[Pharmaceutical distribution and retail pharmacy]

Abstract

In this chapter, the main characteristics of pharmaceutical distribution and retail pharmacy are described. The author analyses the structure of this sector, the agents operating in it -wholesalers, hospital pharmacy services and chemists- and the very few modifications introduced in it in the recent years, focusing on the incentives of its current structure and their consistency with health aims. On the basis of this analysis, the author outlines some possible ways to redefine the sector, which should focus on the promotion of desirable health objectives rather than on the survival of the inefficacies that hinder its evolution. The author pays special attention to the need to modify the inadequate existing retribution system and to substitute it for a different one, which focuses on the professionalism of the service provided, rather than on the profit margin or the sales.