10 months on, NMC yet to act against 30 doctors for ‘sponsored’ foreign trips

The National Medical Commission (NMC) is yet to take any action against 30 doctors who accepted free trips to Monaco and Paris worth Rs 1.91 crore last year, despite the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) recommendations that action should be taken against them for violating professional misconduct.

As per rules, the NMC’s Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB), which regulates professional conduct and promotes medical ethics, needs to dispose of the complaint within six months.

However, in the case of the 30 doctors, who, according to the government-appointed committee, took luxurious trips under the guise of attending medical conferences, neither their names have been revealed nor has any action been taken.

It has been ten months since the committee under the DoP reprimanded AbbVie Healthcare India Pvt. Ltd. for violating the Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP) by sponsoring trips to Monaco and Paris for 30 doctors. According to the norms, a doctor’s license can be suspended if they are found guilty of violating the code of ethics.

On December 23, 2004, the apex committee for Pharma Marketing Practices, Department of Pharmaceuticals, under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, had directed NMC to take action against the “30 offending HCPs (healthcare professionals) as per Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002.”

Speaking with this paper, RTI activist, Dr KV Babu said, “The MCI ethics regulations 8.7(ii) stipulates that once the EMRB receives the complaint, it should be decided within a period of six months.”

“However, in the case of the thirty doctors, where there is an allegation of professional misconduct, EMRB is still sitting over it. This is despite the apex committee for pharma marketing practices recommending NMC to take action against the thirty doctors last year on December 23 for violation of ethics regulations,” the Kerala-based ophthalmologist said.

In its order, the committee also directed the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to evaluate the tax liability of AbbVie Healthcare India Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of AbbVie Inc., and take action in accordance with the Income Tax Act, 1961.