“Generally, this decline has to do with pharmacies in rural areas, because the battle is fierce in cities and there is also the cap on the number of pharmacies that can open there. Rural pharmacies have fewer financial resources to stay on the changing pharmaceutical market,” Cristina Pavel representative of the independent pharmacy association in Romania AFIE, which numbers of more than 200 members in Bucharest and the rest of the country, told ZF.
“The major chains are backed by warehouses that supply them first, while small, independent pharmacies are unable to get many of the drugs in short supply. Patients are turning to cities with all the effort that takes.”
Most pharmacies, 912, operate in Bucharest. Second most pharmacies, 414 are in Dolj County, followed by Constanta, almost 400.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)