UCMP, experts say there is not a very effective mechanism for checking prevalent misconduct.

What is worrying is that there is no law to punish those guilty of unethical conduct. As a result, patients are forced to buy expensive medicines. The central government is still sitting on a 2015 proposal to introduce a Uniform Marketing Practice Code for pharma companies, which provides for stringent penalties.

A year and a half ago, a draft of regulatory codes sent to the Law Ministry to rule out unethical practices under the Essential Commodities Act was rejected. Still, the health ministry, in response to a Right to Information report, said the draft being discussed poses a health threat to millions of people who fall prey to irrational prescriptions pushing drugs that could be dangerous to health. go.

The increasing use of antibiotics is the main cause of antimicrobial resistance, one of the world's biggest health threats. Bacteria naturally develop resistance to drugs over time, becoming superbugs, but large-scale or improper use accelerates this process dramatically.

There is a need for a mandatory code to identify and penalize unethical promotions on the part of pharma companies. Compulsory disclosure by pharmaceutical companies of drug promotion spending, drug testing in continuing medical education, and health care is not just a consumer product.

It is more than that. The idea of putting patients first is rooted in our culture. This is a major drawback when the actions of large health systems, pharmaceutical companies, device companies, and insurance companies can have a greater impact on patients than the actions of individual physicians.

To tackle the problem of this nexus, there is a dire need to bring in a new law, under which pharmaceutical companies will be required to disclose the amount paid to doctors for research, lectures, travel, and entertainment.

There should also be the talk of a code of ethics, under which pharma companies cannot give any kind of gift, money, or other kind of benefits to doctors to promote their medicines, nor should they organize meetings or conferences in such places. , which are associated with entertainment, sporting events, or providing fun and leisure. There should also be an emphasis on the need to punish for adopting unethical methods.

Only law can work to break this immoral nexus of doctors and pharma companies. On the other hand, along with the promotion of public medicines, there is also a need to run awareness campaigns, so that patients are neither robbed nor their health is affected in the name of treatment.