When Will Indian Pharma Get its Act Together?

MEDICINMANField Force excellence

TM

March 2014 | www.medicinman.net

WHEN WILL PHARMA SALES GET ITS ACT TOGETHER?Behind Indian pharma’s rosy growth numbers lies a murky reality that will

come to haunt the industry if it refuses to change its ways.

Has Indian Pharma’s efforts to increase its share of the voice through mega field forces led to the physician saying, “Spare me the noise” in exasperation? How many Medical Reps (MRs) meet

the criteria when it comes to delivering real value to physicians they call on? Sure, there are companies that still deliver some value to physicians through their field force – these are tiny islands of excellence in a sea of mediocrity. The top 30 pharma companies with seventy percent market share have field forces in the region of 3000 to 5000 MRs and line managers. What percentage of this number actually delivers an acceptable ROI? The sheer number of MRs calling on physicians has led many hospitals to deploy positively hostile measures to stop them from entering the premises except on designated days and time. Menacing security guards are a new hurdle that MRs have to overcome to snatch 30 seconds from the increasingly reluctant-to-meet physician. This is in addition to the myriads of hurdles that they already face – chemists unwilling to stock, but blatantly substituting with brands that give maximum profits and distributors asking for money from hapless MRs and line managers to finance the purchase of goods that do not have a robust secondary demand. Surely, mega field forces are ineffective and their era is coming to an end?

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Anup Soans | Editorial: When Will Pharma Sales Get Its Act Together?

Indian Pharma is unlikely to attract talent – why would anyone want to be abused and tasked with so many unpleasant chores every day? The job satisfaction quotient of an MR has reached its nadir in most mega field forces, where he is just a dispensable commodity. Companies that are keen to make a difference will have to find alternatives to rise above the cacophony created by mega sales forces or be drowned in unethical market practices that make IPL scams look like street side cricket. It is becoming increasingly difficult to assess the effectiveness of mega sales forces that do little more than peek-a-boo calls in the corridors and then get busy with their experienced sales managers in managing numbers through a dubious network of distributors. Perhaps, it is time to take the entire distribution network out of the ambit of sales teams and put in place supply chain specialists who can monitor and manage the movement of products more effectively. Anyway this task of ‘managing’ distributors takes most of the time of line managers, who should instead be spending that time on developing the skills of their team members. This is also perhaps the only way to eradicate the unethical practices that have become institutionalized by way of managing sales through Excel sheets instead of coaching MRs to generate prescriptions. Field forces must be spending time learning more about physicians and their patients to gain insights that can be useful in in-clinic interactions.

On one hand we have market reports that trumpet the double digit growth of Indian Pharma. But insiders say that cooked up sales figures where stocks keep rotating between distributors instead of being consumed by patients is a bubble waiting to burst even in some of the best run companies. This is one of the main reasons for high attrition – people want to move on before being caught with their pants down! With USFDA breathing hard on Indian Pharma, the pressure on domestic sales will increase even more and nobody has any innovative ideas to expand the market or to address the unmet needs of physicians and patients, both of whom are looking for better experience, real value, and positive outcomes.

In the present scenario, several companies introduce a particular product or product combination without the least understanding of the needs of patients. The emphasis is not on helping the physician better manage his patients but on how many prescriptions can a particular doctor give and what is needed to be given in return as gratification. The current crop of executives in sales and marketing may be dyed-in-the-wool to make the shift from current unproductive practices. Indian Pharma may need to look outside its perimeter for talent who can bring value to customers and satisfaction to patients and employees. We at MedicinMan have written about the importance of KAM in understanding and managing the business objectives of doctors as well as MSLs who can communicate science that helps the

On one hand we have market reports that trumpet the double digit growth of Indian Pharma. But insiders say that cooked up sales figures where stocks keep rotating between distributors instead of being consumed by patients is a bubble waiting to burst even in some of the best run companies. This is one of the main reasons for high attrition – people want to move on before being caught with their pants down!

“

”


KAM – Key Account ManagementMSL – Medical Science Liaison

Connect with Anup Soans on LinkedIn | Facebook | TwitterVisit anupsoans.com.

Meet the Editor

Anup Soans is an Author, Facilitator and the Editor of MedicinMan.

Write in to him: [email protected]

Anup Soans | Editorial: When Will Pharma Sales Get Its Act Together?

doctor to better understand patient’s needs and ensure better outcomes. Perhaps it’s too early to do away with the large number of field forces, but the best among them can be picked up and prepared for KAM and MSL roles that deliver value to customers and satisfaction to patients.

