A top functionary of a state medical council has sought intervention of parliamentarians to tackle the issues of overcharging of patients by hospitals, inflated drug prices and corruption in the health care sector.
Punjab Medical Council President G S Grewal, in an open letter to Members of Parliament, has cited multiple concerns relating to corruption and ethics in medical practice, including bribing of doctors by pharmaceutical companies.
"Independent estimates suggest that the pharmaceutical and allied sector spends at least 25 per cent of its profits on bribing and alluring the doctors in different ways to indulge in malpractices. No pharma ethics are in place, leave aside punishment to pharma companies.
"The malpractices include highly inflated pricing of medicines to the extent of 500 to 600 per cent... For example, a strip of tablets with Rs 100 MRP written on it, in most of the cases, actually does not even cost Rs 3," he said in his letter.
Besides, private diagnostic centres pay as much as 50 per cent of the fees charged from a patient as commission to the doctor who made the reference.
Grewal has also written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, highlighting the corruption in the medical profession and urged him to bring in a strong law with strict implementation to curb the menace.
"...If proper measures are taken to control the medical and pharma corruption and unethical practices, lakhs of crores of rupees of the poor patients will be saved," he said.
Noting that there is no regulatory regulatory body for paramedics in the country, he said health standards cannot be maintained without standard paramedic training and education.
"Same is true for standards of nursing," he said.
"I hope you will rise to the occasion and do something which will directly help the sick and students studying in medical colleges," he wrote in the letter to the MPs.
