RATIONALITY  OF  DOCTORS ORGANISING /SPEAKING IN MEDICAL  CONFERENCES SPONSORED BY PHARMA COMPANIES

Prof.Dr.Dram,profdrram@gmail.com,Gastro Intestinal,Liver Hiv,Hepatitis and sex diseases expert 7838059592,943414355    www.blogspot.com/drnakipuria     www.bhartiyanews24x7.com    www.bhartiyanews24x7.net  

Medical conferences are generally defined as scheduled events at which practicing physicians themselves present to their colleagues interesting clinical cases, share their new experiences and learn about the latest achievements of medical science and practice. The value of a clinical conference is thought to be in direct communication between physicians, in analysis of topical issues in a given specialty with the aim to improve the quality of care as a measure of continue health education involving medical students too.Beside this,in may conferences too,public participation is also organised for  imparting health education and awareness among people on very common problems and during emergency outbreak of some epidemic disease or natural or unnatural disasters.

  Speakers based on their own observations and studies reveal the most urgent problems, analyze results and offer potential decisions to their colleagues interested in the same questions. The event format may be different workshops, highly specialized sections, round tables and seminars with participation of the leading specialists in a given field. These conferences are generally organised by the Ministries and Departments of Health, by leading research and/or medical educational institutions in the field, by recognised medical centres and other Medical or General  institutions.Organising such conferences,scientific meet,seminars or workshop where either doctors themselves pay or their institute or government,association pay is totally a legal phenomena here no direct or indirect endoresement of a product either medicine or reagent or equipment of a company is done and even a scientific device is promoted then no direct benefit to a company can be established.Everything should be transparent and subjected to legal or public scrutiny.

      Recently pharmaceutical companies got actively involved in medical events, acting as sponsors of various scientific conferences and congresses, however threatening the mission of these events.Here starting from simple advertisement of their product or simple best wishes in souvenirs published during these conferences for some  financial help,now one or multiple pharma companies caputre and seize their  whole programme in their hand.They organise it in five star hotels /motels/clubs/sea beeches/tourist spots/hill stations with full luxury here Doctors from different parts of countries are invited,provided their travel,staying ,amusement,side seen expenses and costly gifts to doctors alone or with their family so that these doctors will write their product or endorse in their hospitals or in centres for treatment or research or any other purpose and company will earn hugh money.This is considered  indirect bribing the doctors.Pharma companies are so much associated with Doctors that starting from pure Scientific conferences to annual meet  of different associations of Doctors as specialist or general to their picnic or annual alumunni meet or day to day personal celebrations of Doctors are funded by such companies and it is very open practice now a days among doctors throuh out the world.

          Such direct or indirect hidden sponsorship of Doctors's event with pharma companies is completely illegal and in no way Doctors alone or their associations can promote sell of a product of company either directly writing prescriptions of their product or through their journals,souvenirs or posters,banners or different stalls in the conferences or seminars or workshop or simple medical talk.

 Doctors can well discuss and promote the generic or chemical name  of the medicine and their advantage but  accepting some gifts or favours as sponsoring lunch/dinner in hospital or clinic from Medical representative ,such indirect associations of doctors with pharma companies in above congregations or conferences where the promotion of product can be established by some one is an illegal work.Even some machine or reagents purchased in any department associated with Doctors on the pretext of such sponsorship in such programmes either attended by them or their colleagues will be a punishable act if revealed by any future scrutiny.Such rule is applicable to Doctors through out the world but inspite of strict law,few punishments by court or their registering medical councils or legal bodies,such deterrence such practice of organising conferences, seminars, symposium, scientific meet or workshop is going smoothy throughout the wrold among Doctors.All ethics and laws are forgotten by such learned persons or their big associations before money.

           Such pharma companies endorsement and sponsorship  brings up some uneasy questions: who are the medical conferences for? Who is in charge of setting the conference agenda? Do they contribute to evidence-based medicine; do they contribute to better health?  Unfortunately, there is a trend to duplication or multiplication of conferences: various agencies and departments deliver the same conferences, presentations at which are often pre-arranged by pharmaceutical companies and do not have clear scientific novelty, while the conferences themselves have largely transformed into advertising of new pharmaceuticals or new technologies . Pharmaceutical corporations sponsor invited speakers paying for their trips and paying honoraria, organising cocktail parties as part of medical activities. With the help of leading experts with impressive titles serving as speakers at the conferences, pharmaceutical companies are trying to be as close as possible to routine practice of prescribing of certain drugs, manipulating evidence, controlling scientific societies as well as the process of clinical guideline development and publication of research results .The degree of expert involvement depends on their level of influence.

For Indian Doctors,Regulation 6.8 of MCI Code of Ethics Regulations has laid down a Code of conduct for doctors in their relationship with pharmaceutical and allied health sector industry, which the medical practitioner is required to follow and adhere to the stipulations therein. It states as follows:

“g) Affiliation: A medical practitioner may work for pharmaceutical and allied healthcare industries in advisory capacities, as consultants, as researchers, as treating doctors or in any other professional capacity. In doing so, a medical practitioner shall always:

Ensure that his professional integrity and freedom are maintained.
Ensure that patient’s interests are not compromised in any way.
Ensure that such affiliations are within the law.
Ensure that such affiliations / employments are fully transparent and disclosed.”
     Not doing so, may result in “First time censure, and thereafter removal of name from Indian Medical Register or State Medical Register for a period depending upon the violation of the clause”.