Is there a need for drug vending machines?
"What I have done is to shorten the deadlines as much as possible so that this project can be considered. As soon as there is parliamentary interest, this problem should be cleared up. Vending machines are not a solution for several reasons. They could be of help where there is a shortage of pharmacists. Bulgaria is one of the countries with a high number of pharmacists per capita. There is no country in the world where there is a pharmacy in every settlement, regardless of the number of people. There must be some economic logic to uncovering such a structure there. For those who are far away, there are other mechanisms. ITN proposed a bill for mobile points".
This was stated by the chairman of the health commission in the National Assembly, Dr. Alexander Simidchiev, in "Denyat ON AIR".
In his words, the pharmacists' concerns are reasonable.
"In Bulgaria, pharmacies compete on price, which puts small pharmacies, which have less opportunity to buffer the price, at a disadvantage. Prices in Bulgaria are among the lowest, and because of this, many countries use our country as a reference for low prices in the EU," added Dr. Simidchiev for Bulgaria ON AIR.
According to him, drug vending machines are associated with many side costs besides their purchase.
"What I want to see are clear measurable results of improving access for all patients. If we have to spend millions or billions to have access to every populated place, that is unreasonable. We must have a reasonable boundary and it can be found based on what we have as information. This is managed very well with something called a pharmacy card. We in Bulgaria have a working one. The purchase of a machine costs about 2,500-3,000 euros. But this is a bare apparatus that needs to be powered and charged. The cost is not in the purchase, but in its maintenance," commented the guest.
The pharmacist is a second level of security for the patient, ensuring that prescription medication is correctly prescribed and the patient understands how to take it, Dr. Simidchiev is emphatic.
"It seems interesting to put such a machine, but it has additional requirements because the person behind the counter is not a medicine seller. He is a person who has the qualifications to judge the amount, whether the medicine is appropriate. When a prescription drug is prescribed, he prescribes it based on the examination. The patient takes the prescription and goes, the pharmacist has the opportunity, if the dose is wrong and the patient is taking other medications that he has not informed his doctor about, to correct it," he explained.