Asian Journal Of Social Pharmacy

Abstract: Objective To summarize the main characteristics and development approaches of direct-to-patient (DTP) pharmacies, and to explore its future development trend. Methods Firstly, relevant policies of DTP pharmacies were sorted out based on some documents on the government website, and related articles were studied. Secondly, 499 DTP pharmacies were investigated. Finally, the current status of the industry was summarized and analyzed. Results and Conclusion Policies on China’s DTP pharmacy have been constantly improved. According to industry standards, the current compliance rate of DTP pharmacies is about 46.09%. In terms of varieties, the market share concentration rate of biological products is higher than that of chemical drugs. The regional distribution of these drugs is mainly concentrated in the central and eastern provinces. However, 63.45% of DTP pharmacies have less than 50 product specifications. DTP pharmacies have an average of 7.3 pharmacy technicians and 2.3 licensed pharmacists, which is higher than that of ordinary pharmacies. Due to the policy promotion, DTP pharmacies will be paid more attention by the public and the government, and the market share will become larger than before. Patients shifting from hospitals to drug-to-pharmacies can make them better layout. Besides, pharmaceutical services will become more specialized, and disease division will be more detailed. With the deepening of medical reform and the continuous improvement of national medical security as well as drug procurement and medical insurance payment methods, DTP pharmacies can play an important role in the national basic medical security system.

Key words: DTP pharmacy, policy, industry standard, market share, pharmacy service