MUMBAI, July 5: The next time your doctor recommends a particular brand of medicine, it may not be only your health problems he is addressing. He may have just ``prescribed his way'' to owning a brand new Cielo or mobile or even a fully sponsored overseas jaunt. This, according to industry sources, is the most effective marketing mantra used by drug companies to generate prescriptions. The freebies include cars, refrigerators, mobile phones, fully-paid overseas travel opportunities (including sponsored medical meets), air-conditioners - the shopping list could go on.Here's how the systems operates: The company medical representative introduces new drugs to the doctor and indicates its ``prescription value.'' Details of the number of prescriptions made (ie: the number of strips/bottles etc sold in a particular area) are available with the retail chemists. These figures are communicated to the company's representatives at their regular visits. The company rewards these doctors.
Industry officials say thata Mumbai-based drug firm offered Ray-Ban sun glasses to doctors right at the launch function for its new ceftriaxone brand while other medical experts took home CD players and even refrigerators of their choice on other such occasions.
Another set of doctors in Ahmedabad, rewarded for their good prescription levels, drove back in a Maruti 800. Marketing personnel at drug firms, however, did not wish to go on record on the issue.
Though these practices are obviously not indulged in by the entire medical profession or all drug firms, sources say that what is disturbing is that in extreme cases it could lead to over-prescription. ``If this malaise is not controlled at the right stage, we could be playing with the patient's health in the long run,'' they said.Well-known doctor and key member at the Association for Consumers' Action on Safety and Health (ACASH) Arun Bal said that the code of ethics prescribed by the International Pharmaceutical Association restricts such goodies to low value items like pens,writing pads etc and the sponsorship of events (without advertising). ``But the code just exists on paper and there certainly is a need for stricter regulation,'' he said.Moreover, analysts say, that another ``side-effect'' of this ailment could even be that the prescription is often incentive-induced, thereby indirectly facilitating the sale of brands with the best freebie attached rather than based on factors like quality, price etc.
``This in turn, forces competing drug firms to better their offers. Hence, while the drug firms improve their bottomlines and doctors turn wealthier, it is the patient who's caught in the cross-fire,'' an analyst said. So, while industry and the medical profession may prefer to pass the buck, for the unsuspecting patient, there appears to be no immediate cure for this ailment.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
