The study examines the attitudes among physicians regarding acceptance of gifts, sponsorships, and drug samples in response to marketing efforts of pharmaceutical companies in India. The research also attempts to study physicians’ perceptions of the Medical Council of India (MCI) guidelines on the code of conduct for pharmaceutical marketing practices and the influence of these guidelines on physicians’ actions. A structured questionnaire was developed for collecting primary data regarding exposure of physicians to promotional tools and physicians’ attitudes and practices with (...) regard to various professional ethical issues. One thousand physicians from private and government hospitals located in a metropolitan area were approached personally or through email for getting the questionnaire filled. A total of 189 completed and usable questionnaires could be obtained which is a response rate of approximately 20 %. Respondents in the study indicate being offered samples, sponsorship, and gifts by pharmaceutical companies with a frequency of at least once a month. Thus, many pharmaceutical firms are not following the code of conduct issued by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Govt. of India. Further, though almost all physicians report being aware of the guidelines issued by the MCI, yet as many as 69 % of the sample admitted to be accepting gifts and sponsorships offered by the pharmaceutical firms. Educational programs were found to be influencing physician prescription behavior to a greater extent when compared with gifts. Frequency of offers made for gifts and sponsorships were found to be dependent upon physicians’ practice (number of prescriptions written) and the type of hospital they are associated with (private or government). The study focuses on sensitive yet critical ethical issues related to the promotional practices of pharmaceutical firms in India and physicians’ responses with regard to these promotional practices in the context of the guidelines of the Medical Council of India and the Department of Pharmaceuticals. (shrink)

Pharmaceutical companies employ various techniques to promote their drugs to the physicians. Some of these techniques are purely informational like advertisements in medical journals and detailing by medical representatives, but some other techniques aim to induce the physicians to prescribe particular drugs by offering them financial incentives like gifts, sponsorship of visits to attend educational conferences, funding of research, etc. The latter category of promotional techniques may unduly influence the prescribing behavior of physicians leading to irrational prescription of drugs that (...) are not in the best interests of the patient. Given the potential of these techniques to cause harm to patients, efforts have been made to regulate it in India as well as other countries. In India, the regulations issued by the Medical Council of India regulate the conduct of physicians in their relationship with the pharmaceutical industry; however, they are ambiguous, non-comprehensive, and not enforced properly. The pharmaceutical companies, on the other hand, are subject only to self-regulatory codes issued by the pharmaceutical associations and by the government that lack teeth. These regulatory measures have not been sufficient in curbing the undue influence of the promotional techniques on physicians’ prescribing behavior, and thus, there is a need to overhaul the regulatory framework in India by taking guidance from other countries. However, ultimately, it is the reflection by the pharmaceutical companies and especially the physicians on their ethical duties and adherence to them that will result in ethically appropriate prescription of drugs. (shrink)