'DOCTORS' links with pharma, labs immoral, not illegal'

BIG QUESTION: Is it a way to sustain practice in a system that undervalues medical consultation?

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Doctors prescribing medicines available only at select shops or directing patients to particular laboratories has become a common practice in the city. Medical professionals admit that such conduct amounts to commercialisation of a noble profession, though it is not illegal.

The recent Chhindwara tragedy, in which nearly two dozen children died from kidney failure after consuming a contaminated cough syrup, has brought such practices under scrutiny. The syrup, Coldrif, was prescribed by a government paediatriciannow in judicial custody-and allegedly sold from a shop owned by his wife.