Worried About Nexus, IMA Bans Sponsorship Of Medical Conferences By Pharma And Device Companies

A recent Outlook cover story had exposed how companies ensure that knowledge transaction in continued medical education is limited to what they would like the doctors to know.

Outlook Web Bureau

Updated on: 4 May 2017 2:19 pm

The Indian Medical Association (IMA), a national organisation of Doctors, has taken a serious note on the allegations about pharmaceutical companies and the device industry putting undue influence on the medical conferences in the country and banned their sponsorship for such events.

The decision comes amid reports that drugs and devices of sponsors are being promoted at medical conferences. The apex body has asked doctors to pool in money for the conference, and keep it low-key to save money.

The Times of India reported that the association has asked its state and local units to raise funds from member doctors to organise conferences and functions instead of seeking sponsorship. The decision was taken at a meeting on Wednesday.

A recent Outlook cover story had chronicled the nexus between vaccine companies and the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) which is almost exclusively funded by such companies ("Vaccines vendors greed gone viral", dated April 6 2017).

While the IAP earned Rs 5.5 crores in 2016 as funding from such companies, it did not show any profits for the year. These funds are used by companies as leverage for doctors to recommended new vaccines in their annual immunization schedule which is used by all pediatricians in the country.

A huge amount of the funds are also directed towards CME's (continued medical education) which only relate to topics and vaccines which are manufactured by such companies. More often than not, the doctors chairing such CME's are also funded by such companies, resulting in a knowledge transaction that is limited to what the company would like the doctors to know.

"If doctors want to meet at a five-star hotel, they should be willing to pay for it. I would prefer that meetings are kept low key and the focus is on academic/educational update," Dr K K Aggarwal, national president of IMA, told the TOI.

He added that IMA had also decided that Continuing Medical Education (CME) programmes, organised by their units, should have a disclaimer that the update was organised purely on evidence-based medicine.