Ang tagal ko ng reklamo to sa media. Bakit walang nakakarating? Ang
webmaster ba takot rin? Common knowledge ito at open secret sa mga
hospitals, bakit walang aksyon?!
I
challenge The Probe Team, The Correspondents, Imbestigador, The Tulfos, The Senate, DOH to investigate on the doctors
using their power and influence for corruption resulting in harassment
and abuse. Or is the media scared? or protecting these doctors? Is the
government that willing to sacrifice women, careers and family
relationships for the sake of these doctors' selfish and perverse
agenda? I have proof, facts and you can even interview actual nurses,
medical technologists, sales agents who are constantly being harassed
by these doctors.
Everyday, doctors ask favors from the sales
agents, harassing them, going on a power trip. These agents would not
dare go against these doctors as they insure valuable sales for their
quota. Contracts are signed with something in return, which the
companies providing the medicines/reagents/machines/supplies are
willing to give to the doctors, even encouraging their agents to be
"more than business partners" with the doctors.
Cars,
holiday tickets, 5-star hotel dinners, request for dinner or date with
the company's prettiest and sexiest agent, indecent proposals, are
often the things involved in securing a big sale. The companies of
course, add those expenses to the price of their
services/medicines/reagents/machines/supplies. Instead of the funds
being used for research and development, providing better and
affordable healthcare, these are instead placed for advertising and
marketing. to the expense of the safety and dignity of the sales agents.
Are
there no government agency that regulates all these? Are you all scared
of these perverts who practice medicine? I can give names just contact
me. This must be exposed.
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The Culture Of Bribery
C.Seamus Hermoso
Medical
Representatives as they call it. They are the sales agents of
pharmaceutical or diagnostic companies that constantly pursue doctors,
chief medical technologists and pathologists in the hospitals. They
offer that their medicines and diagnostic equipment be the ones
prescribed by the doctor or be used in the hospital. But is the job
that simple? Is the offering of products and services merely the
presentation of how good the product is, how effective it is?
A
custom in this field that is unfortunately still being practiced is the
use of “tokens of favor”. It’s hard to find another term that simply
shouts as bribery. Doctors and people who make critical decisions on
what medicine, re-agent or equipment to use are ridiculously treated as
royalties. They are offered unusually too many company freebies,
treated for breakfast, lunch and dinner, treated for a spa or a KTV,
given various “gifts” such as plane tickets and tours around the
country and abroad all under the expense of the pharmaceutical or
diagnostic company.
And
how could the company afford all these? They of course get their money
back by adding all those expenses to the prices of the medicines, the
machines and the re-agents. These luxury treatment and sales strategy
does more harm than good than just keeping quality medicines expensive
for the people.
To
cite an example, a certain hospital previously used machines and
re-agents from a distributor company that regularly gives away Boracay
trips to the doctors and critical decision makers until a competing
company upped the ante by offering Hong Kong
trips, so the hospital of course now uses the machines and re-agents by
the company with the greater offer. The re-agent for the new machine is
of course more expensive, and the hospital of course starts charging
more for that diagnosis.
It
is not uncommon that medical representatives of these companies must
continually adore the doctors, pathologists and medical technologists
with gifts, go out on dates and sweet talk them as if they are courting
a loved one. Call it sales talk if you want, but there are things that
are just too much to stomach. We are not certain who starts these
practices; it could be that the company just offers them out of the
blue or the doctors, pathologists and medical technologists demand for
it.
The
scary part is that the selling of these medicines, re-agents and
machines might involve harassment and other indecent proposals. We all
know that companies prefer their sales agents to be young and
good-looking. A doctor, pathologist or medical technologist could be on
a power trip anytime and could pressure a medical representative into
something that is not clearly professional anymore like asking for a
date, or worse, sexual advances. The agent is trained by the company
not to lose a client, and the company would at times encourage their
agents to be “more than business partners” to their clients. These are
the hidden truths that must be exposed.
Why
couldn’t they just sell the medicines and machines based on the quality
or how effective it is? Why couldn’t they just allocate these luxuries
spending in research and developing better products?
Doctors,
pathologists and medical technologists are being spoiled too much and
proper measures must be set. Companies must at least start practicing
some etiquette and cut this lavish spending, this sick adoration on
doctors, pathologists and medical technologists as it will only
encourage abuse.
