(Video) Rajya Sabha TV (RSTV) The Big Picture: Pharmaceutical Marketing Malpractices

Topic: Pharmaceutical Marketing Malpractices

Guest:

Navdeep Rinwa, (Joint Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers)
B.K. Gupta, (Vice-President, IDMA, Northern Region)
Dr. Y. K. Gupta, (President, AIIMS, Bhopal)
Aditi Tandon, (Special Correspondent, The Tribune)

Topic Description:

A recent report by a public health group on pharmaceutical marketing practices has revealed widespread use of bribes and inducement by Pharma companies to the doctors in order to increase the sale of their products. For doctors the Medical Council of India has a code of ethics which bars them from accepting any gifts, cash, travel facilities or hospitality from Pharma companies. However for the pharmaceutical companies there is a voluntary code known as Uniform Code of Pharmaceutical marketing practices or UCPMP which experts says is a not a very effective mechanism to check the prevailing malpractices. So what is the best way to tackle this issue.