Last Updated: August 23, 2022, 13:47 IST
The next hearing on the matter is scheduled for September 29.
Supreme Court has asked the central government to reply to this petition.
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court to monitor and fix the accountability over the associations of doctors and pharma officials. The PIL has been filed by the Federation of Medical and Sales Representative Association of India following the recent Dolo 650 medicine controversy. As per the petitioner, the central government should fix accountability on the gifts distributed by pharmaceutical companies to doctors.
The petition comes after the Supreme Court was recently informed that pharmaceutical companies offered gifts worth crores to doctors to suggest Dolo 650 to patients. The Federation of Medical and Sales Representative Association of India, in their petition, called it an unethical practice. The organisation alleged that overprescribing Dolo 650 will hike its price hence making it unaffordable for the common man.
Sources in the government suggest that the Union Health Ministry is considering bringing these associations under their ambit to check for any irregularities. The Supreme Court has asked the central government to reply to this petition. The next hearing on the matter is scheduled for September 29.
Commenting on this development, the Medical Council of India said, “They have their prescribed codes and conduct. As per them, doctors are barred from accepting gifts, travel facilities, hospitality, and accepting cash from any other doctor in their organisation or outside it. But the code is silent on the pharmaceutical companies.”
Dolo 650 medicines are manufactured by Bengaluru-based Micro Lab Limited. This is used to treat fever. During the peak of Covid, Dolo 650 was present in abundance in the market.
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