The rigorous limitation of the number of pharmacies must be abandoned during the next election cycle, according to the Central Chamber of Commerce, and the sale of over-the-counter medications must be deregulated to make room for retail outlets.
If the pharmacy’s founder and the pharmacy meets the legal requirements for operating a pharmacy, the Central Chamber of Commerce will waive the needs assessment and permit its establishment with a notification process.
According to the CEO of Keskuskauppakamari, Juho Romakkaniemi, in a press release, “Obsolete monopolies and barriers to market access must ultimately be eliminated, enterprises’ competitive conditions must be encouraged, and customers’ requirements must be addressed.
Romakkaniemi contends that in order to provide the finest quality, businesses need fair and equitable market competition circumstances.
“Heavy pharmacy regulation makes it difficult for pharmacies to meet customer demands and needs. Customers would benefit from a deregulated pharmacy industry by seeing an increase in the number of pharmacies, longer hours, and lower drug pricing.
from pharmacy store count restrictions to quality standards
The number of pharmacies has stayed relatively constant between 2010 and 2018, according to a report on the pharmacy market produced by the Finnish Competition and Consumer Agency in 2020, even though annual spending on medications and medical supplies increased by about 600 million euros during that time.
Instead of the current pharmacist model, the Central Chamber of Commerce would permit pharmaceutical operations to be carried out in the form of a firm. The licensing process and requirements established by the Medicines Act would help to preserve pharmaceutical expertise.
Additionally, the Central Chamber of Commerce would switch from regulating the quantity of pharmacies to controlling the quality of the pharmacies’ services, ensuring the accessibility of medications throughout Finland.
“A minimum standard for the composition and volume of the medication stock must be established for full-service pharmacies in order to ensure the availability of medicines and the national supply of medications. As has been done in other Nordic nations, the selling of non-prescription self-medication should also be permitted at retail establishments. The availability of over-the-counter medications would increase and drug costs would decrease if retail sales were permitted, claims Romakkaniemi.