Doctors, medical reps nexus irk patients at CHK

KARACHI: Some doctors of the Accident & Emergency Department at the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) have been prescribing costly medicines to patient’s attendants so as to enhance the sales of their favourite medical stores for personal interests, sources at the CHK noted recently.

Some doctors performing duties in the Emergency Department of the hospital have started malpractice and are openly breaching medical ethics in Sindh's largest teaching hospital due to the hospital’s poor surveillance system. The patient’s attendants are suffering due to this breach of medical ethics in the institution as doctors are prescribing unnecessary costly medicines to attendants so as to increase the sales of their favourite pharmaceutical companies who reward them with a commission and other benefits.

Such malpractice is present in almost all government-run hospitals of Karachi, but some doctors of the Emergency Department with the nexus of pharmaceutical companies have started this sort of private practice at the hospital during the evening and night hours where they prescribe unnecessary and costly medicines of their favourite companies.

Sources said that the hospital’s administration has been unable to control these illegal activities despite several complaints from the general public. Although medicine is available to treat patients with emergency treatment requirements, unfortunately, these doctors prescribe expensive medicines from medical stores of their choice situated outside the hospital rather than providing medicines from the hospital’s pharmacy.

The sad fact is that these medicines are available in the hospital pharmacy free of cost distribution.

Additional Medical Superintendent, CHK, Dr Nasrullah Memon, was not available to make any comments.