Appearance of Pharmacies >>> What are your opinions according to my observations??

[Stratos]

(Sorry for my not good level of English!!! )

I studied pharmacy in Italy and my family runs one in Greece. I am registered with the RPSGB and I worked for a couple of months in a retail pharmacy. So I could say that I have a small idea of how the pharmacies are looking at least on those countries....

I don t know though the system in the UK about pharmacies so I can t say my opinion about the differences with other countries.

I have noticed though something which I would like to mention here. All the pharmacies at least in Manchester area (the place where I lived and saw almost all phamacies because I was interested),apart the big companies like Boots, Loyds, etc were having a very bad appearance. There was no marketing at all and I saw even dirty pharmacies with dust all over the shelves. I was working in one of those and was situated in a very busy road!! I know pharmacies should not be like beauty shops but in Italy and Greece pharmacies are having a completely different outlook. They are more appealing to customers with nice design, adverts, promotions and very good cosmetics (pharmaceutical ones ) that even Boots are not offering with their huge variety of products.
I am not speaking about functionality because for sure Greece is much more behing than UK. In UK pharmacists seems to be much more informed and professionals. Also the whole system is much better!!! But i have the impression that the appearance of pharmacies in the UK are of a much lower quality than in Italy for instance.
Anyone could go on the web and search for some pictures of pharmacies in west Europe and could realise what I am talking about.

What is your opinion about that? I think pharmacies are not beauty shops as I told before but comfort and appearance nowdays, have their own role in making business. Also I could never imagine the existance of pharmacies that are not in accordance with the rules of simple hygienic.

The pharmacy we run in Greece is making the 60 percent of its revenue by selling OTC procucts, cosmetics and vitamins. They are all recognised by the national organisation of drugs in Greece and are not sold by other stores. Women and babies is a very important target for marketing and almost all pharmacies have hired women specialized in pharmaceutical cosmetics. There is a huge variety of products for babies and veterinary ones as well. They are all stored in a special order with nice looking shelves, lights and colours. All about marketing anyway... I could go further if someone is interested and talk about that...

I have seen all those pharmacies in Manchester area and hundreds other in Italy and Greece with my own eyes so I am sure about what I mentioned but I would like to ask why it is like this??? Has to do with the different mentality maybe? British are more interested of having things well done and orginised??? Is there a specific way of making pharmacies in the UK???



Sorry again for my not good level of English!!!

[johnep]

Well, most of the pharmacies in the UK are under an Italian's control who lives in switzerland.
johnep

[DavidS]

I think it would be great if we had a properly marketed pharmacy-only range of cosmetics and beauty products. The difficulty is that Boots have gone down their own way, and any competitor wouldn't stand a chance because Boots wouldn't be stocking it..

[Zoggite]

Ownership of Pharmacies in Greece and Italy is restricted to Pharmacists only whereas in UK anyone can own one, including supermarket chains and opportunistic "Businessmen"... This has had a negative impact on the public perception on Pharmacies ("Chemists") in the UK.
Stratos, you say "I am not speaking about functionality because for sure Greece is much more behing than UK. In UK pharmacists seems to be much more informed and professionals.": Could you elaborate some more on this? I am intrigued!

Finally, could you tell me if there exists in Greece a book/catalogue that lists all the medicines that are available on the greek market, whether they require a Prescription or not, and their prices, like the UK "Chemist & Druggist monthly price list"? I spend quite a lot of time in Greece, and when I need meds, I'd like to know what to ask for and whether I'll be able to buy it without a Doctor's prescription- we pharmacists make awful patients!
Thanks!

[Pharmanaut]

I think it would be great if we had a properly marketed pharmacy-only range of cosmetics and beauty products. The difficulty is that Boots have gone down their own way, and any competitor wouldn't stand a chance because Boots wouldn't be stocking it..

Would someone with the business idea of starting up a generics firm where all pharmacists where invited to become shareholders? ie : owned solely by pharmacists.
That gives us all the potential to get something back from our labours when dispensing the huge numbers of prescriptions each day.

Care to comment anyone?

[mrmeds]

if i remember rightly, dosn't the state of uk pharmacies have something to do with Boots flexing their muscle back in the sixties. Wasn't there a court case regarding restraint of trade versus the society trying to uphold standards. Dickson case or something

[johnep]

History has a way of repeating itself.
During the 30s slump there was a great deal of price cutting going on as now. The Chemists Federation was formed to provide pharmacy only products. A group of pharmacists got together and founded United Chemists to act as a wholesaler --- Unichem.