Indian Pharma will have to shift its focus from tactical, product-centric sales approach through mega field forces to a more strategic mindset, which creates effective segmentation based on patient profiles and other relevant differentiators and not just the specialty of the doctor and manage them through smaller, nimbler teams of KAMs and MSLs. Pharma will need better insight into how patients become aware of their ailment, how they choose a doctor and the lifetime value of patient compliance. Patient data – patient’s perception of benefits and side effects of a particular drug/therapy will hold the key to effective physician communication, longterm sales and new product introduction. Doctors will value information about patient’s experiences and perceptions, which will help them to better manage their patients. Better alignment between sales, marketing and medical affairs can create brands that resonate with customer’s aspiration and patient’s need.

Pharma will have to learn from other industries like the wellness sector, which have made rapid strides despite questionable credentials and claims by resonating with customer aspirations. Pharma’s own communication capability leaves much to be desired – there is hardly any creativity or imagination to fire the enthusiasm of sales people or physicians. The packaging is mundane, product information is not very useful and the patient’s mind is filled with concerns of side effects instead of hopes of wellness. Pharma product managers have failed to communicate the role and benefits of modern medicine in ensuring good health.

GlaxoSmithKline has fired the first salvo by structuring the emoluments if its field force around customer satisfaction instead of sales targets. This is commendable and one hopes that this is the beginning of a new era in pharma business at least for the companies who want to make a difference by being different.

Indian Pharma is known for its entrepreneurial spirit and has demonstrated this by setting up more than 20,000 manufacturing units and an equally large number of propaganda cum distribution companies. Many of these have been started by pharma employees who saw the opportunity to serve a niche specialty market or geographic area. Transforming senior MRs and managers with demonstrated abilities into entrepreneurs in charge of their own micro-businesses is another opportunity that is worth exploring given India’s vast geographic spread both in cities and rural markets. Customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction are the pillars around which successful future pharma companies will be built. -AS

Indian Pharma will have to shift

its focus from tactical, product-

centric sales approach through

mega field forces to a more

strategic mindset, which creates

effective segmentation based on

patient profiles and other relevant

differentiators and not just the

specialty of the doctor and manage

them through smaller, nimbler

teams of KAMs and MSLs.

“

”

1. Indian Medical Advisors Summit 2014.............5

Photo essay and briefing.

Dr. Amit Dang

2. Digital Pharma...................................................7

Digital is changing the fundamentals of the marketplace. Here’s how pharma can keep pace.

Chandan Kumar

3. Selling Across Cultures ..................................9

Chapter extract from the new book The Art of Modern Sales Management by Renie Mcclay

Anup Soans and Joshua Soans

4. What You Measure is What Gets Done ...12

Performance metrics are often a trade-off between ease and value. Is “calls-per-day” a meaningless metric that needs immediate replacement?

Hanno Wolfram

5. Book Review: Unhealthy Practices ............15

Review of the new work of fiction by Dr. Sumit Ghoshal.

Anup Soans

MedicinMan Volume 4 Issue 3 | March 2014

Editor and Publisher

Anup Soans

CEO

Chhaya Sankath

COO

Arvind Nair

Chief Mentor

K. Hariram

Advisory Board

Prof. Vivek Hattangadi; Jolly Mathews

Editorial Board

Salil Kallianpur; Dr. Shalini Ratan; Shashin Bodawala; Prabhakar Shetty; Vardarajan S; Dr. Mandar Kubal; Dr. Surinder Kumar

International Editorial Board

Hanno Wolfram; Renie McClay

Executive Editor

Joshua Soans

MedicinMan Academy:

Prof. Vivek Hattangadi, Dean, Professional Skills

Development

Letters to the Editor: [email protected]

CONTENTS (Click to navigate)

E

INMAS 2014 - Indian Medical Advisors Summit held on February 22, was a memorable day for Medical Affairs professionals. INMAS 2014 - Indian Medical Advisors Summit, convened by Dr. Amit

Dang, Founder and Director, Geronimo Healthcare Solutions was held at “The Lalit”, Mumbai to interact, learn, share new ideas, best practices and case studies. INMAS 2014 was attended by over 100 delegates from Indian as well as MNC pharma companies and post graduate students of pharmacology.

Highlights of INMAS 2014• Dr. Viraj Suvarna, Medical Director, Boehringer Ingelheim, keynote speaker, set the tone by saying that the role of medical advisors was not a dilemma between medical affairs and business, but that they should own the business and their actions must flow from this sense of ownership.

