On October 7, according to the latest "Analysis of Pharmaceuticals in the Three Major Terminals and Six Major Markets" released by Mine.com, in 2021, the sales of my country's urban physical pharmacies reached 440.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.8%.

People's Daily Health Client Tan Qixin

On October 7, according to the latest "Analysis of Pharmaceutical Use in Three Major Terminals and Six Major Markets" released by mine.com , in 2021, the sales of my country's urban physical pharmacies reached 440.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.8%. Among them, the market size of prescription drugs has also continued to increase, with the proportion increasing from 50.3% in 2019 to 53.6% in 2021, with annual sales exceeding 230 billion yuan.

Retail pharmacy pharmacist is getting medicine to patients. The picture is from Xinhua News Agency.

Medical insurance cost control policy stimulates the growth of retail sales outside prescription drugs in the hospital

"The growth of the market size of the prescription drug in physical retail pharmacies is mainly affected by the series of medical insurance cost control policies and the improvement of people's consumption levels in recent years." Lin Yun, director and senior researcher of Mine.com Retail Center, said in an interview with a reporter from the People's Daily Health Client.

Lin Yun analyzed that on the one hand, a batch of innovative biological drugs have been approved for marketing, such as some high-value anti-tumor drugs, which were not included in the medical insurance payment as soon as possible, and patients were diverted to physical pharmacies to purchase them with prescriptions. The prices of such drugs are relatively high, and sales have maintained rapid growth in recent years, which has driven the increase in the market share of prescription drugs. The data in the

m Intranet report confirms Lin Yun's statement that among the 14 major drugs sold in urban physical pharmacies, the annual growth rate of anti-tumor and immunomodulatory agent drugs is the most significant, reaching 21.3%, with annual sales reaching 29.4 billion yuan.

In addition, volume-based procurement promotes changes in product brand flow, which is one of the factors that promote the growth of prescription drug share in the retail market. "Since the implementation of drug procurement in March 2019, imported original drugs that have not won the bid have won more sales in retail channels, with a growth rate significantly higher than other products in their category. In the future, with the expansion of centralized procurement, there will still be a large market space for original drugs and brand-friendly high-quality generic drugs." Lin Yun told reporters.

According to Mi Nei.com's prediction, with the exploration of electronic prescription circulation in hospitals in various places, the cake of drug retail is expected to be further expanded. However, as medical reform enters the deep water zone, how to adapt to the new situation and achieve transformation and upgrading is a problem that retail pharmacies cannot avoid at this stage.

" In the future, pharmacies will undertake its new responsibilities, divide them according to the target market consumer groups, highlight the main direction of big health value, and form a new structure of professional pharmacies such as DTP, dual channels, chronic diseases and "ordinary pharmacies + convenience". On this basis, we will explore big health business of "non-prepared medicines", such as traditional Chinese medicine clinics, convenience stores, pharmaceutical cosmetics business, etc. " Lin Yun mentioned that in addition, in line with the current habits of young people in purchasing medicines, and draining traffic through online and offline combination (O2O), thus achieving digital transformation is also a major focus of physical retail pharmacies' exploration.

ensures the safety of drug use and clarifys the main responsibilities of pharmacies

"The rapid growth of the prescription drug market means greater risks, and the burden of responsibility for practicing pharmacies practicing pharmacists is even more arduous." In the view of Kang Zhen, deputy director of the National Practical Pharmacist Development Research Center of China Pharmaceutical University, behind the rapid growth in demand for prescription drugs in retail pharmacies, there are hidden concerns about the safety of drug use.

According to the requirements of the "Notice on Standardizing the Arrangement and Use of Practical Pharmacists by the National Medical Products Administration" issued by in November 2020, in principle, pharmaceutical retail enterprises that operate prescription drugs and Class A non-prescription drugs should be equipped with practicing pharmacists. Pharmacists that operate only Class B non-prescription drugs should be equipped with business personnel who have passed the assessment organized by the drug supervision and administration department.

Xiao Qin, a pharmacist at a large offline chain pharmacy, told the People's Daily Health Client reporter that there are generally two types of staff in pharmacies now, one is a pharmacist with a certificate (practitioning pharmacist certificate), and the other is without a certificate. "The salary of a pharmacist in a pharmacy consists of two parts: basic salary and sales commission. Those with certificates are more than those without certificates, and the basic salary will only be about 1,000-1,500 yuan. I have worked in a pharmacy for three years, and I have personally experienced the difference between having certificates and not having certificates. If someone is an old employee, he can sell medicines, and his life will be better than those with certificates but cannot sell medicines."

In this regard, Kang Zhen told reporters that in order to make a profit and pharmacists pursue the "sales" of performance, it runs contrary to drug safety. For the sake of patients' medication safety, it is recommended to establish a standardized pharmacist service model. "Only by clarifying the main responsibilities of pharmacists can the issue of pharmacists sales be fundamentally changed. "

Kang Zhen suggested that, firstly, a reasonable service business model can be adopted to replace the price increase model of the commodity, and the corresponding fee compensation for the pharmacist's services can be given through medical insurance and commercial insurance. Secondly, ensure the service behavior of pharmacists, clarify the prescription adjustment standards, and use the business model of prescription business as a support. In the future, social pharmacies can be considered as an extension of the medical service system, so that practicing pharmacists can play their true value.