As Boots stores became larger they naturally wanted to sell a large range of goods. The final straw was when they introduced handbags to their range. Many pharmacists thought this was not consistent with the 'image' of pharmacy and sought to bring in regulations to restrict the range of goods sold. At a Branch Representatives meeting, the meeting had been 'packed' with Boots supporters and the proposition was voted down. A Secial General Meeting was then called for and some 8,000 pharmacists, me amongst them, packed the Albert Hall with others outside unable to get in. The proposition was then carried.
Dickson was a director of Boots and mounted a high court challenge re 'restraint of trade'.
The society lost, mirroring the 'Jenkins' case many years before which resulted in the founding of the NPA.
After these episodes the society abandoned any thoughts of representation and concentrated on regulation.

The concept of the whole building being a pharmacy was lost and thus sale of alcohol and cigarettes could take place feet away from a pharmacy dept. A few years ago Boots wanted to sell wine gift packs in it's stores and followed the supermarkets in designating only the healthcare counter and dispensary as a pharmacy dept inside a general store.

Thus have the merchants entered the temple.
johnep

[Sir_Dispensalot]

(Sorry for my not good level of English!!! )

I studied pharmacy in Italy and my family runs one in Greece. I am registered with the RPSGB and I worked for a couple of months in a retail pharmacy. So I could say that I have a small idea of how the pharmacies are looking at least on those countries....

I don t know though the system in the UK about pharmacies so I can t say my opinion about the differences with other countries.

I have noticed though something which I would like to mention here. All the pharmacies at least in Manchester area (the place where I lived and saw almost all phamacies because I was interested),apart the big companies like Boots, Loyds, etc were having a very bad appearance. There was no marketing at all and I saw even dirty pharmacies with dust all over the shelves.

What is your opinion about that? I think pharmacies are not beauty shops as I told before but comfort and appearance nowdays, have their own role in making business. Also I could never imagine the existance of pharmacies that are not in accordance with the rules of simple hygienic.

Having been in and around the manchester area for a number of years, i can't but help agree with you. The state of some independents (and even some chain pharmacies) can be atrocious. I've seen many pharmacies in my travels around the world - in terms of presentation, we're not the worst, but we're a long long way from the best!

unfortunately many independent pharmacies struggle to cope as businesses - pharmacists in the uk are given only rudimentary business training and it can be a real struggle for many independents to grasp even basic merchandising concepts.
Given the current economic climate and the extent to which the government seek to curtail pharmacy profits, many independents feel reluctant to invest even moderate amounts of money in improving the appearance of their shop.

i recently went on a training course to improve that set of skills - it was a real eye-opener and some of the tricks i learned mean that the independent that i now work in is looking its best since it opened!

[Pharmanaut]

Given the current economic climate and the extent to which the government seek to curtail pharmacy profits, many independents feel reluctant to invest even moderate amounts of money in improving the appearance of their shop.

On the other hand...
We as pharmacists spend more time at work than most similarly qualified graduates.

I've worked in some scruffy places with no-heating and inadequate lighting.
Shopfitting done by someone who could not use a saw properly.
My garden shed was more appealing.
Professional image? - the hairdresser next door had a better one.
There isn't a place in modern practice for these pharmacies.

[Stratos]

A quite usefull book which seems to include the drugs which are dispensed by Greek pharmacies is: ΕΘΝΙΚΟ ΣΥΝΤΑΓΟΛΟΓΙΟ 2007. Is published by the Greek pharmaceutical society. I don t know though if prices are included.

There are a lot of differences between UK pharmacists and Greek ones. I am not well experienced on that topic because I have worked only a couple of months in the UK but I can mention some things for Greece: not Electronic prescriptions, hundreds of national funds which are complicating things, not continuous education, not specializations on diseases like cancer and diabetes for instance, not permission for pharmacists to prescribe, catalogues of people owing to the pharmacists ( pharmacists are permitting those bahaviours to have more customers but they are not taking their money sometimes), hundreds of useless precriptions, hundred of drugs (not OTC!) are given without precriptions (could be even hypnoletics ), existing laws for opening new premises which are not applied though and so on.....

Just having a look on the exceptional site of RPSGB and the corresponging Greek site, you will be able to realise the superiority of the British society in terms of functionality and organisation....

These are just some of the problems we are having in Greece....

One positive aspect though for those interested of having a pharmacy in Greece and even more for those who are having parents like me running a pharmacy is the "closed market". I mean that each pharmacist is allowed to have just one pharmacy and for opening new premises you have to take into account geographical limitations. In a village of 3000 people for instance, there is a permission for maximum three pharmacies to open.


I want to work in the UK and bring any knowledge and experience which I will gain to my country.

Maybe if I match marketing with the British more advanced system and way of organization, it will come out something useful.


Hopefully I see that they are also other people who agree about the appearance of the pharmacies in the UK.



Sorry for my not good level of English!

Stratos