In a recent high profile conference on clinical trials in Delhi, some senior officials from the Union health ministry has charged the national media for irresponsible reporting on spurious drugs and clinical trials. Officials have accused media of playing a negative role in carrying reports with no supporting evidences. Extensive media reports on such sensitive issues are bound to put political pressure on bureaucrats. And it is not the first time the officials have blamed the media for unpleasant reporting. But this time, officials are quite harsh and open in their comments on the media. It is possible that such complaints and accusations may only increase in future as journalists all over the country have realized the importance of reporting on healthcare sector and pharmaceutical industry. At the same time, it is a fact that many of the journalists are not familiar with regulations in this industry and complexities of these subjects. They can, therefore, be easily misguided and misinformed about what is actually happening in these sectors by the vested interests. That is what is happening on one side. Such misinformation campaign is not only happening in matters like statistics on spurious drugs and clinical trials but in many other areas. There are numerous cases in which managers of healthcare institutions and pharmaceutical companies are feeding such misinformation after knowing this weakness of the journalists working for the general media. Thus, people within the healthcare sector are also responsible for taking journalists for a ride. It is wrong to expect journalists working in all the small time vernacular and English media to have the domain knowledge of specialized sectors like healthcare.
Incorrect and unsubstantiated reports also appear in the general media on account of non-cooperation of the government officials. How many officials in the office of DCGI, Union health ministry and in state health ministries give adequate and quick response to queries raised by journalists on issues like clinical trials and ethics committees? Hardly any. Even to the specialized media, these officials do not disclose necessary information. If that is the case, is it only the media to be blamed for incorrect and exaggerated reporting? Certainly not. Officials are equally responsible. Be that as it may. Who in the government has the undisputable statistics on spurious drugs in the country? All figures floating around on spurious drugs is nothing but guesswork. Nobody, either in the government or in the private sector, has ever undertaken a near accurate study of spurious drugs in the country. Now, in the case of clinical trials, what is happening in India is not above board. There is no effective system to monitor the clinical trials, subject selection, working of ethics committees, etc. Many in the specialized media are aware of this. If these are the facts, they should be brought to light and corrective steps should be taken by the government. It is wrong on the part of the officials to expect the media to suppress such inadequacies in the drug administration in the name of nation's image.