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For Bribes, Doctors Will Prescribe You Anything

velu

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velu Grand Master

velu

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New Delhi: Why do doctors prescribe a branded drug when its generic variant is easily available at a fraction of the price. The Medical Council of India - which is responsible for monitoring doctors and medical practices - says doctors, hospitals and medical colleges should prescribe generic medicines as far as possible. But NDTV's hidden camera expose proves that doctors blatantly violate this guideline in exchange for kickbacks from pharmaceutical firms. The NDTV team went undercover, posing as medical representatives of a new pharma company in Delhi. Dr J N Saxena is a general practitioner whose clinic is located in central Delhi. Certificates of recognition and repute pinned to his walls profess his credibility. At our first meeting with him, we asked him to prescribe drugs made by the imaginary pharma company we said we represent. We offered him 20% of the sales that he would drive. Dr Saxena readily agreed and asked for a week in which he said he would begin prescribing our drugs. At the next meeting, while we sat in his waiting room, Dr Saxena met a female patient who complained of low blood pressure. He chose not to give her a medicine that would help; instead, he gave her a vitamin - manufactured by our company - that would ensure she kept coming back. One capsule everyday for a month. Before we left his clinic, we handed him Rs. 5,000 in cash. As he accepted the money, he reassured us, "You don't worry, you have my number now, any month you can't meet with your target, just let me know, I will get the job done. Even if you inform me two days in advance, I will get it done." R1_OoVLnlNo Dr R K Lalwani a diabetes specialist based in South Delhi was equally amenable. Given that he has a wide range of pharma firms to collaborate with, he said, he wanted a top-of-the-line digital camera worth 1.5 lakhs in return for choosing us. He had no questions about what sort of drugs we could offer. All he wanted was a summation of the sales target how this deal id going to cracked and a meeting with a senior manager from our firm to discuss the deal. A few days later, we returned to his clinic with brochures of digital cameras for his review. He once again stressed that he was not short on offers. "I am very choosy. There are lots of brands in the market and people keep roaming around with brochures of Honda City. They came to me too, but I said I only drive a BMW." We ended the meeting with him saying we would consult our senior management about his demand for the digital camera. The next doctor we met made it very clear that he was open to prescribing our brand - he was not shy about stating his terms. Keep in mind that these doctors have never met us before - so there is a certain amount of brazenness in discussing graft without concerns about consequences. "See I don't take small gifts, but yes my son needs an iPad," said Dr Ravinder Kumar, a general practitioner of Central Delhi. When asked for details, he called his son, took down the order and then recited it to us. "OK, he needs an iPad-mini, with retina display and 32GB." None of this is unusual, said the medical representation of a leading pharma company who spoke with us on the condition of anonymity. "Doctors do not prescribe any particular drug until there is an incentive. That could be anything from an air conditioner to a car, from sponsoring family holidays to jewelry and even prostitutes," he alleged. "There are doctors who are ready to prescribe drugs of the company's choice without even understanding the composition," he added. Reacting to NDTV's expose, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, who is also an ENT doctor, tweeted, "One more sting operation on doctors exposing greed and readiness to shed professional ethics. I again appeal to brother doctors--show spine!" Ajay Kumar, of the Ethics Committee of the Medical Council of India said the report will be taken up when the panel meets on Wednesday.
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/caught-on-camera-for-bribes-doctors-will-prescribe-you-anything-574334
urbestfriend Rising Star

urbestfriend

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No surprises there! Thee greedy ****ers will prescribe even poison to the patients in exchange of a gift. Pharma is a big money making industry, there is no price regulation as such..Its just too scary!

gslv Newbie

gslv

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No wonder people from lower to middle income group goes straight to chemists for medicines.They advice you best medicines without any fees
Let me tell you one incident the so called brain of pharmacists. I was doing final year of my MBBS. i was sitting near my professor of medicine to learn how he prescribes medicine. a patient who had recurrent seizures came to the OPD. sir ordered a CT scan to diagnose. a parasite was found lodging in the Brain . the disease is called Neurocysticercosis . after diagnosing the disease he gave albendazole under the cover of Glucocorticoid for 30 days. same albendazole is given for intestinal worm a single dose. he then bought the drug and without coming to verify the drugs went to home and started taking them. after 2 months the patient again returned .we were perplexed. while assessing the matter what came out was the medicine store advised Him that the doctor has over prescribed the drug , and told him to take a single dose of the drug. many diseases have delayed presentation in India due to this pharmacist business . On the topic very unfortunate incident.
Precambrian Newbie

