ID :
190648
Thu, 06/23/2011 - 12:18
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/190648
The shortlink copeid
Continued crackdown required to eradicate rebating practices in pharmaceutical industry
SEOUL, June 23 (Yonhap) -- The government has conducted an intensive crackdown on rebating practices in the pharmaceutical industry, indicting 11 people, including a medical doctor who allegedly received a sizable rebate.
It is the first time that a doctor was indicted for taking rebates since the government introduced a system in November of last year to punish not only those who offer rebates but also those receiving rebates.
The health ministry conducted the probe in conjunction with related government agencies and prosecutors after securing more than 100 reports suspecting drugmakers, pharmacists and hospitals of engaging in kickback-related deals over the past few months.
According to investigators, the total sum of rebates detected in the probe amounted to billions of won, the largest amount so far. A drug distributing company head offered 900 million won as advance rebates called "landing fees" to hospitals on the condition that doctors at the hospitals should prescribe the company's drugs. The company head also distributed 290 million won in rebates to smaller hospitals and pharmacies.
An unidentified number of doctors and pharmacists were suspected of taking rebates ranging from 3.5 million won to 70 million won from another drug distributor while a chief of a pharmaceutical company was indicted for offering rebates to a total of 212 doctors in the form of commissions for conducting surveys.
The rebates have not been discontinued despite the government's tougher punishments enacted last November for those involved in such wrongdoing.
Instead, the methods of giving and taking rebates have become more cunning and covert. The practice of giving and taking so-called "landing fees," which pharmaceutical companies pay doctors or hospitals in return for writing prescriptions for their new drugs, have not been eradicated. Giving rebates to doctors in the form of paying commissions for participating in nominal surveys is a new method.
Since rebating hampers the fair trade rules and eventually increases the burden on consumers, those practices should be eradicated under any circumstance.
The government should continue to crackdown on this business malpractice until the rebating is rooted out.
Elimination of rebating practices would help enhance the production-cost structure of pharmaceutical companies and bolster research and development in the medical industry, which would eventually have a positive effect on lowering drug prices.
It is the first time that a doctor was indicted for taking rebates since the government introduced a system in November of last year to punish not only those who offer rebates but also those receiving rebates.
The health ministry conducted the probe in conjunction with related government agencies and prosecutors after securing more than 100 reports suspecting drugmakers, pharmacists and hospitals of engaging in kickback-related deals over the past few months.
According to investigators, the total sum of rebates detected in the probe amounted to billions of won, the largest amount so far. A drug distributing company head offered 900 million won as advance rebates called "landing fees" to hospitals on the condition that doctors at the hospitals should prescribe the company's drugs. The company head also distributed 290 million won in rebates to smaller hospitals and pharmacies.
An unidentified number of doctors and pharmacists were suspected of taking rebates ranging from 3.5 million won to 70 million won from another drug distributor while a chief of a pharmaceutical company was indicted for offering rebates to a total of 212 doctors in the form of commissions for conducting surveys.
The rebates have not been discontinued despite the government's tougher punishments enacted last November for those involved in such wrongdoing.
Instead, the methods of giving and taking rebates have become more cunning and covert. The practice of giving and taking so-called "landing fees," which pharmaceutical companies pay doctors or hospitals in return for writing prescriptions for their new drugs, have not been eradicated. Giving rebates to doctors in the form of paying commissions for participating in nominal surveys is a new method.
Since rebating hampers the fair trade rules and eventually increases the burden on consumers, those practices should be eradicated under any circumstance.
The government should continue to crackdown on this business malpractice until the rebating is rooted out.
Elimination of rebating practices would help enhance the production-cost structure of pharmaceutical companies and bolster research and development in the medical industry, which would eventually have a positive effect on lowering drug prices.
