Produce details of freebies to doctors, MCI to pharma cos

Toughening its stand on pharmaceutical companies luring doctors with junkets and other freebies to promote their products, the Medical Council of India (MCI), the statutory body monitoring medical practice in the country, has decided to ask the companies to furnish details of enticement offered to practitioners.

The regulatory body has directed the drugs controller general of India (DGCI) to amend the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and insert a section banning pharmaceutical companies from sponsoring doctors and undertaking any such activity that is contrary to MCI norms on medical ethics and etiquette. It may also strip the erring doctors off their licence to practice in case a nexus is proved.    

The council toughened its stand after two leading private sector drug companies refused to disclose the names of 200 leading doctors who had accepted free junkets from them. It is the first major case of companies withholding information after being served a notice.

Confirming that the notices have indeed been issued to the two drug companies — Piramal Healthcare and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories — MCI president Ketan Desai told DNA they were asked to disclose the names of doctors whom they had sponsored for junkets to Istanbul and Hyderabad over the past one year. This is the first time that MCI took cognisance of violation of rules and sought details that included expenses incurred on these doctors during the trips.

“While both these companies have confirmed the trips, they have refused to divulge the names of doctors and other details. We asked DGCI to help us get the details. Now the DGCI has asked the companies to furnish the details,” said Desai. “This is just the beginning. Many more companies will be now asked to furnish such details.”

Efforts to reach these companies on Friday failed. However, sources tracking the issue at Dr Reddy’s told DNA that the MCI notice did reach the company and it, too, had replied to the notice. It is still not clear if the company had furnished the names of the doctors, sources said. They maintained that the doctors were brought to Hyderabad to attend a technical conference, not for entertainment.

As per MCI rules on professional conduct, etiquette and ethics regulations for the doctors, a medical practitioner cannot accept any travel facility inside or outside the country, including rail, road, air, ship, cruise tickets, paid vacation, etc, from any pharmaceutical or allied healthcare industry or their representatives for self and for family members for a vacation, or for attending conferences, seminars, workshops as a delegate. “If both giving and taking bribe is crime, then how can only the one who accepts the bribe be punished. We also need to penalise those who offers the bribe… We have asked DGCI to suspend the license of all such companies that promote unethical practices,” Desai said.

He said doctors have been prescribing expensive antibiotics and pain killers produced by multinational pharmaceutical companies even though there is a low-cost generic alternative available for it. Similarly, they prescribe particular medicines and devices manufactured by specific companies and sold by specific shops. “This is an unhealthy practice and we want to stop this,” health and family welfare minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had said recently at a function.