Pharmacies' Stock Levels to Be Reviewed – "Regardless of Physical or E-commerce"

Jakob Forssmed (Montage/Photo: Photographer Kristian Pohl AB/The Government Offices)

"Crucial".

It may be a crucial moment when a patient clicks the buy button in an online store or steps into their local pharmacy. The expectation is simple: the medicine should be available immediately. But reality doesn't always look like that, and now the government wants full control over how often the Swedish people actually get their prescriptions filled without waiting. The Swedish Dental and Pharmaceutical Benefits Agency, TLV, has therefore received a new assignment that puts both the physical stores and the growing e-commerce under the microscope.

The purpose of the state review is to obtain statistics on the so-called direct dispensing rate. This concerns the extent to which a customer can receive their goods immediately, whether it occurs over a physical counter or through a digital order.

For this to work, a logistics chain and warehousing are required that are adapted to the needs of the population throughout the country. The authority will now investigate how well the pharmacy players meet these requirements.

"It is crucial for both patient safety and confidence in the pharmaceutical supply that patients receive their medicines on time. Follow-up is important to ensure that pharmacies' stock and logistics meet patients' needs, regardless of where in the country they live and regardless of whether it concerns physical pharmacies or e-commerce," says Minister for Social Affairs Jakob Forssmed.

The Role of E-commerce Requires New Methods

The background to the new assignment dates back to the summer of 2023. TLV was then tasked with developing a way to measure availability that also included online sales.

When the results were presented in November 2025, it became clear that availability in stores had improved compared to previous years. At the same time, deficiencies were discovered in the measurement methods for digital commerce. The tools used failed to fully capture how e-commerce contributes to patients receiving their medicines.

The government therefore believes that further development of how the figures are collected is required. It is about creating a more accurate picture of how digital logistics works as a complement to physical pharmacies.

The new assignment means that the authority must refine its analyses to better estimate how e-commerce affects the total availability on the market.

Long-Term Follow-up Until 2028

The work to map pharmacies' performance will continue for several years. TLV will report its progress orally to the Government Offices at the beginning of both 2027 and 2028. The focus is on creating a sustainable model that can be used to continuously assess whether pharmacies can deliver medicines at the first contact.

The final report will be completed on December 15, 2028, giving the authority time to analyze trends and areas for development within the industry.

Editorial Staff