The economic crisis in Turkey, which could not be brought under control even though it has been going on for a long time, has hit pharmacies as well... Pharmacies whose profit rates have decreased despite the reflection of the increase in the exchange rate on drug prices are on the verge of bankruptcy. The drug price decree, which the government has not updated since 2009, leaves pharmacists no choice but to shut their doors down. Pharmacists told the problems and solutions they experienced to the Milli Gazete.
The economic crisis did not leave any sector in Turkey that it hasn’t hit... Especially the increase in the exchange rate brought even pharmacies to the point of closing their doors. Pharmacists, who have not made any changes in the drug price decree since 2009 and whose profits have decreased due to the increase in foreign exchange prices, are having a very difficult time in obtaining drugs. Pharmacists serving in various districts of Istanbul, Ö.F.Ş. and Murat S. told our newspaper about the root causes and solutions of the problems experienced today.
“DRUG PRICE DECREE SHOULD BE UPDATED”
Making evaluations to our newspaper, pharmacist Ö.F.Ş. said, “The biggest buyer of the drug in Turkey is the state. In other words, the customer is the state and the customer determines the price of the product, your profit rate and the maturity of the payment. There is no other self-employed person trying to make a living this way. Profitability rates also vary according to the price of the drug. As the price of the drug increases, the profit of the pharmacist decreases, which is not a problem here. The problem is that these charts have not been updated since 2009. For example, according to the profitability charts updated in 2009, the pharmacist's profit is 25 percent for drugs with a price of up to 10 Turkish Liras (TL), and this profit is 12 percent for drugs with a price higher than 200 TL. This profitability is calculated over the purchase price. In other words, the pharmacist's profit is 2 TL for a drug with a sales price of 10 TL, and a pharmacist's profit is 21.5 TL for a 200 TL drug. These figures were determined in 2009 and there has been no update in these sales figures for 13 years. Therefore, the price of many drugs has increased, there is almost no medicine under 10 TL. In fact, the increase in the price of drugs does not benefit the pharmacist. As the raise comes for drug, the pharmacist's profit decreases. Therefore, it is necessary to update the Pharmaceutical Price Decree of 2009”.
“WE ARE FOREIGN DEPENDENT ON DRUGS AND ACTIVE INGREDIENT, MANY PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES HAVE BEEN SOLD TO FOREIGNERS”
Using the expressions "Unfortunately, we are foreign-dependent in medicine and especially in its active ingredient", Ö.F.Ş. added, “Due to the drug price policy implemented by the government, domestic manufacturers have become unable to compete with foreigners. In this process, many pharmaceutical companies were bought by foreigners. In addition, Social Security Authority (SSK) Pharmaceutical Factory was also closed. This foreign dependency and the replacement of domestic producers by foreigners bring along drug shortages in economic crisis and exchange rate increases. When there are sudden increases in exchange rate, both glass and packaging prices and active ingredient prices get their share from these increases. When there is no increase in drug prices with this increase, companies reduce production and many vital drugs cannot be found by patients. This issue brings the pharmacist and the patient face to face.”
“UNEMPLOYED PHARMACISTS ARE ON THE WAY”
Another pharmacist, Murat S., who mentioned that one of the problems faced by pharmacists is unemployment, said, “There is a limitation on opening pharmacies according to the population in Turkey, and accordingly, there is a need for approximately 2,000 pharmacies. But in the next five years, the reality of 15 thousand newly graduated pharmacists is on our doorstep. This situation will bring along the problem of unemployed pharmacists. Again, according to the number of prescriptions and turnover, the employment of the second pharmacist and assistant pharmacist is obligatory, but this has been brought only for pharmacies. The obligation to employ a second pharmacist should also be introduced according to the number of beds in hospitals, according to the number of invoices and turnover in the pharmaceutical warehouses.”
“FOOD SUPPLEMENTS SHOULD BE SOLD AT PHARMACY”
Evaluating the ‘non-pharmaceutical’ class, which is an important issue, Murat S. added, “Although classified as non-pharmaceutical, many food supplements such as vitamins, minerals, fish oil, collagen, etc. are licensed by the Ministry of Agriculture on the basis of declaration. The fact that these are in the food supplement class, that such products are sold outside of the pharmacy, and that their fake ingredients are on the market, brings with it. These products should be licensed and supervised by the Ministry of Health and sold exclusively in pharmacies.”