Commission Seeks Ban on Pharma Reps Meeting Doctors in Hospitals

Pharmaceutical company representatives will no longer be allowed to meet doctors directly at hospitals. Instead, they will have to inform doctors about their medicines via email. This proposal is included in the report of the Health Sector Reform Commission.

Abul Kalam Azad Majumder, the Deputy Press Secretary to the Chief Advisor of the interim government, shared this update on his Facebook account at 9:14 am on Monday.

"The Health Sector Reform Commission is expected to submit its report today. It is highly anticipated that the report will include recommendations that, if implemented, could bring about fundamental changes in the healthcare sector, benefiting the general population of Bangladesh," he wrote.

The Deputy Press Secretary added, "As far as I know, they are going to make a recommendation stating that pharmaceutical company representatives will no longer be allowed to meet doctors directly in hospitals. Instead, they will have to communicate information about their medicines via email. If implemented, this change will save doctors' time and significantly reduce issues such as bribery and gift exchanges. Additionally, it will help eliminate the practice of prescribing unnecessary medicines to please companies."

He also mentioned, "Another major reform would be requiring doctors to write the generic names of medicines in prescriptions. I hope the commission's report will include guidance on this matter as well."