Doctors- Pharmaceutical Companies Nexus Harmful For Patients

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Its very disturbing to know that the doctors are now being wooed by more than mundane – gifts. Pharmaceutical companies are wooing the fraternity by making available women for “entertainment”, apart from providing credit and debit cards, petro cards, e-vouchers for online purchases. The earlier cash bribes have now changed to innovative ways.

These are the findings of a six-city study conducted by two activist doctor on over 75 doctors and nearly 40 medical representatives to reveal the pharma-doctor nexus.“The doctors who set the prescription pattern in the field are looked after well,” say the report.

Shockingly, the study found that less than 20% of doctors follow the ethical codes prescribed by the Medical Council of India. The findings say doctors who are paid to bring business are even threatened and harassed if they fail to do so.It is well known that the medicines doctors often prescribe are those that pharmaceutical companies want them to prescribe.

A 72-page report “Promotional Practices of the Pharmaceutical Industries and the Implementation Status of Related Regulatory Codes in India” by Dr Arun Gadre and Dr Archana Giwate of Pune-based health group Sathi, has also highlighted the government‘s kid-glove treatment in dealing with pharma companies. The nexus has now spread its wings to AYUSH doctors.

This all-too-cozy relationship between Pharma companies and medical professionals has attracted world-wide attention.For years free drug samples were only part of the formula used by the pharmaceutical companies to influence doctors’ medical biases and prescription-writing habits.But gradually, it was enlarged to cash bribe and then to entertaining doctors two or three nights a week, often by buying them tickets to expensive sporting events and treating them to dinners at five-star restaurants disguised in seminars. Pharma companies even hire doctors as paid speakers.According to a report,over half of all postgraduate medical education in Britain is funded by the pharmaceutical industry.A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) states that the industry spends about $13,000 a year per doctor on marketing activities.

These tactics lead to false and misleading promotions of drugs. No matter that cheaper alternatives are available,doctors only prescribe certain costly medicines they are offered to promote. Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in London highlighted the alleged nexus between doctors and pharmaceutical firms and said that doctors attend conferences abroad to promote these companies.

A British physician and academic Ben Goldacre in his book " Bad Pharma" says that "the whole edifice of medicine is broken", because the evidence on which it is based is systematically distorted by the pharmaceutical industry.Industry finances most of the clinical trials into its own products and much of doctors' continuing education, that clinical trials are often conducted on small groups of unrepresentative subjects and negative data is routinely withheld, and that apparently independent academic papers may be planned and even ghostwritten by pharmaceutical companies or their contractors, without disclosure".

Describing the situation as a "murderous disaster", he makes suggestions for action by patients' groups, physicians, academics and the industry itself. Later, Goldacre joined the, Cochrane Collaboration, British Medical Journal and others in setting up AllTrials, a campaign calling for the results of all past and current clinical trials to be reported.The British House of Commons Public Accounts Committee expressed concern in January 2014 that drug companies were still only publishing around 50 percent of clinical-trial results.

But nothing has been done in India excep lip service. On the contrary Indian Mediacal Association (IMA), the federal body representing doctors fraternity reacts strongly over such allegations. It even slammed PM London statement. y

Its a very serious matter and report of Pune-based activist doctors should be taken seriously by govt and IMA. Nation can't allow drug companies to play with people's health. Doctors should sun the mal-practice voluntarily.

(Chander Sharma)





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