• Dr. Amit Garg, Head, Emerging Markets, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, explained how social media can be utilized to initiate, recruit and alter the outcomes of late phase studies.

• Dr. Ganesh Kadhe, AVP – Medical Affairs and Clinical Operations, Wockhardt, speaking on internal and external stakeholder manage-ment, emphasized the need for GMAP or Good Medical Affairs Prac-tices. He stressed that medical advisors should also excel in strategic thinking, basic commercial skills, cross-functional collaboration and teamwork.

• Dr. Prashant Desai, Director – Medical Affairs, Janssen Pharmaceu-ticals, J & J, spoke on “How to make credible scientific presentations” by incorporating the six pillars of credibility - Ideation, Information, Influence, Integrity, Impact and Ignition.

• Dr. Aju Abraham Varghese, Sr. Medical Manager, Regional Medical Affairs, Pfizer India explained the role of field based Regional Medi-cal Advisor (RMA) and their ability to respond to medical queries in real time adding much value to the efforts of field force.

E

INMAS 2014


Indian Medical Advisor’s Summit - Feb 22, 2014


INMAS 2014

• Dr. Rohit Arora, Director – Marketing (Paedi-atrics), Sanofi Pasteur India, spoke on “What medical advisor needs to know about regula-tory expertise and NDAC (New Drug Advisory Committee) expectations.

• Dr. Santosh Jha, Director – Medical Regulato-ry, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, talked about GPP (Good Promotional Practices) and marketing or science - what should be medical advisor’s pri-ority? He stressed that GPP has been created to ensure that pharmaceutical companies should operate under the framework of high values of integrity and ethics keeping patient safety as its topmost priority.

• Dr. K. Karunakar Reddy, Head of Medical Affairs, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories gave lot of insight on off-label as well as on-label use of medicines and on the importance of medical advisors to be updated on various regulations across the globe.

• Dr. Vinita Satyavrat, Head – Scientific and Medical Affairs, Abbott Nutrition International - India, gave insight about the driving forces and challenges faced the Indian nutraceutical industry and the competencies and skill sets needed by medical advisors venturing into nutraceutical sector.

• Sharad Tyagi, Managing Director, Boehringer Ingelheim told the audience “What industry expects from the medical fraternity”. He said that Medical Affairs is the only function in a pharma company which can truly bridge the gaps between science and business. According to him, they are probably the only people who understand the “Why”, “What” and “How” of pharma business.

• Finally Dr. Qayum Mukaddam summarized the take home messages for the delegates from the summit and gave them insight into career perspectives for medical advisors.

INMAS 2014 was moderated by Anup Soans, Editor @ MedicinMan.

For further details: Log on to: http://inmas.org/ or write to [email protected]

Photo-essay continued on page 17.

Dr. Viraj Suvarna Dr. Qayum Mukaddam

Dr. Prashant Desai & Dr. Amit Garg

Dr. Aju Abraham Varghese Anup SoansEditor - MedicinMan

Dr. Rohit Arora

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DIGITAL PHARMA

Chandan Kumar

Indian Pharma market is a red ocean with thousands of

companies offering a plethora of me-too products. Their

promotion also tends to be me-too as product mangers change

companies frequently and implement the strategies of their

previous company again and again. In this scenario, companies

can gain the advantage of being first-movers in adopting

digital technology to effectively differentiate their products and

promotion.

Digital technology has many advantages over paper-based static

information systems. Doctors have also developed a fatigue to

paper based visual aids. Promotions through videos, animations and

multimedia demonstrations can offer more evidence in less time

and make the promotion interactive. Virtual promotions though

videos, podcasts, blogs can widen the scope of interaction and

increase the time with doctors and engage patients as well.

Virtual Intelligence

Hand held devices have the potential to be virtual libraries

accessible anywhere at the doctor’s convenience, instead of

intruding into his productive time in the clinic. They can serve as

an excellent support system in managing needs of patients. Some

pharma companies are working on location based virtual services as

part of their digital marketing effort to give point of care services.

Chandan Kumar is working in healthcare publishing as an Acquisitions

Editor. His area of Interest is Healthcare Marketing & Value Innovation.

[email protected]://www.linkedin.com/in/pharmtech

@pharmacrat

Digital is changing the fundamentals of the marketplace. Here’s how pharma can keep pace.

Chandan Kumar | Digital Pharma


• Pfizer has developed a mobile app which helps

patients with overactive bladder to locate nearby

restrooms. (Detrol LA and Toviaz are products for

incontinence).

