The Medical Council of India (MCI) has suspended the licence of 11 doctors for accepting a pharmaceutical company-sponsored foreign trip, which violated the council’s code of professional conduct and ethics.





The MCI issued the order last week after almost three years of investigation during which the accused doctors – all from Madhya Pradesh – were given opportunities to present their case.



The accused company, Intas Pharma, Ahmedabad, was also heard by the MCI probe panel.

The Ethics Committee of the MCI decided to suspend the guilty for six months. A letter would be issued to the Drug Controller General of India to warn Intas Pharma and seek appropriate action against the company, the MCI order said.



This is one of the rare instances of doctors being punished for accepting drug firms’ jaunt offer. Industry insiders said the quid-pro-quo arrangement would have increased prescription of Intas-made medicines.



Swasthya Adhikar Manch, a non-governmental organisation, had filed a complaint against 12 doctors, who travelled to London. It emerged that one of the 12 accused did not travel, while the rest were found guilty.



As per the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002, doctors are barred from accepting such offers.



“All doctors, except one, named in the complaint had gone to the foreign trip sponsored and arranged by the pharma company. This is against clause 6.8 1B of MCI Ethics Regulation and therefore, may have found guilty of misconduct,” said the order. The ethics committee’s decision was approved by the MCI executive committee.



The clause 6.8 of the MCI ethics regulation bars the doctors from accepting gifts, travel and hospitality from pharmaceutical firms in any form.



The doctors are from Indore, Gwalior, Jabalpur and Ujjain. Since all the accused were from Madhya Pradesh, the MCI had asked the registrar of MP Medical Council in Bhopal for details but has not received any response till date.



Besides London, the doctors also visited Scotland, sources close to the investigation told Deccan Herald.



The MCI order, however, did not mention the Scotland leg of the travel.