Information pictures
The national programme for deepening the “landing of deregulated clothes” reform was recently published by the state council's office to optimize the division of tasks of the business television conference (hereinafter referred to as the division of labour programme), which referred to the introduction of a system of notification of commitment to the approval of retail enterprises that operate only non-prescription drugs in category b, and the elimination of the preparation and approval of drug retail enterprises. In fact, many places, such as liaoning, zhejiang and shaanxi, have expressly abolished the preparation and approval of retail pharmacies, the distance limit for pharmacies, etc。
The founder of the chinese medical association stated that, in the context of the country's efforts to streamline approval and encourage chaining, the number of single-body pharmacies would be further reduced and large chains of pharmacies would lead to better development。
Implementation of the "communication of commitments" to make new drug stores simpler
In order to qualify for non-prescribed drugs in category b, certification is required through the preparation and approval process, material verification, on-site inspection and system clearance. The enterprise needs to go through the preparation of the data to be reviewed。
In fact, before the national policy came into being, there had been a number of attempts to cancel the preparation and approval process on a pilot basis. As early as 2016, shenzhen city began piloting the system of notification of commitments, whereby the administrative authorities, when approving a permit, informed the applicant once and for all of the legal conditions, and if the written undertaking of the applicant was satisfied, the administrative authorities no longer requested the relevant certificates or did not conduct on-site verification. According to data published by the shenzhen market supervision authority, in january-early june this year, over 7,000 pharmacies were licensed on a promise basis。
On 5 december last year, according to information released at kunming information port, one-minded clerk was given a drugs operating licence in less than one hour at the kunmingsi hills service centre, after waiting 60 days。
In march this year, the liaoning provincial drug authority issued a communiqué abolishing the approval of pharmaceutical companies (whose wholesale and retail enterprises) to apply for a " pharmaceutical business licence " , and the opening of new drug businesses, with the possibility of issuing a " pharmaceutical business licence " directly if they meet the requirements for the application。
“spacing limit” is zero, and vicious competition is inevitable
While the procedure for opening new shops has been simplified, the “space limit” for opening pharmacies will be eliminated throughout the country. Previously, in order to prevent pharmacies from being congested, many locations, including beijing, shanghai, tianjin and others, had requested site spacing ranging from 50 to 350 metres。
“there are now no distance requirements for the opening of new pharmacies, and the opening of pharmacies is open to door-to-door, and often vicious competition is inevitable.” the head of a small and medium-sized pharmacy chain in wuhan told the news reporter that the distance limit was in fact a protective mechanism, and that the distance had led to a crowd of pharmacies. For its part, xiu zilong, the director of the general pharmacy, believes that the limit is actually to protect the backwardness of the pharmacies in order to make them more demanding。
“it is up to the market to compete, not to limit distance.” the founder of the chinese medical club has indicated that, according to developed country standards, a pharmacy is profitable for every 6,000 people, that every 3,000 pharmacies serve in the country and that in some places, such as shen yang, in 2018, data show that every 2250 pharmacies serve. This year, as a result of the epidemic, there has been a surge in online sales, and many places have been actively engaged in online ordering for “last kilometres” of medicines, but some have been opened only to drug chains to encourage chainization. “in the overall general direction, single-body pharmacies are indeed at a disadvantage.” money stands up。
It's easier to open a store. It's the shop, the market
While opening a store is difficult to keep up with, many pharmacies have not developed a new one, and many existing ones are difficult to maintain and close because of rent pressures, scarcity of customers and low profits。
Money stands ready to believe that opening a shop, although simpler, is the key to making a living shop and a market. If service capacity is not raised, it is at a disadvantage in competition to survive in a bind or collapse. The number of pharmacies in the country has been increasing in recent years, but the contribution to this increase has come mainly from large drug chains. With the involvement of capital, the distribution of large pharmacies to markets has increased, leading to an increase in the number of pharmacies. For small and medium-sized pharmacies, especially single-body pharmacies, there is a risk of resale or even closure。
“the government wants a chain of pharmacies to facilitate management, and policy encourages a chain of pharmacies. The share of single-body pharmacies in previous years was higher than that of a chain of pharmacies, which is now almost flat.” chung indicated that the operation of single-body pharmacies was influenced by the individual abilities of the owner and the shop owner, and was disadvantaged in terms of funds, service capacity, purchasing voice, etc., and would be further reduced。