• MSD has also developed an app for patients

with allergy. Based on the user’s location, the app

offers information on pollen counts and details of

nearby physicians and pharmacy stores. (Product

- Claritin)

• Boehringer Ingelheim is steering a project in

which phones and tablets can be paired with

glucose meters to give instant alert/advice to

diabetic patients through their phone/tablet.

Thus, digital technology is enabling companies to

connect directly with patients using the patient’s

location to provide details of nearby healthcare

facilities and other important disease management

information through virtual intelligence.

Social Media

Social media has presented a new opportunity but the

critical task is to introduce social media marketing in

such a way that it benefits both company and patients

without violating regulatory norms.

Social media is a cost-effective platform for

personalised interaction and collaboration with end-

users like patients and patient groups. Most companies

are still trying to understand the real potential of social

media, but some have already initiated social media

engagement programs.

• J & J and Pfizer have launched YouTube channels

and are considered as dynamic and responsive

pharma companies on Facebook and Twitter.

• Sanofi has also used YouTube to deliver

information without mentioning product names;

working within the guidelines.

There is an acute shortage of professionals in Indian

Pharma with the expertise to drive digital marketing.

The need is to find and attract the right professionals

who have a clear understanding of the digital world

and the opportunities to create a new wave of digital

pharma marketing. With over a billion people active in

the digital world, virtual intelligence and social media

will become more and more important to the pharma

industry’s marketing efforts.

“

”

Digital technology is

enabling companies

to connect directly

with patients using

the patient’s location

to provide details of

nearby healthcare

facilities and other

important disease

management

information through

virtual intelligence.

EMPOWER YOUR FIELD FORCE

KA$H=CASH

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Pharma-specific Training:

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Companies are advised to give participants the books on which the programs are based for continued learning and development. The same may be procured from the author at a discount.

Company’s may choose to deliver a program as a webi-nar - giving the advantage of scale and lowering costs.

Audiences are kept engaged using visually stimulating slides and powerful delivery. Emphasis is placed on taking charge of one’s success, even in the absence of oversight.

Most recently 1,000 reps of a leading MNC were trained over four webinars with excellent feedback.

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Case Studies

iSharpenMMy Success is My Responsibiliti

E


In 1991, when India opened up its markets to the world

economy, a billion people joined the global market.

They were made up of over 2,000 ethnicities, 1,576

“mother tongues”, 8 [major] religions, and thousands

of local dietary and religious practices. Multinationals

entering the Indian market would have to successfully

navigate this cultural jungle to survive and thrive.

The fact that McDonald’s, the world’s largest seller of

beef products, has a thriving business in India, the land

of the sacred cow, is proof that cultural differences are

only a barrier when a company fails in its due diligence.

McDonald’s has a strict “no-beef, no-pork” policy in

India since the cow is widely worshiped by Hindus and

consumption of pork is forbidden in Islam. Instead the

fast-food chain has a variety of vegetarian and chicken

dishes in local flavors and is considered to be just as

‘Indian’ by urbanites as is curry and naan. Because of

its cultural astuteness the world over, McDonald’s has

become the poster boy for ‘glocalization’ – the art of being

global in character but local in spirit. -AS & JS

SELLING ACROSS CULTURESA new book by Renie McClay published by ASTD Press is apt for the global executive with a local vision. “The Art of Modern Sales Management” has 12 chapters, each written by a leader in the field from around the world. Below is an extract from the chapter contributed by Anup Soans and Joshua Soans.

Book Extract

Renie McClay, MA, CPLP, has been a dynamic performance improvement professional for

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around the world.

Download a free chapter of the book here.

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In Harvard Business Review and a number of pharmaceu-tical companies, discussions around KPIs currently appear to be hot. Evidence arises that sales, market share and calls

per day are measures of the past and becoming more and more obsolete.

For example, if you measure speed you need two metrics: distance and time.

William Hewlett is said to be the originator of the statement: “You only can manage what you measure”. The subsequent addition “… what you measure gets done” is more common sense than a pearl of wisdom.

Human beings act on what can be measured: setting your car’s display to average speed or fuel consumption will make a big difference to the way you drive. Your behaviour while driving will change by the measure you choose. It might be worth a try!

It works the same way in business: if you have punch clocks in your offices or factories, time in the premises will be mea-sured. Metrics will be “in/out” time. Employees will be in and out as measured and required. If you measure number of calls per day of your field force, your field force will deliver calls per day and little else.

