After 17 years of implementation, beijing removed the “350 m distance” threshold for pharmacies. The pharmacy has been open for a long time. In order to prevent pharmacies from co-locating and to balance pharmaceutical resources, requests for site spacing have been made in various places, including beijing, shanghai, tianjin, etc. As early as 2004, beijing requested that new and existing drug retail enterprises have a viable distance of more than 350 metres. With regard to the lifting of restrictions, the pharmacy owner indicated that “the `350 m distance' threshold was removed, providing more options for the location of the branch”
“the 350-metre interval requirement for a new pharmacy” has strong historical traces. This requirement, which has been in force for 17 years, has become more mechanical, obsolete and anachronistic in this rapidly changing and new-worded society, both vertically and horizontally. Now it's finally cancelled. The true market economy must respect the self-judgment of business subjects and must create conditions for the free flow of permissible elements, on which basis efficiency and value creation can be activated. The elimination of the 350-metre limit for pharmacies, in the light of the situation, undoubtedly responds to the trend。
In fact, many cities have long eliminated the space requirement for new drug stores. In practical terms, there are no obvious negative consequences. The reality is that many cities do have pharmacies that are “stacked”, but this is more a neutral phenomenon, which is “full competition” rather than “negative competition”: on the one hand, the overall long-term stability of the supply of medicines, the quality of services, price order, etc., is better; on the other hand, the processes of “centralization” and “sunking” of new pharmacies are simultaneously advancing — in recent years, there have been more pharmacies in central city and more in remote suburban and rural areas
Former policymakers have expressed concern that the absence of a limit on the distance between newly opened pharmacies may lead to an imbalance in the distribution of pharmaceutical resources, namely, “overhangs in urban pharmacies and scarcity in remote peri-urban pharmacies”. After all, it's also a matter of concern. As the industry expands, and as supply capacity increases, pharmacies dealers and retailers will inevitably find every avenue, seize every business opportunity and take all profits. The profit-driven nature of the business and the pioneering business spirit have driven the expansion of new pharmacies in remote areas。
In the area of well-resourced and competitive businesses, the fewer the framework for planning thinking, the better. Those “limitations” that are self-righteous are, in many cases, incomprehensible. In the case of pharmacies, for example, the “350 m interval”, the rule itself was unreasonable. In modern cities, “space distance” has long been an effective indicator for assessing the supply-demand relationship, as opposed to data such as residential density, functional location and “population-door ratio”. It makes no sense to adhere to a self-evident and ineffective “access criteria”. In beijing, the 350-metre limit for pharmacies was removed, which was beneficial for both markets and citizens。
Respect for the dominant nature of markets can only activate positive feedback from them. Accelerating the clean-up of outdated regulatory provisions will surely release more reform dividends。
Author
Can not open message
Get a reporter, get a reporter, get help, download "ziru one" ap or "one point" micro-intelligence. More than 600 mainstream media reporters from all over the province are waiting for you online
