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We may call it bribery, but pharmaceutical companies would have us believe these are gifts for doctors. We may term these sponsorships, but the companies say those are continuous medical education programmes to enhance the knowledge of doctors with the latest tools.

For other precious gifts and junkets at exotic locations like Istanbul and Cairo there are euphemisms, too, but it is now getting very widely known that an unbreakable nexus has developed between pharmaceutical companies in India and their customers — read doctors.

Yes, drugs are meant for the benefit of the patient, but the decision to prescribe those lies in the hands of the medical expert, who we all believe in, sometimes more than God.
With pharmaceutical companies desperate to maintain and grow their toplines, doctors are getting spoilt by pampering. Indeed, it’s a race out there among the drug makers for pleasing the doctors with offers hard to resist.

It will be unfair to bracket every doctor in the same league, but a large number of them fall for the temptation of travelling abroad, often with their families. The doctors may not be committing prescriptions, but that is the ultimate objective conveyed through subtle efforts.

Secretly, even pharmaceutical companies despise having to keep the doctors pleased, not by the quality of their medicines but by extending to them the worldly pleasures. But it is a Frankenstein they themselves created and there is no easy solution to check it now.

The Medical Council of India (MCI), after four years of work on a draft, is reported to have come out with a code of conduct that strictly prohibits doctors from accepting gifts, tours, monetary donations and endorsing drugs launched in the market.

Remember, there are many doctors who still endorse big pharmaceutical brands and come to the rescue of products that may have been in doubt from western regulators.

The rules or the points in the MCI code of conduct are decent and this may not be the first such code. The Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India, which primarily represents large multinational companies, has framed similar guidelines for member companies.

But these codes may not be of much consequence. The practice of extending and accepting gifts has almost become a part of the standard business practice and any effort to dismiss it may need to be taken with some scepticism.

It is time, therefore, for the government to act and take decisive measures in curbing this menace.

A few months ago, the drug pricing authority had stated that medicines are becoming unaffordable because of the high promotion costs incurred by the companies. There was a promise of penalising companies, which bribed doctors, but the move tapered off inconclusively.

Select doctors specialising in certain disease areas in metro cities are considered to be in the sweetest spot. The high patient turnout is a sure means for pharmaceutical companies to grow their presence in India. There is no brand loyalty either. It may be seen that a doctor prescribes many brands in the same segments citing medical data generated over years of clinical trials.

The MCI may have sent a stern message to the doctors to refrain from indulging in corrupt practices, but there are no inbuilt mechanisms to identify those who are not following the rule.

Under the law, no individual can be prevented from travelling abroad; no individual can be restricted from accepting gifts and there can be no ban imposed on accepting donations. If not the doctor, the funds may be made available to other family members of the medical practitioners.

And it isn’t just the pharmaceutical companies. The medical devices industry, too, is pretty aggressive in pushing products such as stents. On their part, large corporate hospitals are charging exorbitant amounts for simple tests.

So, corruption has come to permeate the healthcare industry at large. The sooner these unscrupulous elements are weeded out, the better for the patient.

Pillman is an executive closely linked to the global pharma industry.