High Society, Low Ethics

Inside the shady world of doctors' societies and pharmasponsored 'educational tours' and luxury conferences

- TEJ PRAKASH BHARDWAJ

You don't choose a medicine your doctor does. And who chooses the doctor? Multibillion pharma companies.

Till recently, doctors in India went on luxury junkets to exotic locations, were feted with lavish vacations and pricey gifts by pharma companies to promote their drugs. In August 2022, a PIL before the Supreme Court spotlighted alleged unethical pharma marketing around Dolo-650, a 650 mg paracetamol popular during Covid 19. It was reported that Micro Labs spent approximately 1,000 crore on "freebies" to doctors-covering travel, gifts, and perks―to promote prescriptions of Dolo-650. The unethical practice of pampering the medical fraternity in exchange for writing prescriptions recommending specific medicines ran into a wall. The Centre implemented a Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP) 2024 that prohibits pharmaceutical companies from offering freebies or any monetary benefits to the Hippocrates Oath takers. No more cumshaws, sponsored trips, or lavish hospitality from the pill makers for pill pushers.

But you can't keep a freeloader down. Unscrupulous doctors who missed the balmy holidays in exotic locations, the dinner parties and lavish gifts, all paid for by Big Pharma's came up with a devious solution to sidestep the UCPMP. Societies. In short, a few unprincipled medical practitioners would get together to form a medical society and hold seminars. These seminars are held on Big Pharma's tab; liberal payouts to support such 'informed' debates which could mean crores. It could be a Cardiologists' Society of Greater Kailash or an Orthopaedic Doctors' Association of Pune. The seminars would be held at a pricey location in a luxury hotel in India or abroad, and the doctors and invitees would pack their suitcases, probably take their families along and fly business class, of course, to discuss treatments on the beach.