TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The plan to collect and manage funds from pharmaceutical companies for doctors is an interesting idea.
However, this effort would not be effective in preventing gratification from pharmaceutical companies if not followed by law enforcement.
Collecting funds from pharmaceutical companies has recently been approved by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), the Health Ministry, the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) and the Indonesian Pharmaceutical Association (GPFI).
The funds will be used to sponsor doctors who are going to attend seminars.
Sponsorship for doctors in private hospitals will be coordinated by IDI, while sponsorship for government doctors will be managed by the Health Ministry.
It is expected that this measure can prevent direct gratification from pharmaceutical companies to the doctors.
The rampant gratification was clearly unveiled in the investigation conducted by Tempo magazine recently.
Costs needed by pharmaceutical companies to bribe the doctors is quite big, reaching 40 to 45 percent of the price of the medicines.
The dirty practice has been done for years.
14 years ago, Tempo also investigated the same phenomena with the same results.
There is no guarantee that the practice will no longer be done with this sponsorship funds collection scheme.
We have to make sure that the management of the funds be done professionally.
Doctors who receive the sponsorship funds must not be informed about the pharmaceutical companies who provide the funds. Equally, pharmaceutical companies also must not be informed about the doctors who receive the funds.
This will be difficult to be implemented indeed.
Chances are pharmaceutical companies are not willing to provide the funds unless they are informed about the doctors who will receive the funds.
The management of sponsorship funds in one scheme also does not ensure that there will be no more direct gratification to the doctors.
Without clearer regulations and firmer law enforcement, pharmaceutical companies will continue to approach and provide money to the doctors in the hope that their products are used in the prescriptions.
It is incumbent upon law enforcers, especially the KPK, to take a firm action if they want to fight against this conspiracy.
If this kind of gratification can indeed be categorized as bribery, especially among government doctors, law enforcement must be done against them.
Meanwhile, regulations for private doctors must be made clearer.
A firm action must also be taken against pharmaceutical companies. The government can even impose a punishment to them by revoking their licenses.
It must be admitted that doctors do need sponsorship to attend seminars and improve their competence. However, don’t all professions also need the same thing?
The doctors must not receive gratification under the pretext of improving their professional ability.
By the same token, pharmaceutical companies must not use this vague regulation to boost the selling of their products.
At the end of the day, it is the people who will bear the brunt because the prices of medicines will get higher.
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