Trashing the Pharmacy Trade !

We hear a lot of complaints from people who claim they can not afford to see a doctor.  In fact doctors are scarce in many country towns and while they seem to proliferate in fashionable city suburbs, practices that bulk bill seem to be steadily shrinking.

Before the introduction of Medicare, which was supposed to bring a doctor within reach of all Australians, there were many families which relied entirely on the local chemist for their health needs.  That wise old pharmacist was the person to consult when symptoms appeared and the medicines he or she recommended usually relieved the problem.

Those were the days when doctors wrote scripts in Latin and most medication was actually  concocted from base materials by the chemist.  Today, medication comes pre-packaged by giant pharmaceutical companies and the chemist simply takes it off the shelf.  That chemist shop bears a strong resemblance to a supermarket with a dizzying array of medication on display.

There are still vast numbers of people who rarely consult a doctor and still rely on the pharmacy for their health needs.   The rental asked for shops depends on their location and the need to generate a profit has forced many chemists to extend the range of products far beyond proprietary medication. We are now seeing a vast array of non-evidence based or complimentary medication which ranges even into the category of homeopathic remedies.   Some chemists even employ a resident naturopath.

The Medicare regimen has a degree of control on the prices charged for prescription medication and this does not extend to what is being offered outside that category.  High profit markups can be attractive to a struggling chemist beset by fierce competition.   This is usually accompanies by promotional material making claims that can not be substantiated medically.  It is feared this can lead to customer confusion and trash the good name that pharmacists hold in the eyes of the public.


Unfortunately, this is being exacerbated by a new emerging trend in the marketing of pharmaceuticals.  This  " supermarket " thinking is seeing the creation of centrally located maxi stores which claim to offer the cheapest prices across the entire medical range.  They advertise heavily and adopt the " loss leader " tactic of offering " specials " which are often sold below cost to attract new customers through the door.

It is highly likely this tactic will see the number of Chemist shops follow the trend that resulted in two giant supermarket chains controlling eighty percent of the grocery trade.  We would do well to remember how supermarkets displaced the plethora of " corner stores " that served Australia so well.
If this trend to maxi chemist shops drives smaller pharmacies out of business those people who rarely consult a doctor will lose the valuable advice they receive from their trusted pharmacy supplier.

Perhaps one of those instances where " bigger "  is not  " better :"  !