site.btaNumber of Pharmacies in Bulgaria Almost Twice the European Average

The number of pharmacies in Bulgaria is almost twice the European average, the Bulgarian Pharmaceutical Union (BPhU) announced at a news conference at BTA's press club here Monday on the occasion of World Pharmacists Day. 

The International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) was established on 25 September 1912, 111 years ago, and currently has 156 national pharmaceutical organisations, including the Bulgarian Pharmaceutical Union, many academic institutions and individual members.

The large number of pharmacies in Bulgaria results in them not being supplied with a workforce sufficient for the proper functioning of pharmacies, said BPhU President Dimitar Marinov. On average, three pharmacists work in a pharmacy in Europe, while in Bulgaria there are 2.1. There are areas where there are no pharmacists in pharmacies, contrary to legal requirements. A total of 58% of EU residents can reach a pharmacy within five minutes, while in Bulgaria this percentage is 78, Marinov said, adding that 98.6% of the Bulgarian residents can reach a pharmacy within 30 minutes. "So in terms of pharmacy availability, we are well above the European average," he added.

Among the problems outlined by the BPhU is the supply of medicines, which is largely the result of shortages in the production and logistical part. There is a lack of timely and objective information on the use of medicines. There is uncontrolled parallel export of medicines, whether legal or not, the pharmaceutical union also said. 

According to BPhU, the possibility of generic substitution of medicines should be introduced, because Bulgaria is the only country in the EU where this is not allowed. There is also a need to revive the compounding of medicines in pharmacies.

Another problem noted by the Union is the so-called vertical integration in the drug supply chain, meaning that the owners of pharmacy chains, warehouses and even manufacturers are the same. It is possible that these vertically linked structures work in mutual benefit so they can gain a position of monopoly, Dimitar Marinov said. According to him, such dependencies also lead to the possibility of limiting patients' access to certain medicinal products, which are provided only to the pharmacies connected to the warehouses. In this way, patients are directed to these pharmacies as a priority, while other retailers and their patients are deprived of access to "scarce" medicines, he said.

According to pharmacists, any attempts at "solving" the problem of limited access to medicines and pharmaceutical care in small settlements without a pharmacy through the so-called mobile pharmacies, vending machines, online sales or dispensing by unqualified staff is simply brushing the problem aside. All such ideas that periodically creep into the public domain, especially before local elections, are particularly dangerous, especially in an environment of shortages and significant vertical integration, according to the pharmacists.