Factors Affecting the Cost and Income of Pharmacies and to Improve Their Economy

Pharmacies are a prominent part of the health delivery system. Hence, valuable economic planning in designing and organizing pharmacies must be called. This study aimed to investigate the factors affecting pharmacies’ economic outcomes to strengthen their overall economy in Shiraz City, Iran.

The type of study was descriptive-analytical and surveyed studies. All 343 active pharmacies in Shiraz were selected to be evaluated in this study. The data of all pharmacies were extracted with specifically designed questionnaires and analyzed (descriptive-analytical) with STATA software.

The monthly mean cost and revenue of one daily pharmacy were 6171045803 and 6577041019 Rials, respectively, in 2020. Also, these figures are 11544444668 and 15184116543 for 24-h pharmacies. Our results showed that all influential factors significantly impacted the pharmacies’ cost and revenue (P<0.01). Besides, the following factors like tax exemption, the exclusive sale of cosmetic products and medicines, increasing the drug’s margin, immediate refund from health insurance, technical right’s fee, and facilities significantly impacted pharmacies’ economic (P<0.01).

The best ways to improve the pharmacy’s economy included tax exemption, the exclusive sale of cosmetic products, the release of exclusive and rare drugs increase of margin, rate of covered drugs with health insurances, faster refunding by the health insurances, specialty rights, and medicines packing. Also, it is necessary to pay attention to the indicators of the pharmacy’s economy and the factors affecting their income and expenses. This matter is even more pressing in developing countries, which are facing a severe shortage of resources.