Detachment and return of pharmacies of public hospitals in Wuhu amid the drug and medical service separation reform and the outcomes / 中华医院管理杂志

ABSTRACT

The separation of drug and medical service is key to alleviating the social problem of high medical expenses,and the top thing to do is to cut off the profit link found in the drugs purchase and sales interests chain.Pharmacies of the hospital are found to play a crucial role in this chain,as they not only take part in the decision-making of drug purchase but also directly purchase and dispense drugs.Wuhu has established the Medicine and Medical Consumables Management Center,which directly regulates the pharmacies and detach them from this chain,weakening their rent-seeking power.Practices of this reform found the pharmacies no longer playing a dominant role in drug purchase/dispensation on one hand,and yet less incentives of the pharmacies due to management by the Center on the other,resulting in poorer pharmaceutical management of the hospital as a result.In this consideration,pharmacies have experienced a detachment and return process from their hospital in the reform of drug and medical service separation in Wuhu.Experiences prove the correct way out is to guide the pharmacies to upgrade from logistics in drug supply to innovated services,thus better serving hospital management.