New voluntary code against freebies to doctors may not work

Starting January 1, the Department of Pharmaceuticals is implementing a "Uniform Code of Pharmaceuticals Marketing Practices" that aims to stop the practice of giving freebies to doctors to promote sale of medicines. But this is a voluntary code and doctors are divided on how effective it can be.

Many, that Business Today spoke to, felt that pharmaceutical companies in India will find a way to get around the code. "This is a move in the right direction and it would be ideal if it can be checked through a voluntary code but we do not live in an ideal world and therefore I expect this to be made a statutory code," says Dr N Krishna Reddy, a cardiologist and Vice Chairman of Care Hospitals in Hyderabad.

Others, however, feel this is a code that will work best only when imposed voluntarily. "It is a move in the right direction but we do not have adequate systems in place to monitor and enforce this effectively. Therefore, a voluntary code may only be the option at the moment," says oncologist Radheshyam Naik at HealthCare Global, a Bangalore-based hospital chain that specialises in cancer care.