The Indian Medical Association has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding clarification over his purported claim that pharmaceutical companies bribe doctors with women, foreign trips and gadgets.
PM Modi, on 1 January, met the chiefs of top pharma companies, hospitals, and medical device makers and warned them to adhere strictly to marketing ethics, ThePrint reported.
This came after an independent report triggered concerns that medical representatives, who pitch products directly to doctors, bribe them with the aforementioned.
IMA's letter, titled 'Deny or Prove or Apologise' asks the government to release the “details of the companies involved in supplying women to doctors”.
“Moreover, it is imperative on PMO now to release the names of doctors convicted or otherwise as well. The state medical councils should initiate appropriate action if the doctors have been convicted on moral turpitude,” it says.
The letter goes on to say the government is using this as an excuse to “divert the attention from unresolved issues regarding the health of the people and medical education of the country”.
It also calls the Ayushman Bharat scheme a "non starter" and criticises the government for the state of medicine in India, "There is no new investment either in infrastructure or in Human Resources. Violence on Doctors and Hospitals has increased... Even ambulances are not safe."
Read the letter here:
The Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance has, however, denied media reports that PM Modi made the purported remarks warning firms against bribery, reports ANI.
(With inputs from ThePrint)
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