Doctors may soon have to kiss goodbye to lavish freebies from pharma companies

Doctors may soon have to bid farewell to the lavish gifts that pharmaceutical companies and representatives bestow upon them as the government is planning to set a Rs 1,000 cap. 

According to a report in The Times of India, the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) is in the final stages of issuing an executive order making Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP) mandatory for the drug manufacturing industry. The UCPMP was initially executed for six months from January 1, 2015 and was later withdrawn for review. It was then decided that the order would be made mandatory if the industry failed to self-regulate, the report said.

Reportedly, the order is currently with the Health Minister and would be announced soon. 

Pharmaceutical companies and drug representatives are known to shower doctors with lavish gifts which includes expensive all-paid vacations and cruises, sponsored educational conferences or travel tickets, all in a bid to ensure a recall for their brand of medicine. 

A Health Ministry official was quoted in the report saying "We don't feel there is a need to use a higher value gift (over Rs 1000) to ensure brand recall, which is often cited by firms as a reason for distributing freebies."

Apart from doctors, the order would also cover chemists, hospitals, retailers, distributors, wholesalers,  and the states, the report said. 

The order would be executed as soon as it is issued by the DoP and any violation would attract penalty or punishment, it added. The ministry official added, "It can vary from a warning to cancellation of licence depending upon the extent of violation."

An ethical committee will also be formed which will investigate and take decisions in the case of a violation.