PESHAWAR, Dec 12: Despite restrictions imposed by the acting governor, rush-hour visits by medical representatives to hospitals in the city continue to cause inconvenience to patients.

“A week ago, acting Governor Tariq Pervez Khan, during his visit to teaching hospitals, had directed the administration to ban entry of medical representatives during rush hours but it seems that no body is following these directives,” said a source at one of the hospitals.

Frequent and unscheduled visits by medical representatives were affecting performance of hospitals, a doctor said. Another doctor said these visits create problems both for patients and staff.

Pharmaceutical firms employ smart and articulate young men to promote their products. They are trained to persuade doctors to prescribe products of their firms. A medical representative is to be a pharmacy graduate and able to understand ingredients, doses and side-affects of drugs but, according to some doctors, many of them do not have this qualification. Moreover tough competition among drug manufacturers in the Rs60-billion drug market of the country drives some of them to adopt unethical tactics for promotion and sale of their products.

Medical representatives offer doctors medical samples, gifts including air-conditioners, refrigerators and airline tickets, arrange seminars in posh hotels to woo doctors into prescribing their products.

Lately, they get doctors insurance policies and cars on lease to oblige them to prescribe their products on a regular basis, said a medical superintendent of a hospital. It was because of this reason the doctor community is against the ban on the entry of medical representatives to hospitals, an official said.

Some God-fearing doctors, however, have stopped meeting medical representatives in their wards or in the out-patient departments, saying that they have no need of such briefings.

They say that pharmaceutical companies should keep direct contact with doctors through medical journals and booklets.

Government hospitals remain the focus of attention of medical representatives. Sometimes patients are advised by doctors to buy unnecessary drugs.

Pharmaceutical companies, through their representatives, also buy counters, cupboards and medical equipment for hospitals.

Involvement of these companies in hospital affairs is also on the rise, said an official. They are involved in arranging signboards, bed-markings and providing financial support to doctors. These expenses are subsequently recovered from patients. “We had requested the authorities to ban entry of medical representatives in hospitals but their visits have not stopped”, said a surgeon. According to him, doctors come to OPDs only for two hours and much of this time is wasted by medical representatives who are also seen in wards, laboratories and medical stores of hospitals.