A large number of pharmacies in Ukraine ensures drug accessibility for patients – experts

Most often, we remember a pharmacy when we are sick. At such a moment, one wants the pharmacy to be as close as possible and to have everything necessary. Today, the presence of a large number of pharmacies on the market provides patients with a wide selection of quality medicines, and the state, at the same time, receives stable and significant budget revenues in the form of tax payments, writes UNN.

Periodically, information leaks appear in the media space stating that there are too many pharmacies, their number needs to be reduced, or large pharmaceutical retail chains should be completely destroyed. According to economic expert Oleksandr Okhrimenko, the fact that Ukraine has a sufficient number of pharmacies is a good thing.

There is an opinion that the number of pharmacies should be smaller. From my point of view, no, this is a wrong opinion. There should be many pharmacies. It’s just that very often in life, you remember a pharmacy when you really need it, and you want it to be as close as possible and there to be more of them. Although from time to time, the issue is raised in Ukraine that there are excessively many pharmacies. It seems to me, not excessively many. It is very good that we have many pharmacies. Let there be even more. I do not consider a large number of pharmacies to be a bad thing. It is good

According to him, Ukrainians should have a choice of which pharmacy to buy medicines from. Okhrimenko added that retail chains offer more favorable prices for patients through discounts and bonus programs, as well as comfortable service. In addition, according to him, large pharmacy chains are responsible for the quality of medicines with their reputation, and therefore, sales of counterfeit products are excluded here.

At the same time, economist Borys Kushniruk is convinced that the market should be balanced – when large pharmacy chains and small pharmacies complement each other and maximally cover all patient needs.

In fact, the market always operates in two modes. There are chains and there are systems where there are literally one or two pharmacies. And that’s how it works all over the world.

Indeed, like anyone working in retail, large pharmacy chains have certain advantages. This is due to the fact that they have the opportunity to negotiate more favorable terms with manufacturers or importers during wholesale purchases. But this is how any retail market works, not just the pharmaceutical one.

According to the economist, small pharmacies operating in small settlements better understand the specific needs of a patient and, if necessary, adapt to them faster, but at the same time cannot provide a wide assortment. Therefore, in fact, large chains and small pharmacies complement each other and provide the patient with everything necessary.

According to Kushniruk, the synergy of large pharmacy chains and small points, as it happens now, is not an innovation in Ukraine – this is how the system works all over the world.

At the same time, the expert reminded that today in Ukraine, patients have better access to medicines compared to the USA and Europe. There, it is practically impossible to buy medicines without a prescription.

Ukrainians living in frontline territories can be said to have partially experienced this. After all, during blackouts and lack of communication, pharmacists cannot dispense medicines by electronic prescription. Here, the situation was saved precisely by large chains that provided their points with generators and Starlinks, which made it possible to launch the “Affordable Medicines” program.

Kushniruk is convinced: the pharmaceutical market must remain balanced, where small points operate alongside large retail chains. The role of the state is to ensure that competition is fair.

“This is, undoubtedly, what the state should do. Everything else, excuse me, is a matter of business and certainly not for the state to decide how to build this business for certain companies,” the economist emphasized.