Docs take gifts from pharma firms, jailed

NEW DELHI: Doctors accepting gifts or commissions from the pharmaceutical companies, beware. For the first time the Medical Council of India (MCI) has suspended two doctors after they were found to be accepting commissions from pharmaceutical companies. The code of ethics for doctors restricts them from accepting gifts from the companies. “While it was notified long back, this is for the first time that such a stringent action has been taken against the doctors,” said a health ministry official. The MCI swung into action last week after the ministry sent a strongly-worded letter to the MCI chairperson, demanding “immediate action” against three doctors who were reported to have been taking commissions from the pharma companies.