The tragedy of outdated measures is very evident when in Asia many calls of medical representatives merely last 20 seconds - in Europe they call it “spot-calls” - and in www.cafepharma.com you can read about “drive-by calls” and “inflated numbers” of calls reported. It is not really surprising that the reduction in field force headcount often does not harm pharma’s top-line.

In pharma tradition such calls are part of KPIs. In many cases KPIs suffer from two things: the undefined word “per-formance”, standing for something different in every one’s understanding and the neglect of the original intention of Key Performance Indicators:

Hanno Wolfram


WHAT YOU MEASURE, IS WHAT GETS DONE!

Performance metrics are often a trade-off between ease and value. Is “calls-per-day” a meaningless metric that needs immediate replacement?

Hanno Wolfram is Managing Director at Innov8 GmbH, Germany.

Write to Hanno: [email protected]

“

”

If you measure

number of calls per

day of your field

force, your field

force will deliver

calls per day and

little else.

E


“Everyone in the organization pulls the same rope at the same end into the same direction.”

Usually there are two categories or sets of metrics:

1. Input or effort and 2. Outcome or result.

Central questions are:

1. If you measure field-force activities or results why not call them measures of activities or results? The only alternative is to define, share and make sure that everyone understands identically what “performance” means in your company.

2. Whatever you measure must fully match and sup-port the company objective. If your objective is “client satisfaction”, you must measure it. Remember: Im-provement of top or bottom line is the “raison d’être” of an enterprise and hardly a meaningful measure.

3. Any metric or measure must be manageable. Jason Jordan wrote in HBR (Jan. 2014): “As much as sales managers talk about “managing revenue” or “manag-ing market share, but ” Business Results are ultimately unmanageable.”

Measures or KPIs must be defined in support of the company objective and strategy. Novel thoughts and managerial action might already be overdue. -HW

Hanno Wolfram | What You Measure, Is What Gets Done!

“

”

Any metric or

measure must be

manageable. Jason

Jordan wrote in

HBR (Jan. 2014):

“As much as sales

managers talk about

“managing revenue”

or “managing market

share”, Business

Results are ultimately

unmanageable.””

MISSING SOMETHING IMPORTANT?

You can access all past issues of MedicinMan at: http://medicinman.net/archives.

Be sure to SUBSCRIBE on our website (top-right corner: www.medicinman.net) to stay up-to-date with us.

E


Medicines don’t work if people don’t take them! And yet, medicines are neglected the most. Attitudes are contagious! They derive our behaviour towards what we do and thus is of significance even in understanding patient non-adherence to medication, especially in chronic diseases.

Estimates of medication non-adherence rates typically range from 30% - 60%. With an estimated 50% non-adherence in chronic conditions, segmenting patients based on their attitudes is critical to evolving adherence models. Brandcare studies behaviors and attitudes of diabetics in India.

Treatment Compliance Survey among diabetic patientsRashmi Thosar

Abdul Basit Khan

Ajay Kumar Dua

Amlesh Ranjan

Amrutha Bhavthankar

Andris A. Zoltners

Anthony Lobo

Aparna Sharma

Arvind Nair

Atish Mukherjee

B. Ramanathan

Chayya Sankath

Craig Dixon

Devanand Chenuri

Venkat

Dinesh Chindarkar

Dr. Amit Dang

Dr. Aniruddha

Malpani

Dr. Hemant Mittal

Dr. Neelesh Bhandari

Dr. S. Srinivasan

Dr. Shalini Ratan

Dr. Surinder Kumar

Sharma

Dr. Ulhas Ganu

Geetha G H

H. J. Badrinarayana

Hakeem Adebiyi

Hanno Wolfram

Hitendra Kansal

Iyer Gopalkrishna

Jasvinder Singh

Banga

Javed Shaikh

Jitendra Singh

John Gwillim

Jolly Mathews

Joshua Mensch

K Hariram

K. Satya Mahesh

Ken Boyce

Mahendra Rai

Mala Raj

Manoj Kumar

Mayank Saigal

Milan Sinha

Mohan Lal Gupta

Neelesh Bhandari

Neha Ansa

Nishkarsh Likhar

Noumaan Qureshi

Parveen Gandhi

Pinaki Ghosh

PK Sinha

Prabhakar Shetty

Vivek Hattangadi

Rachana Narayan

Rajesh Rangarajan

Ralph Boyce

Renie McClay

Richa Goyel

Richard Ilsley

RM Saravanan

Sagar S. Pawar

Salil Kallianpur

Salil Kallianpur

Sally E. Lorimer

Sandhya Pramanik

Sanjay Munshi

Shafaq Shaikh

Shalini Ratan

Sharad Virmani

Shiv Bhasin

Spring Sudhakar

Subba Rao Chaganti

Sudhakar Madhavan

Tony O’Connor

V. Srinivasan

Varadharajan K.

