Regulations for opening pharmacies in some countries
American pharmacies are full of streets and alleys, divided into franchised pharmacies and drug counters. A franchised pharmacy is a chain of pharmacies, generally small in appearance, selling prescription and over-the-counter drugs. The regulation of drugs in the United States is very strict.According to the regulations, any drugstore must have a full-time pharmacist. Doctors write prescriptions and pharmacists administer them. Whether it is a franchised pharmacy or a drug counter, there are professional pharmacists to provide consultation to patients.
When consumers come to the pharmacy to buy drugs. The pharmacist must first check the authenticity of the prescription and whether the doctor is a professional doctor. And then judge whether the amount of medicine is appropriate. If there is doubt, the pharmacist has the right to discuss with the doctor to adjust the drug, or improve the treatment plan.
If it is a rare new drug, the pharmacy will also check the doctor’s phone number and license number on the prescription in case of emergency. In addition, pharmacies do not dare to violate the rules. If they sell prescription drugs without a doctor’s prescription, once they are accuse. They will not only be revoke, but also be sentence to heavy fines, and even be fine.
France has very strict drug control
Wandering the streets of cities across France, it is striking that pharmacies are everywhere, with several on just one street. France’s drug management system is very strict. The pricing process has a clear division of labor, high transparency. The combination of government and experts, with a high degree of science and fairness. Specifically, the Committee on Transparency and the Committee on the Economy of Health Products under the Supreme Council of Health in France are responsible for regulating the pricing of medicines.
The Transparency Committee, composed of experts from the Ministries of Health and Social Security, disease foundations and clinical medicine, is responsible for assessing the application and economic value of medicines and determining whether and what proportion of medicines should be reimburse.
In addition, the Transparency Committee also makes recommendations on the norms of drug use. Such as specific indications, whom to use, qualified prescribers and conditions of use. The commission also requires drug manufacturers to conduct clinical follow-up after the drug is market and reevaluate it every five years.
German pharmacies have nothing to fill them with
Germany’s “Drug Law” and “Pharmacy management Regulations” have detailed legal provisions for drugs and pharmacies. For example, a pharmacy should be at least 130 square meters in size, with a dispensing room, a laboratory and adequate storage space.
Pharmacy staff must be professionally train, their salary income does not depend on whether the pharmacy is good or bad. But by the pharmacy industry association on working hours, professional degree should pay how much pay and staff to reach a salary agreement.
The German government sets reference prices for drug prices, and the drug prices of all pharmacies are consistent. And there is no competition between pharmacies in price. Patients who participate in medical insurance do not need to pay directly to the pharmacy to buy medicine. But are settle between the medical insurance institution and the pharmacy industry association.
Doctors prescribe drugs to accept the supervision of the medical insurance department, thinking that there is no loophole in the practice of over-prescribing drugs to make money. This allows everyone in Germany to participate in the statutory health insurance does not have to worry about being unable to afford medical treatment.
Pharmacies in Canada
Whether it is an independent large pharmacy, or a pharmacy in a shopping mall or supermarket. It is divide into two independent parts: fully open over-the-counter drugs and nearly fully close prescription drugs.
Fully open over-the-counter drugs
The over-the-counter section is more like a supermarket than a pharmacy. Because there are not only over-the-counter drugs, health products, various health equipment. But also such as cosmetics, baby products, food and beverages, and even general merchandise. This kind of product can be operate by anyone, and pharmacies will not let go of this business for “income generation”, so some large pharmacies have a large scale of non-drug operations, and even some large chain pharmacies such as ShoppersDrugMart are mistakenly thought by many consumers as “large chain supermarkets with pharmacies”, in fact, on the contrary, are “large diversify pharmacies”.
Nearly fully closed prescription drugs
The prescription drug part is “strict barriers”, only the doctor or hospital prescription, no prescription will not sell drugs. The prescription department of the pharmacy is closed and generally opens only two Windows: one for receiving and one for dispensing. Dispensing is done by a license pharmacist, while receiving and dispensing drugs at the window are ordinary salespeople who have no dispensing power.
It is worth mentioning that prescription drugs in Canada are “sold in pieces”, and will never be sold in whole bottles or boxes. On the one hand, this is to avoid the occurrence of expired drugs or waste, on the other hand, some medicines (such as cold medicine) contain special ingredients, which can become a drug replacement for addicts.
It can be seen that Canada’s “medicine separation” is very thorough. When it comes to prescription drugs, doctors and hospitals decide what and how much patients take, and pharmacies have no way to intervene. But whether or not a patient buys the medicine prescribed in this prescription, when and at which pharmacy is his or her own business, and doctors and hospitals do not know in advance. Patients can only fill the prescription, can not be choosy, can not buy more. In this way, even if pharmaceutical companies want to “hidden rules”, they have no way to start.
Japanese pharmacists are required to verify prescriptions
Japanese pharmacies are call “medicine bureaus,” and most of the drugs sold by pharmacies are prescribed by doctors. The price of prescription drugs in Japan is the same as that of the whole country, and medical insurance agencies settle according to the price list. In this process, doctors, drug bureaus and drug companies have few loopholes to exploit.
Since 2009, Japan’s retail control of drugs has been relax, and theoretically supermarkets or 24-hour stores can sell drugs, but there are few types, nothing more than cold medicine, abdominal distension medicine and band-Aids. Even so, this limited number of drugs put into ordinary supermarkets is not attractive to pharmaceutical companies, supermarkets and patients.
Government control
Under the government’s auspices, the number of pharmacies in Japan has increased rapidly since 1990, and most have evolved from small shops selling over-the-counter drugs to the ability to sell drugs for a wide range of prescriptions. This evolution comes not only from government regulation of the supply of drugs, but also from the growth of the ranks of pharmacists. By the end of 2011, there were more than 270,000 registered pharmacists in Japan, double the number in 1990. All pharmacists have been train by the university Department of Pharmacy and above, and have passed the examination and obtained the certificate.
The Japanese government requires pharmacists to verify doctors’ prescriptions and create dossiers for patients, and encourages patients to buy drugs from the same pharmacy over time. As a result, the relationship between patients and pharmacists has become closer, and the dependence on hospitals has become relatively low. On that basis, it would be much easier for the government to crack down on drug prices.
All in all
Drug prices are fairly stable under government control. Therefore, like doctors, the more excellent the professional standard and service spirit of pharmacists, the more patients take the initiative to fill medicines at home. Excellent pharmacists gradually join the high-income group. After the gray income is remove, pharmacists have become a high-paying profession with opportunities for fame and fortune.
