These are some of the questions, which the Medical Council of India (MCI) are trying to grapple with in order to define what constitutes an acceptable “gift” for doctors from the health care industry.
And the council has realised that it has stepped on a minefield as there is neither any clear definition nor any unanimity among the doctors on what is acceptable and what not.
The December 10 MCI notification forbids all medical practitioners to receive any gift from any drug and health care industry. “Since there is no mention of any monetary ceiling, even small value items are not permitted,” said CM Gulhati, a former World Health Organisation consultant on drugs.
But some of the doctors attending a recent consultation meeting in the capital have a different idea. “What’s wrong if somebody gifts you medical journals and text books,” said V S Venkatesh, president of Bourn Hall Clinic in Gurgaon.
Many doctors have made it clear that though the MCI’s efforts to rein in on corrupt doctors is welcome, the notification itself may not serve the real purpose.
Gifts remain the most contentious area. “Its value can range from Rs 10 to Rs 10,000, and there are always ways to veer around the cut-off mark. Suppose I fix the ceiling at Rs 1000, but then a company can give gifts worth Rs 999 every week. Thats why an exercise is currently going on to define what constitutes a gift,” said MCI president Ketan Desai.
Desai apprehends once there is a codified definition of gifts, the pharmaceutical and medical device industry may resort to “paying the doctors in cash instead of cheque”, which will be difficult to trace.
Desai admitted that he had not consulted the pharma industry on this issue because the industry is outside MCI’s jurisdiction.
But he wrote to the Union Health Ministry urging the government to take steps to bring the drug companies onboard to have a fair medical system in place.