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The number of Hungarian pharmacies continued to fall last year, but the real problem is the impossibility of selling medicines online. This is why Hungarian pharmacies may soon be competing with professional foreign webshops. In the meantime, the industry is waiting for a tightening of the marketing of food supplements, so that certain products can only be sold in pharmacies.
Last year, the annual turnover of pharmacies exceeded HUF 1,000 billion (1 EUR = 385 HUF), reports Világgazdaság. This means an increase of 11.6% compared to 2022, but excluding high-value products worth HUF 28 billion reclassified from hospital sales, the change was only around nine percent, the Alliance of Network Pharmacies (HGYSZ) said at a press conference.
As it was emphasized:
while new pharmacies were established, the decline in the number of pharmacies continued.
In several municipalities where a public pharmacy was operating, a branch pharmacy took its place. In addition, the vast majority of new pharmacies opened in locations where there was already an existing pharmacy, thus they did not materially improve pharmacy access. Today, around 700,000 people live in a settlement where there is no direct access to medicines.
During the press event, it was also pointed out that there has been a slight increase again in the share of OTC (over-the-counter) products, but subsidized products continue to account for the bulk of sales. The number of boxes of OTC products has fallen as demand has shifted towards larger, more economical pack sizes.
Pharmacies have been making a constant margin on sales of subsidized medicines for ten years. In the 2023 budget, HUF 472 billion was allocated for subsidies.
This year’s budget includes HUF 500 billion, but this is expected to rise.
In this context, it is important for pharmacies to solve the problem of pricing medical devices with negative margins. There are products such as adult diapers that are loss-making for pharmacies.
Photo via Pixabay
Several changes are expected this year in the sector. Among others, a legislative amendment last year tightened up the marketing of dietary supplements, which could be a positive development from a patient safety, professional, and operational point of view.
Furthermore, the online distribution of medicines has been a strictly regulated activity from 2022, with most pharmacies abandoning it or continuing it with in-person pick-up. Since only a few pharmacies carry out home delivery with professional staff,
foreign webshops could take a large share of online sales away from Hungarian pharmacies in the near future.
Via Világgazdaság; Featured image via Facebook/Belvárosi Gyógyszertár
