Things are going to change in the Sweden Pharmacy sector, both in Hospital and Community. An article, written by Dr Srinivas Uppugunduri, in the new issue of the European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy-Practice shows us the way. Here are some highlights:
"Sweden, in stark contrast to most European countries, has had a state-owned monopoly for retailing and distribution of drugs. The Swedish government, in a wave of nationalisations, created Apoteket AB (The National Board of Swedish Pharmacies) in the early 1970s. Apoteket AB, a public sector company owned by the Swedish state was awarded the exclusive privilege of operating, both, community and hospital pharmacies.
... deregulation should take place in three stages.
- The first step will be the deregulation of the hospital pharmacies which will be effective from 1 September 2008
- The second step will be to allow private enterprises to open community pharmacies
- The last set of proposals aims at making many OTC drugs available, without professional supervision, at many retailing stations such as gas stations and grocery shops
Provided the necessary legislation is in place, we might see the advent of privately run hospital pharmacies for the very first time in Swedish history."
Sources
Read the whole article in: http://www.eahponline.org/upload/ejhp/NationalNews13(2).pdf
Inquiry on the re-regulation of the pharmacy market: http://www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/10667/a/105674
The Government's decisions concerning the pharmacy market: http://www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/10667/a/105672
