Medical ethics and business
Many patients are aware of the rapid cutthroat commercialisation and its presence in the medical profession. Now medical ethics has been trampled down by commercialisation and corruption which has the doctors as its silent beneficiary! It all started rather innocently; with drug houses giving all expenses paid trips to influential doctors for trips overseas (or shopping holidays?) presumably to attend conferences and seminars. The idea behind or the smokescreen was to gather knowledge! The trend has now gone much further!
Now, cuts (or percentages) are being paid in cash or kind to doctors by drug manufacturers on the basis of whose drug is prescribed! Medical representatives of drug companies keep track of all drugs prescribed. And even free samples offered to physicians find their way to the medicine shops! To push sales, the competing drug manufacturers under the head of selling expenses, push their sales by keeping both the doctors and the sales representatives happy in more ways than imagined! Of course the lion's share is for the prescribing physician!
There is no monitoring or surveillance or any investigation on these unethical and corrupt practices which are no different from bribery! Many patients are aware of this, but keep the knowledge to themselves, as they are totally dependent on their physicians for their treatment and health.
It is a quiet but well organised circle of non-ethical cash (also kind) flow, with no remedy in sight! If this practice is stopped, drug prices can be reduced by at least ten percent if not more! Medical ethics today is just words in the text, a minor part of medical education that can be easily ignored!
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