Most of the diagnostic companies in the country are allegedly involved in unethical business promotional activities to allure doctors.
Such companies, as allegations say, try to allure doctors with attractive commissions and gifts to induce them to prescribe more tests and to refer the patients to their respective diagnostic centres.
Officials, engaged in such marketing, said the diagnostic companies offer up to 60 per cent commission on their tests.
In many cases, the companies also offer lucrative gifts like coffee makers, cookware, air-conditioners, other household items and many more to doctors as a sort of inducement.
The companies also frequently send doctors on paid vacation trips to Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong and elsewhere, along with the members of their families.
Besides, owners of such diagnostic houses allocate chambers to the doctors at their diagnostic centres under an agreement of giving a certain and handsome amount of business every month.
Many companies give Tk 5,000-15,000 per month to popular and familiar doctors in the rural areas to refer patients to their diagnostic centres situated in the capital for better or thorough check-up.
Meanwhile, public health experts said due to the diagnostic companies' foul marketing promotional activities, diagnosis is rendered dangerously over-prescribed and expensive. Irrelevant tests are also prescribed instead of relatively cheaper and relevant ones.
Such a staggering cost can become devastating for patients-physically and financially-in a country where healthcare is now mostly privatised without having much of public subsidies and where millions of people live under the poverty line, they added.
However, none of the doctors or representatives who admitted to their participation in these unfair and unethical business practices would like to speak on record.
Officials at the diagnostic centres also did not acknowledge their involvement in the alleged unethical promotional practices.
"We never give commission or gifts to the doctors for referring their patients to our diagnostic centre. They refer patients due to our service reputation," Ochinto Kumar Nath, manager, the human resources department of the Popular Diagnostic Centre Ltd. told the FE.
Another high official of a leading diagnostic company in the city told the FE preferring anonymity that any company that wants a share of this highly competitive market has to adopt similar policy, or it won't survive,"
The executive said his company routinely gives iPads, iPods, mobile phones, household items and other things, along with arranging all-paid foreign trips to the doctors and their families.
"Doctors are now not happy with commission only. They frequently use our vehicles even having their own cars and avail many more services from our companies," he added.
"We even sometimes pay school fees of physicians' children to win their hearts."
Samia Rahman, a physician of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital said she refuses to accept gifts or commission from diagnostic companies because she believes these companies overcharge for their services to recoup the marketing expenses. "Ultimately," she said, "Everything is being paid by the patients."
"Most of our colleagues across the country have become used to accepting cash from the companies," she added.
"Some diagnostic companies often practise unethical promotion to boost sales and earn more profits, which is clearly illegal," Prof Dr M Sharfuddin Ahmed, former secretary general of the Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA), told the FE.
"Doctors earn more than other professionals. They should keep it in mind and keep themselves away from such unholy income."
To stop such unethical promotional activities of the diagnostic companies, the government should take vigorous steps to stop such unethical practices, he suggested.
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