The MLM scheme is anti-poor and distorts the Philippine healthcare system.
A doctor is probably the most trusted person outside the family. He or she heals the sick and recommends the best course of action to take until the patient is fully recovered.
The medical profession in the Philippines is held in high esteem that it is often seen as infallible, even incorruptible. The words of doctors are trusted and their intentions rarely questioned.
However, what happens when some of those entrusted with this sacred role begin to abuse their privilege?
Lawyer Erin Tañada believes that some doctors engage in unethical practices that are detrimental to the Philippine healthcare system.
Tañada, a former lawmaker and champion of good governance and Philippine universal healthcare, has filed a petition with the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and Board of Medicine (BOM) to conduct an investigation on two medical doctors.
The doctors, per Senate committee hearings held in April 2024, are allegedly involved in multi-level marketing (MLM) scheme. Doctors through the scheme prescribe medicines produced and sold by a certain pharmaceutical company in exchange for financial incentives and other material rewards.
While there is no existing law or regulation to prohibit such practice, the MLM scheme is mostly viewed as unethical because it compromises the expertise and integrity of the medical profession since commercial interests are involved.
The Senate hearings last year drew much media attention but they appear to have been swept under the rug and did not result in a committee report.
The medical professionals and the pharma company involved seemed to have gone scot-free until Tañada filed the complaint, seeking the suspension or revocation of licenses if doctors are found guilty.
The alleged MLM scheme subverts the pronouncements of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on healthcare during his recent State of the Nation Address. The MLM scheme is anti-poor and distorts the Philippine healthcare system.
The healthcare system seeks to provide services to Filipinos for free but the participating doctors in the MLM scheme prefer to enrich themselves by prescribing only the pharma company’s products.
The subject doctors instruct patients to buy these medicines in the company-owned drugstores. Thus, the more doctors prescribe the products, the more points they earn towards attaining incentives, such as luxury cars and foreign trips.
If the unethical prescription persists, the likelihood of corrupting incoming generations of doctors is very high―much to the detriment of the Philippine healthcare system and poor Filipino patients.
Healthcare champion
Tañada is the right person to point out the immoral practice of doctors. He is known for his advocacies for human rights, good governance and transparency.
Tañada is also known for his support for the development of universal healthcare in the Philippines. He is the first author of the Universal Healthcare Law filed in the history of the House of Representatives.
He authored other health-related bills, such as the National Health Insurance Act and increased taxation and marketing regulations for tobacco advertisements. He also supported the passage of Cheaper Medicines Act in 2008, which enabled more Filipinos to afford medicines.
Tañada’s petition struck a nerve in the medical profession. Doctors are supposed to be caretakers of health and life. If allegations are true that certain doctors benefit financially from some pharmaceutical firms through biased prescription, then their behavior is driven more by commercial interests instead of the Hippocratic oath they took.
Their MLM involvement violates the Professional Regulatory Code and the Code of Ethics of the Philippine Medical Association, which prohibits doctors from receiving commissions or engaging in commercial endorsements that affect their independence and judgment.
The patient is at the receiving end of the MLM practice. The Generic Acts of 1988 encourages doctors to use the generic names of prescribed medicines to patients.
For doctors affiliated with public hospitals, Department of Health Administrative Order No. 169, series of 2004 states that “All DOH facilities and their personnel shall only use generic names or terminology in all transactions related to procurement, prescribing, dispensing, and administering of drugs and medicines.”
Current rules and regulations empower patients to have the freedom to purchase generic or branded medicines.
But the unscrupulous and unethical practice allegedly committed by the two doctors and their partner pharmaceutical companies contradicts efforts of many lawmakers and government officials to achieve an inclusive and comprehensive public healthcare services for all Filipinos.
The unethical practice could further increase public skepticism against the medical profession and medical community. We should be reminded that the Philippine healthcare sector is still struggling against the increased vaccine hesitancy brought by the Dengvaxia scandal in 2019.
It is critical for the PRC and BOM to conduct a thorough, balanced and timely investigation on the matter. And all sectors should exert efforts to put an end to the scandalous financial ties between medical doctors and pharmaceutical companies in the Philippines.
E-mail: rayenano@yahoo.com or extrastory2000@gmail.com
