Q: I am working as a pharmacist in a big hospital in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Abu Dhabi is a generic market where the doctor prescribes the chemical name on the prescription rather than the brand name. The brand has to be given by the pharmacist. The same medicine will have different brands in the market with different pharmaceutical companies but will have the same chemical name. Example, the chemical paracetamol is in brand names like adol, calpol, panadol, tylenol, etc.
My question is, medical representatives come to us and tell us to sell their company brand and they will give us some vouchers or a gift if we support their brand. Is taking this gift or voucher from the medical reps or pharmaceutical companies allowed in Islam. The doctor prescribes a generic name and we select the brand for the patient.
A: If it is part of your duty to do the purchasing then it is not permissible to take anything in return unless the hospital allows you to accept.
And Allah Ta’ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
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Answered by:
Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)
Q: I am a pharmacist and just dispensing the medicine. I am not ordering or purchasing any medicine. There are different people for that work.
A: If the hospital owners allow you to accept gifts and you dispense the medication only if you see that it is most appropriate for the patient then it is permissible. If you are dispensing the medication only on account of the gift then it is pure corruption and bribery.
And Allah Ta’ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
Answered by:
Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)