Nagpur: The State government will impose a ‘code of conduct’ in the state from January 1 next year under which pharmaceutical companies will be put under the scanner for handing out expensive gifts, travel packages and often unnecessary offerings to medical professionals, especially doctors who have ties with them for prescribing their medicines to patients. A source has confirm that the government will impose a code of conduct for a period of 6-months, if necessary, the ban may be imposed permanently in Maharashtra.
In recent years, many medical practitioners were caught red-handedly indulging in what is termed as ‘prescription malpractice’.
These doctors have special arrangements with the pharmaceutical companies who bestow generous offerings to them with a mutual agreement to prescribe more than necessary drugs to patients.
The victim of these malpractices are often those people who belong to humble backgrounds who end up spending more on buying drugs than it is actually necessary.
It must be mentioned here that the State government decided to bring about this imposition in the year 2008-09, but it was learnt that the pharmaceutical companies disagreed with the nature of the law. In 2013, the Medical Council of India (MCI) along with the Government of Maharashtra agreed on establishing the embargo, but for some irregularities, the ban could not be established.
The pharmaceutical companies on the other hand says that they do not oppose to the ban, some even say that their companies do not hand out gifts to doctors.
“It is the job of a medical representative to inform a doctor on drugs,” said a worker of pharmaceutical company under the condition of anonymity.
If sources are to be believed, the code of conduct will also monitor various seminars and workshops organised by pharmaceutical companies for doctors where they are handed out sample medicines.
