IMA Endorsements Trigger MCI Ire

The Medical Council of India (MCI) has come down heavily on the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and other doctors who endorse various products by saying that such a practice is unethical.

Various members of the IMA have endorsed a number of products including Pepsi and Dabur in 2009 in return for money with reports suggesting that the IMA receives around Rs 52 lakh per year from Pepsi while Dabur is paying around Rs 23 lakh per year.

However the endorsements have attracted the ire of ethics committee of the MCI which said that such endorsements by medical organizations are unethical and suggested some form of action to be taken against the professionals with the IMA who have inked the deals.

"This practice is unethical and unacceptable. Action must be taken against the doctors behind such endorsements. We can't act against the IMA as it is an institution, but individual doctors must be acted against", MCI board member Dr Ranjit Roy Choudhary said.




Source: Medindia