Vijaya Shetty

Vishal V. Bhaiyya

Vishal Verma

Vivek Hattangadi

William Fernandez

Our Authors

MEDICINMAN invites contributions from Pharma professionals on topics related to Field Force Excellence. See: www.medicinman.net/author-guidelines for more information.

Rashmi Thosar is CEO, Brandcare and a leading professional in healthcare communications and advertising in India; she has been at the helm of leadership at Brandcare and over the years and has been instrumental in its transformation to the top 5 healthcare agencies in India.


Dr Sumit Ghoshal, a medical doctor and healthcare writer, weaves a colourful tapestry of his vast experience in his first fictional work – Unhealthy Practices.

If you thought that only pharma executives had sales targets, Unhealthy Practices narrates the tremendous sales pressure that doctors in corporate hospitals have to endure to survive. The work pressure that young residents have to endure is no different from that of Medical Reps. Like many senior field sales managers, there is Dr. Naresh, who has given his best years to the hospital and is axed for not generating enough revenue. This pressure on rev-enue generation is what drives unethical practices both in pharma industry and hospitals. Patients of doctors who do not pull in enough revenue are denied a place in the hospital’s busy ICU. This interplay of necessity, job security, duty and ethics is woven into a fine story in which some doctors compromise and a few others struggle to find a fine balance between ethics, livelihood and Unhealthy Practices.

Pharma executives will also appreciate the predicament of the busy pharma marketing executive, Harish whose hectic work-life renders his wife, Pratibha susceptible to alcohol, parties and finally the attention and advances of a neighbour.

Unhealthy Practices an excellent read and one of the few that I have read in a single sitting – a challenge in today’s digital world. Dr. Sumit Ghoshal has done a wonderful job of writing a human interest story that engages the reader throughout. Those of us who have been in the pharma industry and have worked in Mumbai may even end up speculating the identity of the hospital and doctors. Unhealthy Practices depicts the current scenario in Indian healthcare very accurately.

BOOK REVIEW

UNHEALTHY PRACTICES

Anup Soans

By Dr. Sumit Ghoshal; Notion Press

E

Anup Soans | Book Review: Unhealthy Practices by Sumit Ghoshal


The reader can relate to the predicament of honest doctors and the compulsions of businessmen running hospitals in a city like Mumbai.

There is plenty of excitement, thrill and suspense as the struggle for control of Gopalji Damji Hospital unfolds. Unhealthy Practices is a welcome trend and a must read by every healthcare professional. The language is simple and lucid and engages the reader without taxing them with difficult words. Unhealthy Practices reminded me of The Citadel, probably the finest work of medical fiction by another physician, A.J. Cronin in 1937. Although, the medical world has not changed much since 1937 in terms of ethical dilemmas of doctors, The Citadel has been credited with laying the foundation for the introduction of the NHS. Hopefully, Unhealthy Practices will also lead to discussion and action to make the Indian medical fraterni-ty more transparent and accountable.

Excerpts from Unhealthy Practices

When the management of Gopalji Damji Hospital decides to compulsorily retire a number of its most senior doctors, no one expects the matter to snowball into a major public relations disaster. But this is precisely what happens. One of the trustees, Prashant Kadakia, leaks the story to a friendly newspaper reporter, whose own father had died in the same hospital just two months before.

Meanwhile in the hospital, a tussle for control is going on. The employees demand a heavy bonus, which the trust-ees cannot afford. The employees threaten to go on strike. The adverse publicity continues until the board decides to replace the Medical Director. The trustee, Kadakia, opens another avenue with the help of some Indian friends living in the US. They infuse the necessary funds to get the hospital on its feet again but the real challenge is to over-throw the existing board of trustees and get the hospital going again. To succeed in this and to become chairman himself, Kadakia has to walk a tight rope, and douse a number of fires that threaten to cripple the institution forever. -AS

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Pharma executives

will also appreciate

the predicament of

the busy pharma

marketing executive,

Harish whose hectic

work-life renders

his wife, Pratibha

susceptible to

alcohol, parties and

finally the attention

and advances of a

neighbour.

INMAS 2014 - Speakers, Audience and Organisers

When Will Indian Pharma Get its Act Together?

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Transcript of When Will Indian Pharma Get its Act Together?