The pharmacy market has grown since deregulation with more players and established e-commerce, but the conditions for operating a business vary across the country. Now, the Swedish Agency for Health and Care Analysis (TLV) has been tasked by the government to analyze and develop the pharmacy reimbursement model.
The industry organization Swedish Pharmacists' Association views the decision positively.
It is important that the trading margin sustainably supports both accessibility and viable conditions for pharmacy service throughout the country, both via physical stores and e-commerce. We look forward to collaborating with TLV and constructively contributing with experience and knowledge, says Johan Wallér, CEO of the Swedish Pharmacists' Association.
For TLV, this is the second major pharmacy assignment in a short time. In early May, it was announced that the agency had also been tasked with reviewing pharmacies' inventory and direct dispensing rate. The purpose of the previous assignment is to develop a measurement model to see how quickly patients gain access to their medications, with a particular focus on improving methods for measuring e-commerce logistics and accessibility.
In parallel with TLV's new assignment regarding the reimbursement model, the Swedish Medical Products Agency has been assigned the task of investigating the validity period of prescriptions. The agency should investigate whether prescriptions can be made valid for more than one year and whether pharmacists can extend them in certain cases. The change could reduce the number of healthcare contacts for patients and ensure that more people do not run out of prescription medication.
More flexible rules will make things easier for patients while making greater use of the expertise of pharmacies, says Johan Wallér.
The assignments to the two agencies have the overall goal of strengthening accessibility and the conditions for pharmacies in the long term.