Study of organizational challenges of pharmacy location (a case of the Novosibirsk region)

I n t r o d u c t i o n . The oversaturation of large cities with pharmacies and their consolidation into networks leads to increased competition between them, while at the same time, in rural settlements, the population often does not have the opportunity to purchase medications in their places of residence, since there are no pharmacies. In these conditions, it is necessary to optimize the location of pharmacies which is not regulated by law.
A i m . An assessment of the pharmaceutical market concentration in the Russian Federation and analysis of the pharmacy location in municipalities of the Novosibirsk region in 2021.
M a t e r i a l s  a n d  m e t h o d s . We used data of the Unified Register of Licenses of the Federal Service for Surveillance in Healthcare, as well as reports from the DSM Group, statistical data of the Medical Information and Analytical Center of the Novosibirsk region, data on the number of pharmacies from the 2GIS app for 10 municipalities of the Novosibirsk region and separately for 10 districts of the city of Novosibirsk. Research methods: content analysis, normative and index methods, economic and statistical, and regression analyses.
R e s u l t s . The Herfindahl-Hirschman index calculated for 2021 – 427.69 – allowed us to establish that the Russian pharmaceutical market is low-concentrated, no single pharmacy network has a dominant position in the market, therefore, at present, norms of antimonopoly regulation of the market are not applicable. The average value of the actual number of population per pharmacy in 10 districts of Novosibirsk was 26.26 thousand people. The smallest number of people per pharmacy is observed in the Central district of the city; the profitability of their work is ensured by a high consumer traffic on weekdays and the close location of office buildings. Based on the data obtained, it was established that in each of the districts of Novosibirsk, the number of population per pharmacy is 10–15 times less than the standards calculated according to the Guidelines of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. The actual number of population per one pharmacy in the municipalities of the Novosibirsk region was 15.321 thousand people. Among the municipalities of the Novosibirsk region, only in the worker’s settlement Koltsovo there is a correspondence between the number of pharmacies and the number of residents; in other areas there is an excess of pharmacies and an imbalance in their location. It was also found that in the central district hospitals of the Novosibirsk region, pharmaceutical activities are carried out via 1013 separate structural divisions.
C o n c l u s i o n . An increase in the amount of pharmacies and an enhancement of their uneven distribution have been revealed, namely, an excess of parmacies – in urban municipalities and a shortage – in rural settlements, which leads to difficulties in provision of medicines and a paradoxical price increase. Most pharmacies in the Novosibirsk region belong to pharmacy networks; optimization of the pharmacy location is necessary to increase the accessibility of medicines.  

1. RNC Pharma presents a database update. Census of pharmacies in Russia for December 2020 г. URL: https://rncph.ru/news/25_02_2021 (accessed 11.08.2023).

2. ASIP. The Association of Independent Pharmacies told who benefi ts from the excess number of pharmacies in Russia. URL: http://promrf.ru/text/100931.html (accessed 11.08.2023).

3. Doguzova V., Kalinovskaya E. (April, 2021). The number of single pharmacies is constantly growing. Pharmaceutical Newsletter. URL: https://pharmvestnik.ru/content/news/Kolichestvo-odinochnyh-aptek-postoyanno-rastet.html (accessed 11.08.2023).

4. On the principles of pharmaceutical organization location and standards for the development of a network of pharmacies serving the population. Guidelines for practitioners and scientists No. 97/111 (approved by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation on October 16, 1997). URL: https://base.garant.ru/4179038/ (accessed 11.08.2023).

5. DSM Group. Rating of pharmacy networks as of year-end 2021. URL: https://dsm.ru/news/2163/ (accessed 11.08.2023).

6. On the extension of permits and other features regarding licensing activities in 2020–2022: Government Decree of 04/03/2020 No. 440. URL: https://docs.cntd.ru/document/564603690 (accessed 11.08.2023).