Elias
Mossialos, Monique Mrazek
LSE Health & Social Care and the European Observatory on Health
Care Systems
Report
Prepared for the UK Office of Fair Trading
London,
Office of Fair Trading. 2003
Available
online as PDF file [59p.] at:
http://www.oft.gov.uk/nr/rdonlyres/ei273ykx6zzqejh3b4yyffquynf7
qspevypnumw2jwhghk7xptz3lk5kmbftwqhbikfuopg64i3fr5d2554oxkbwx
qa/oft609-annexe+c.pdf
"........The
aim of this study is to provide a brief overview of the laws and regulations
governing the retail pharmacy sector that impact on competition between
pharmacies in six OECD countries. As part of the Office of Fair Trading
investigation into the entry controls to the retail pharmacy market in the
United Kingdom, this study describes how retail pharmacy is governed in
other
countries, in particular the extent to which entry is controlled and
pharmacies compete.
The
countries covered by this study are Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands,
Norway and the United States (USA). The countries were selected on the basis
of the diversity of the their systems for financing and delivering health
care, as well as for the structure and extent of regulation in their
pharmacy market. This report covers developments in the pharmacy markets
of these countries up to June 2002.
This
study examines the retail pharmacy sector in each of the selected
countries along four main parameters: pharmacy numbers, restrictions
of entry, restrictions of ownership and restrictions on price. The first
section
in each country case-study looks at the relationship between
the ratio of pharmacies and pharmacists to population. Where the data
is available, a time trend for comparison is included. This is followed
by
the examination of restrictions of entry in each country including
whether there are restrictions on the location of new pharmacies and whether
a licence or contract is required for dispensing prescribed drugs.
Questions
such as whether there are restrictions on ownership structure or the number
of pharmacies per owner are examined in the section on restrictions of
ownership. Finally, regulations limiting the retail prices of prescribed
drugs are considered.
An
appendix (Appendix A) to this study provides a brief overview of the
mechanisms for financing and delivering health care in the selected
countries.
It includes requirements for co-payments and the limits to product
reimbursement.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1
- Introduction and comparative overview
2
- Canada
3
- France
4
- Germany
5
- The Netherlands
6
- Norway
7
- United States
Appendix
A: Overview of Health Care Funding and Delivery
The
control of entry regulations and retail pharmacy services in
the UK
Available
online as PDF file [79p.] at:
http://www.oft.gov.uk/nr/rdonlyres/e7rktzjbulbqdiw3pv6as6wesyw
xmtlzhtdusisl2l7sgj5tiy6q2xu7eytdcawzhqsc3itrqx4rgg7mgzv77f5xo
ef/oft609.pdf
".......There
are currently some 12,250 Community pharmacy CPs in
the UK and the markets they serve account for a sizeable share of consumer
spending. Community pharmacy CPs have an important role
to play in the health of local populations through the distribution
of prescription medicines, the sale of over-the-counter (OTC)
medicines and the provision of professional advice...."
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message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an
effort to
disseminate information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic
inequality in
health; Socioeconomic health differentials; Gender;Violence; Poverty; Health
Economics;
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libraries;Research
& Science issues. [DD/ IKM Area] "Materials provided in this
electronic list are provided
"as is".
Unless expressly stated
otherwise, the findings and interpretations included
in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan
American
Health Organization PAHO/WHO or its country members".
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