Pharmacy chains versus private pharmacies in Poland, 1989-2015

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyse trends in the development of pharmacy chains belonging to pharmaceutical wholesalers in Poland in the years 1989-2014. After the collapse of the Soviet bloc, the Polish pharmaceutical market, as in all of Central and Eastern Europe, followed in the footsteps of the global market and became highly commercial. It was a significant change as in the communist system the state had a monopoly on the whole of the medicines and dressing materials market. What is more, there was no such thing as private property. After 1989, pharmacies and pharmaceutical wholesalers, which were nationalized in 1951, were gradually replaced by private pharmacies and pharmaceutical wholesalers. It was a hopeful perspective for pharmacists, but their share in the pharmaceutical market has been steadily decreasing. There are several factors that contributed to this situation: a shortage of capital, unfavourable rules for the reimbursement of medicines, liberal pharmaceutical legislation, pharmacists’ lack of preparation for managing their pharmacies and strong competition from pharmacy chains owned by enterprises registered as public companies. In 2014 the Polish pharmacy market was dominated by pharmacy chains.

http://dx.doi.org/10.14195/1647-6336_14_7