Drug firms' payment to doctors to be monitored

Pharma companies will soon have to disclose how much they pay doctors, in cash or in kind. The government is considering a legislation for pharmaceutical companies which will make it mandatory for pharma firms to disclose the expenditure incurred on medical practitioners. Companies failing to disclose such spends might have to face heavy penalties, said a government official.

According to the official, the issue is likely to be discussed in the meeting of the National Development Council, led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, tomorrow.

The move is in line with the proposal mooted earlier by the Planning Commission to issue mandatory marketing code for drug makers. However, with various industry bodies lobbying against it, the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) issued a voluntary drug marketing code last year.

 

Despite this, the government continued to receive various complaints against drug makers not adhering to the code, sources said. In the wake of repeated complaints, DoP held a couple of meetings this year with industry associations, health groups and the Medical Council of India, the body that regulates doctors and medical colleges in the country.

The idea behind the regulation is to deter pharmaceutical companies from offering gifts, pecuniary advantages or benefits in kind to physicians and suppliers. Also, companies cannot, directly or indirectly, sponsor travel entertainment, sporting or leisure activities of doctors and their families.

According to D G Shah, secretary-general of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, the legislation would also look into the legitimate payments by companies such as those spent on doctors for clinical trials and consultancy, etc.