Drug distribution channels:
It can be divided into two links, one is the wholesale link and the other is the retail link. The distribution channel of the pharmaceutical market is also that manufacturers sell them to retailers (including hospital pharmacies) through wholesalers.
However, because medicine is not separated, there are three links in the field of drug circulation: drug wholesale, drug retail enterprises and hospital outpatient pharmacy. Among them, hospital outpatient pharmacy, as a special and monopolistic retail link, occupies more than 80% of the pharmaceutical retail market. This situation has greatly affected the development of drug circulation channels. Since the start of the new medical reform pilot, many areas have begun to use the "pharmacy trusteeship" model, and the importance of outpatient pharmacies in hospitals has declined slightly.
Characteristics of medical circulation:
Drug circulation is not only influenced by macro-environment, but also determined by its internal factors and economic characteristics.
First, the characteristics of the drug circulation process:
(1) Pharmaceutical enterprises deal in many kinds of drugs, with many specifications, large quantities and great liquidity. According to the needs of users, drugs from different places and multiple pharmaceutical manufacturers will be combined and then distributed to other wholesale, retail enterprises and medical units. In the process of drug purchase and sale, drug errors and pollution may occur at any time.
(2) Drugs will encounter adverse effects caused by physical factors such as bad weather during transportation, causing changes in drug quality. Pharmaceutical wholesale enterprises try their best to create favorable conditions and minimize their adverse effects.
(3) Drugs appear in the form of packaging in the circulation process, and the identification of their quality mostly depends on the appearance, packaging marks, name, specification, expiration date, number and storage conditions indicated in the paper as the management basis.
(4) Drugs are stored in warehouses for most of the time from production to use, and the conditions of warehouses will obviously affect the quality of drugs.
Because of these factors that affect the quality of drugs, it is necessary to have a set of strict management procedures to manage the whole circulation process of drugs, so as to prevent some unfavorable factors that may occur in the circulation process and ensure that the safety, effectiveness and stability of drugs are not affected.
Second, the consumption characteristics of drugs:
The particularity of drug circulation is also manifested in the consumption pattern different from other consumer goods:
(1) Indirectness of patients' medication. Prescription drugs: sold, purchased and used according to doctors' prescriptions. Over-the-counter drugs: Be sure to read the instructions carefully and buy and use them according to the instructions or under the guidance of pharmacists.
(2) Emergencies in a certain time and space. Drugs are used to prevent and treat diseases, and diseases often have sudden characteristics, so it is necessary to "treat diseases with drugs" instead of "treat diseases with drugs", especially in the event of disasters or epidemics, the consumption demand for drugs will surge, so it is necessary to have necessary reserves to meet the urgent need of supply;
(3) Specific selectivity of diseases to drugs. The purpose of drugs is to prevent and treat diseases, and the specific choice of drugs for diseases determines the specificity of their actions. This special selection is irreplaceable, so it requires complete varieties, complete production and marketing, and prevention of blindness in production and operation.
Third, the characteristics of drug marketing:
Studying the particularity of drugs from the perspective of pharmaceutical market, its marketing characteristics are:
(1) Marketing responsibility is significant. Drugs are directly related to people's life safety, and the marketing of drugs shoulders the heavy responsibility of preventing and treating diseases and saving lives. Therefore, all countries have formulated quite strict industrial policies, industrial norms and special laws and regulations to guide the production and management of drugs. China's newly revised Drug Administration Law stipulates in detail the legal procedures of drug production, management and use and the legal liability for violating the regulations.
(2) There are many random factors in the market. There are many factors that affect the demand of the pharmaceutical market, such as the influence of policies on the pharmaceutical market; The influence of doctors' drug use concept on the drug market; The influence of drug prices, advertisements and potential customers on the drug market. In addition, seasonal demand, epidemic situation caused by abnormal climate, sudden disasters and accidents, etc. Once these situations occur, the demand for drugs will increase. Moreover, the timeliness is strong, which brings great difficulty to the drug marketing work.
(3) marketing intensification. It is mainly reflected in three aspects: first, it is necessary to equip testing equipment and instruments suitable for drug management to ensure the quality of drugs; Second, according to the physical and chemical properties of drugs, we should have corresponding storage conditions and transportation conditions to ensure the safety and effectiveness of drugs; Third, marketers need to have certain basic professional knowledge and high professional quality to ensure high-quality and efficient marketing services and meet the needs of users.