Doctors
and medical technologists on the other hand should stop this power
tripping. Just because of their profession, they think they can get
away with using their seniority and influence. This is a shout out to
everyone in this field to be aware of such things. This is to let
everyone know what risks medical sales representatives face each day.
This is to tell the medical representatives out there that they can say
no to demands that are clearly not professional anymore, that they can
report these indecent proposals to the authorities and human rights
agencies, and that they can quit the company that encourages such
practices.
Doctors
taking advantage and companies that are encouraging such practices must
be warned though, that there are lawyers and several human rights
advocates just waiting to file a criminal case, in the first sign of a
reported harassment.
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Mga Doktor at MedTech, Pinapayaman at Sinusuyo ng mga MedRep.
Hindi
ito masyadong binibigyang pansin, ngunit ito’y isang bagay na dapat ng
palakihin dahil sa di maganda nitong nadudulot. Mga medical
representatives or medrep ang mga kadalasang nasa ospital na makikita
mong nanliligaw sa mga doktor na piliin ang produkto nilang gamot at
ito ang ireseta sa kanilang mga pasyente. Ang mga doktor dahil sa
kanilang posisyon, ay kadalasang natutuksong humingi ng kapalit. Ang
mga kompanya naman ng mga medrep ay kinukunsinte ang mga kahilingan ng
doktor upang makabenta.
Isa
ng kadalasang gawain ay ang paglalabas sa mga doktor at sinasamahan
sila kumain sa mamahaling mga kainan, sinasama sa mga bar at KTV,
sinasama sa mga out of town at out of country na bakasyon at inaalok ng
iba pang regalo at serbisyo. Nakakaawa ang mga medrep na kadalasa’y
kababaihan, na tila ibinubugaw ng kanilang mga katrabaho kung sila ay
natitipuhan ng isang doktor. Para makabenta ng gamot at mahawakan lahat
ng benta sa isang ospital, napipilitan ang mga medrep na suyuin ang mga
doktor.
Kung
ang dating kagawian na pagbibigay ng regalo sa mga suki, masyado atang
sumobra ang pagtrato at pag “Sales Talk” ng mga kumpanya sa mga doktor.
Kotse, trip abroad at malamang ay mga “one night stand” ang mga
naiaalok sa mga doktor ngayon ng mga kumpanya. Hindi na pagalingan ng
gamot at pagandahan ng resulta sa pag gamit ng gamot ang ginagawang
bentahan ngayon. Palakihan na ng maiaalok na suhol. Pagandahan ng
medrep ng mag-aalok. Kapareha din na sitwasyon nito ang mga medrep na
nagbebenta ng mga diagnostic equipment at re-agents na mga medtech
naman ang sinusuyo.
May
diskriminisasyon sa pagtanggap ng trabaho, dahil mga bata, sexy at
magaganda ang mga kadalasang kinukuhang medrep. Tumataas ang presyo ng
gamot dahil dito nila binabawi ang nagastos nila sa mga doktor. Laganap
ang sekswal na harassment sa mga medrep dahil sa pinapairal ng doktor
na kapangyarihan.
Ilan
ito sa mga problema ng medrep. Sana ay matugunan ito ng DOH at ng
tamang awtoridad at maimbistigahan ang mga ito. Dapat ay magkaron ng
memo o guidelines ang mga kumpanya ng pharmaceutical at diagnostics na
magkaron naman ng prinsipyo at ethics sa pagbebenta. Wag gumamit ng
dirty tactics at suhol. Wag palakihan ng maiaalok. At di dapat
tinuturing na tila babaeng laging liniligawan ang mga doktor. Dahil di
nakikita ang galing ng produkto sa kahit ano pa mang suhol o landi na
dapat gawin.
Hindi
dahil mga doktor ang mga clients, e may karapatan sila na humingi sa
labis at mangbastos ng mga sales representative. Dapat natin kumilos at
magkaroon ng national awareness tungkol dito. Dapat magkaron ng mga
seminars sa mga diagnostics at pharmaceutical companies tungkol sa
harassment. Dapat rin mailinaw sa mga doktor na pwede silang
matanggalan ng lisensya o makulong sa ginagawa nilang pagsasamantala.