Pharmaceuticals companies and doctors - Early Times Newspaper Jammu Kashmir

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Pharmaceuticals companies and doctors

A nexus between

R.B. Suri

4/26/2018 10:04:37 PM

The Prime Minister of the country Narender Modi two days back on the foreign soil has made the remarks that there exists a "NEXUS" between the Doctors and the Pharmaceutical companies in the country and abroad as well. I also as a good citizen of the country regularly watching the things minutely which are going detrimental to the interests of the country in general and its citizens in particular based upon which, I wrote an article under the caption-"NO GOVERNMENT CONTROL OVER" SALES OF MEDICINES AND SURGICAL ITEMS" which was published in this esteemed paper on February 16 this year. This paper is seriously concerning with all of these matters and especially projecting the problems regularly being faced by the people at large in the right perspective.
Pertinent to mention that that the remarks made by the Prime Minister of India at London gave the weight age to the problems on this score, which, I tried my level best to project the same in my published article on the issue involved. It is worth mentioning here that the Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal has twitted in opposing the remarks of the Prime Minister Narender Modi. Not only this the Secretary General of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) Dr. R.N Tandon has also expressed his disappointment / displeasure over the remarks made by the Prime Minister Modi at London in which he has allegedly highlighted made about the 'NEXUS' existing between the Doctors and the Pharma / Drug Manufacturering companies operating inside the country and abroad as well. Prime Minister Modi further stated at London that Doctors attend the various conferences abroad to promote their companies in order to increase their sales turn over. At the same time, their associations / medical bodies have shot a letter to the Indian Prime Minister Modi opposing therein the remarks made by him in this regard. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also jumped into the fray and has tweeted a day back in the same fashion which was not expected at all from him as he is the reasonable and upright person in the Indian politics. I remained his supporter through out since he has made a dent into the Indian politics and particularly in the national capital where the politicians in power operate and govern the country with their great wisdom. In Delhi, he gave the big jolt to BJP thereby winning the 67 Assembly seats out the total 70 in the last assembly elections held in 2015 as he possessed all the qualities and the high caliber also.
His role in Delhi was really appreciable and the historical one. I have explained all about the remarks made by Modi and what has been twitted by Kejriwal and the reaction of the IMA Secretary General Dr. tendon in the preceding lines of this article. In the simple words, it can be said that for the sake of opposition only, Kejriwal has reacted strongly through a tweet in this regard. I oppose them in the larger interests of the countrymen who are passing their days miserably because of the poor financial health in this era of high inflation these days. Their future is very much at stake due to the 'NEXUS' existing between the Doctors and the Pharmaceutical companies in the country and abroad as well. The poor people of the country do not have the big kitty for purchasing the costly medicines for their proper medical treatments.
At the cost of the poor men of the country, the Pharmaceutical companies are minting their hard earned money and are regularly increasing their sales turn over year after year or so (in lacs of crores rupees) and are conducting / sponsoring the foreign tours of the doctors along with their families in connection with so called conferences abroad and in the country as well just to keep them in good humor. This is considered as a big tactics of these Pharmaceutical companies indeed and i.e. deplorable one as it really hit the common man. To a great extent, I am in favour of PM Modi , on this score but at the same time, theoretically he may be right but it does not serve the purpose but I am sorry to point out that the country really wants a strong action on this score, from his side to curb this menace at the earliest possible.
It is highly appreciable that due to the serious and concerted efforts of the governmental authorities in the country and the states as well, the life expectancy has been increased to the maximum extent thereby reducing the death rate. Now the human lives are being protected by the government in respect of every field of life. Widows, disabled, destitute, senior citizens, orphans, deaf and dumb feel more protected as number of schemes stand already taken up for them where under medical care, nutrition as also financial aid in cash or by credit to their respective bank accounts are being given due care and attention by the government.
