The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has expressed concern over the regulations which bar doctors from attending conferences sponsored by pharma companies saying such a prohibition warrants reconsideration.
In a letter to Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, the IMA demanded that associations and organisations should be exempted from the purview of NMC regulations.
The IMA has already expressed its displeasure at the NMC regulation directing the doctors to prescribe generic medicine or face action in case they are found recommending the branded drugs.
Members of the Indian Medical Association and Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance on Monday had met Mandaviya and expressed their concerns over the NMC regulations.
The National Medical Commission (NMC) in its ‘Regulations relating to Professional Conduct of Registered Medical Practitioners’ stated that all doctors must prescribe generic drugs, failing which they will be penalised and their licence to practice may also be suspended for a period.
“It is a matter of concern for IMA since this directly impacts patient care and safety. It is believed that less than 1 percent of the generic drugs manufactured in India are tested for quality. Patient care and safety are nonnegotiable for both, the government and the medical profession,” the IMA said in its letter.
The quality assurance mechanism in our country is very weak, the association pointed out. India has more than 3 lakh batches of 70,000 drug formulations, the quality assurance mechanism in our country can ascertain the quality control of only 15753 drugs annually, it said.”In 2023, only around 12000 tests were conducted by CDSCO and State Drug Control Department together. If we consider one sample from each batch tested, the minimum required number of tests was around 3,00,000,” the IMA stated.
According to the NMC regulations, “Registered medical practitioners and their families must not receive any gifts, travel facilities, hospitality, cash or monetary grants... Access to entertainment or recreation from pharmaceutical companies or their representatives, commercial healthcare establishments, medical device companies, or corporate hospitals under any pretext.”
Also, registered medical practitioners should not be involved in any third-party educational activity like seminar, workshop, symposia and conference, which involves direct or indirect sponsorships from pharmaceutical companies or the allied health sector, the regulations stated.
On this, the IMA said that rather than assuming that sponsorships affect the educational process, the focus should be on ensuring transparent and unbiased presentations, enabling healthcare professionals to make informed judgments.
On the NMC stating that within 3 years from the date of publication of these regulations, the registered medical practitioners shall ensure fully digitised records, abiding by the provisions of the IT Act, data protection and privacy laws, the IMA said that “though the idea of digitalisation is welcome, mandating that this should be done in 3 years is unrealistic”.