Precambrian

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I was feeling really lazy to go to office the other day. As with many others, I too booked a sick leave But this time, I wanted to do different, i'd also provide a medical certificate, even though there is no compulsion to do so. So I went to this "renowned" hospital - got a consultation with their "best" general physician. Of course the entire thing is covered under Insurance so it doesnt really matter. I go in, explain that I've been suffering from everything short of a brain Haemorraghe in the last one week. The doctor asks me to lie down - does all tests on me and ask me to get a scan (no less!) and a thorough blood check. The scan results come quickly, based on which I am diagnosed as suffering from severe lung infection (!!!!!) and I am prescribed some 6-7 sets of medicines and asked to take a follow up. I don't flinch, as this is all covered under insurance - I calmly ask him for a medical certificate, which he gives without any problem - essentially advising me bed rest for 2-3 days. I buy the medicines - covered under insurance of course and head home. At home I calmly dispose of all these in my waste basket, save a cough syrup. And I indulge in a couple of pegs of Black Label whisky. I am sure the Doctor too enjoyed his evening rum that day - as he would've certainly taken a good stride towards meeting "goals" for certain medicines, I don't complain - I get a top notch credible medical certificate which allows me to take multiple days leaves. Such a win-win situation.

Crookbond Newbie

Crookbond

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I have a simple rule to follow: A doctor who does not explain the diagnosis and the treatment to the patient is not trustworthy.
:two_thumbs_up: I have NEVER understood the reluctance of doctors to explain their prescription. Is it that difficult? You have a diagnosis/prognosis in mind, just explain it - after all that is what I pay you for.
velu Grand Master

velu

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sometime back my friend was it by an auto and he fell down .. took him to manipal and they asked him to for shoulder surgery .. his father law is a Doctor and he told him to take rest for a week and swelling will be ok .. :rofl:

yoda Newbie

yoda

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I was feeling really lazy to go to office the other day. As with many others, I too booked a sick leave But this time, I wanted to do different, i'd also provide a medical certificate, even though there is no compulsion to do so. So I went to this "renowned" hospital - got a consultation with their "best" general physician. Of course the entire thing is covered under Insurance so it doesnt really matter. I go in, explain that I've been suffering from everything short of a brain Haemorraghe in the last one week. The doctor asks me to lie down - does all tests on me and ask me to get a scan (no less!) and a thorough blood check. The scan results come quickly, based on which I am diagnosed as suffering from severe lung infection (!!!!!) and I am prescribed some 6-7 sets of medicines and asked to take a follow up. I don't flinch, as this is all covered under insurance - I calmly ask him for a medical certificate, which he gives without any problem - essentially advising me bed rest for 2-3 days. I buy the medicines - covered under insurance of course and head home. At home I calmly dispose of all these in my waste basket, save a cough syrup. And I indulge in a couple of pegs of Black Label whisky. I am sure the Doctor too enjoyed his evening rum that day - as he would've certainly taken a good stride towards meeting "goals" for certain medicines, I don't complain - I get a top notch credible medical certificate which allows me to take multiple days leaves. Such a win-win situation.
Hmm, so you don't find it troublesome that you had to throw away so many medicines un-used? What was the downside of not picking up those meds even if prescribed by your doc?
EnterTheVoid Mentor

EnterTheVoid

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I was feeling really lazy to go to office the other day. As with many others, I too booked a sick leave But this time, I wanted to do different, i'd also provide a medical certificate, even though there is no compulsion to do so. So I went to this "renowned" hospital - got a consultation with their "best" general physician. Of course the entire thing is covered under Insurance so it doesnt really matter. I go in, explain that I've been suffering from everything short of a brain Haemorraghe in the last one week. The doctor asks me to lie down - does all tests on me and ask me to get a scan (no less!) and a thorough blood check. The scan results come quickly, based on which I am diagnosed as suffering from severe lung infection (!!!!!) and I am prescribed some 6-7 sets of medicines and asked to take a follow up. I don't flinch, as this is all covered under insurance - I calmly ask him for a medical certificate, which he gives without any problem - essentially advising me bed rest for 2-3 days. I buy the medicines - covered under insurance of course and head home. At home I calmly dispose of all these in my waste basket, save a cough syrup. And I indulge in a couple of pegs of Black Label whisky. I am sure the Doctor too enjoyed his evening rum that day - as he would've certainly taken a good stride towards meeting "goals" for certain medicines, I don't complain - I get a top notch credible medical certificate which allows me to take multiple days leaves. Such a win-win situation.
I am sure your unsolicited medical advice contains more value than those of a highly trained doctor.
jusarrived Community Regular

jusarrived

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its also common these days that they ask if your working for a company , which implies that you have insurance then he can easily tell you a most expensive treatment . Couple of months back had lower back ache which was unbearable for 30mins ..I rushed to the hospial & found out it was Kidney stone . This guy was hell bent on doing a laser treatment . He could not believe that I wanted to pass it , I really had to convince him to give me just medecine for few days & I would go for laser if it reoccurs . The stone was only 2.5 mm , having experience of passing a 9.5 mm stone ( Very painful & was not planned then ) I dint want to go for surgery just cos the Insurance guys where paying for it . Like some one said the reluctance to give info or explain is very pissing off . I passed the stone on 2 days , took one pain killer when I had pain and had lots of water with some tonic he gave .

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