The key to achieving high-quality development and providing more professional services is to have 623000 retail pharmacies serving in China
Recently, it was reported at the "Comprehensive Services for Patient Medication" event hosted by Yuanxin Technology that as of the end of 2022, the total number of retail pharmacies in China was 623000, with 645000 registered practicing pharmacists. The average service population per retail pharmacy was 2265, and the drug retail industry has reached a certain scale as a whole. Experts present suggest that improving the "soft power" of pharmaceutical services and providing professional services to patients when selling drugs is a key way for the high-quality development of retail pharmacies.
The National Health Commission issued a notice in May this year, promulgating 20 measures to improve patients' medical experience. Among them, retail pharmacy, as the most close to patients in the whole process of health service, advocates the construction of a perfect service system, assists patients to improve the compliance of drug treatment, and timely response to possible adverse drug reactions.
Associate Professor Ye Hua from the School of Pharmacy at Fudan University introduced that over the past 20 years, retail pharmacies in China have developed rapidly, serving as the terminal for providing pharmaceutical services and ensuring drug supply at the grassroots level. Retail pharmacies are implementing diversified business models, such as general pharmacies and specialty pharmacies, to ensure that patients enjoy more convenience in purchasing medication and guidance on medication. At present, there are 623000 retail pharmacies nationwide, each serving only 2265 people, which is actually quite luxurious. However, in terms of layout, the distribution of retail pharmacies and licensed pharmacists is not balanced. The eastern region has abundant resources, and there are still many shortcomings in the central and western regions.
Retail pharmacies can sell drugs and provide professional services, which is also the key path for the high-quality development of retail pharmacies in China. Ye Hua stated that more than 10 years ago, China explored retail pharmacies for special disease drugs, which brought good opportunities for the development of pharmacies. Upon investigation, the entry of new drugs into medical institutions requires approval from the Drug Administration and Drug Treatment Committee, as well as entry into the procurement catalog, which some patients cannot afford; DTP can provide such an opportunity. The previous practice in the United States was an attempt for pharmaceutical companies to directly contact patients and achieve flattening. DTP is an innovation based on this attempt, which represents pharmaceutical companies providing drugs to patients.
Experts predict that the lifecycle of DTP pharmacies will be very long. At present, a large amount of manpower, financial resources, and energy are invested globally in new drug innovation. In China, 80% of clinical trial drugs are anti-tumor drugs, and globally, including China, new and good drugs with significant clinical value will continue to emerge and be approved for market. There is always a time difference between the launch of new drugs and their entry into various hospitals, and there is a market demand for out of hospital drugs. DTP pharmacies can establish a "testing ground" between pharmaceutical companies and medical institutions. However, this challenge is very significant. New drugs will bring new ideas, and pharmacies must constantly accept new things, learn new knowledge, and provide new services for patients.
The reporter learned that the China Pharmaceutical Business Association is currently continuously exploring and making efforts to build and improve professional pharmacies, such as formulating a series of service standards for therapeutic drugs, providing behavioral basis for the compliant operation of DTP pharmacies, ensuring the quality of pharmaceutical services, and ensuring the safety of frozen and refrigerated drugs. In addition, the country has separately released the grading management of anti-tumor drugs and the first "negative list" of Internet drug sales to maximize the protection of patients' rights and interests. Ye Hua said, "Retail pharmacies have always been places for selling drugs and providing pharmaceutical professional services. The high-quality development of pharmacies must have good pharmaceutical service capabilities, which is the core soft power to improve the social status of retail pharmacies and win the favor of patients."
It is also reported that as a national chain pharmacy brand, Yuanxin Pharmacy, under the background of promoting early screening, diagnosis and treatment of major diseases, and full life cycle management of chronic diseases in the country, takes professional services as the foundation and lays out nationwide professional pharmacies as the network, providing patients with comprehensive management and "pharmaceutical consulting" style solutions.