It is common for governmental bodies such as health ministries, parliaments, specialised commissions, to assume the role of verifying that medications are safe and effective, that healthcare providers have completed approved courses or have proven skills, and that facilities are adequately staffed and equipped. However, the fact that there are regulations also opens potential for corrupt activities. Examples include:

• Pharmaceutical companies can skew research studies, influence review boards or bribe regulators to approve or speed up the processing of their applications to register and sell medical products, medicines or antibiotic products.
• Regulators can receive illegal payments in order to take an advantageous decision regarding the inclusion of medicines on the list of reimbursed medicines.
  
• Healthcare providers and facilities may be tempted to pay a regulator to overlook lapses in licensing requirements.
• Government inspectors can be tempted to abuse their position to extract bribes even when providers are in compliance.

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