 From symbiosis to independence: Investigating changes in the relationship between general practitioners’ presence and pharmacies’ market size in SlovakiaRichard Kališ Health Policy, 2024, vol. 143, issue C Abstract: Using the Slovak pharmacy retail market case, this study examines the evolving interdependency between general practitioners (GPs) and pharmacies. Traditionally, they have operated symbiotically, with pharmacy revenues heavily reliant on prescriptions. However, the development of the market structures of these providers after the liberalization of the pharmacy retail market in 2005 raises a question about the stability of this relationship. By analyzing entry thresholds as a measure of the market size required for pharmacies to cover their entry costs, the study reveals that the dependency of pharmacies on the presence of GPs has diminished over time. In the initial year following the liberalization, the presence of a GP decreased the market size sufficient to cover entry costs for the first pharmacy by about 83% compared to a market without a GP. However, in 2019, this effect decreased to approximately 65%. This could imply worsened coverage of pharmaceutical services in small and rural areas with GPs as the entry decision of pharmacies is less elastic towards their presence. Keywords: Pharmacies; General practitioners; Complementarity; Entry; Market structure (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:hepoli:v:143:y:2024:i:c:s0168851024000502 DOI: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2024.105040 Access Statistics for this article Health Policy is currently edited by Katrien Kesteloot, Mia Defever and Irina Cleemput More articles in Health Policy from Elsevier |
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