All this could be possible only with the regular medical and financial assistance measures already taken up by the government for them where under medical care and nutrition as also aid in cash or by credit to their bank accounts are being provided effectively. Their complaints are being given due care and attention by the government. This could be possible only with the regular medical and financial assistance to them by the government and other NGOs working in the field. This does not mean that the open market of sales medicines should go as it is, which is at the moment without any control on it from the side of the government. To check this all non sense / menace, there is a dire need to book all the delinquent Pharmaceutical and Surgical items traders who are doing this malpractices trade under the prevailant laws of the land. They should not go scot free in accumulating the hard earned money of the poor and the down trodden towards their hefty kitty and bank accounts. The exploitation of the poor and the down trodden needs to be checked on war footings and all these malpractices are required to be made to halt at this stage only. If all this non sense practice is not checked in time, there is a threat to increase in life expectancy as also saving the precious lives of the human beings.
Pertinent to mention on this score that now a days unhealthy competition is being made by these traders in the field. To promote their sales allegdly, they have displayed huge 'Sign and Glow boards' on their shops and sales outlets in and out side of the hospitals and medical clinics with regard to granting of huge discounts on the sales of medicines and surgical items ranging from 10% to 60 % and in some case even upto70 percent. This is very strange because of the fact that the Chemists and the Druggists are not only engaged in the unhealthy business but also it appears that there is a big nexus between them and the producers and manufacturing pharmaceutical and the surgical companies spread over the length and breadth of the country. These companies are of the well repute and the substandard ones doing the said so called business of the medicines.
Statutory regulatory bodies are there like - National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority, Drug Controller of India, State Drug Controller and NPAP 'Price Checking' governmental agencies but painfully it is to point out that they are just non serious and playing the role merely as the mute spectators and it appears that they have allowed the involved traders to undergo such like activities in the sales of medicines and surgical items. This matter of the nexus between the pharmaceutical companies, wholesalers and the retailers also is being treated as the grave threat to this trade which needs to be taken care of by the government at the earliest by invoking the powers under the laws of the land. In this context, it is suggested that the government should adopt the firm policy of checking this unhealthy and dangerous business in looting the poor and down trodden. There is a conclusive evidence that the government has given these traders a free hand in looting the public at large as there is no price control over sales of medicines and surgical items which is going detrimental to the interests of poor community and society as a whole. But instead the corporate pharmaceutical sector engaged in the pharmaceutical and surgical trades are enjoying a lot and minting the hard earned money of the poor and down trodden and depressed lot due to ailments. The poor , down trodden and depressed lot are subjected under compulsions to pay the hefty costs to the doctors / surgeons in order to get rid of the medical problems. They have no other option except to come at the dictats of the doctors / surgeons as also of the pharmaceuticals manufacturing companies in the country. These pharmaceutical and surgical traders do fix the rates of the various medicines and surgical items produced and manufactured by them according to their wishes and whims (which are always on the higher side) at the cost of poor and down trodden. If the involved traders are offering so much discounts i.e. ranging from 10 to 60 percent and even 70 percent on the sales of medicines and surgical items, this means that lot of margin of profit is there in this trade which needs to be checked at the earliest, otherwise the country will be at stake in the days to come. If one goes by analyzing the present prevailing situation in context of rural / muffasil / urban areas across the country - urban people being literates do bargain with the chemists /druggists on this score whereas the rural people being not so much literates do pay the prices of the medicines / surgical items as written over there on the wrappers or the containers. Since they are not educationally not so forward, they are being exploited by these traders in the open markets across the country.
This is very bad indeed. This is happening in the length and breadth of the country but the government organizations and the other connected agencies are keeping their criminal silence over this important issue involved and the poor and down trodden are being continued to be exploited and on the contrary, the pharmaceutical / surgical items companies operating in the country are being benefitted a lot at the cost of poor and down trodden. Rich consumers of these products even don't mind to pay the printed MRP prices to the traders. Sales of medicines and the surgical items are left to the mercy of the captioned traders and the god. Our country is a developing country wherein more than 50 % of the total population of 132 crore live below the poverty line who cannot afford to spend much on these items to save themselves from various medical ailments. It is better for the State/ Central Governments to come forward without wasting any further time for putting this unfortunate situation prevailing in the country in the best interests of the poor lot. Let's hope for the best.

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