Romanian pharmacies on verge of bankruptcy in 2010?

2010-02-22

Up to 76% of pharmacies in Romania were close to bankruptcy at the beginning of 2010, according to Petru Craciun, the director of Cegedim Romania, quoted in The Capital. In the current situation approximately 10% of small outlets in 2010 could be acquired by large pharmacy chains, whereas many others might create associations.
Payments to suppliers account for 85% of the total costs of small and medium-sized pharmacies in the country, and existing sales and margins do not allow them to cover other expenses. Of all 5,975 pharmacies in Romania, 47% could be categorised as small, with sales below the average national level, and 29% as medium-sized, with sales around the average.
As Central Europe Pharma News recently reported, at the beginning of 2010, the amount owed by the Romanian Health Ministry to pharmacies for drug reimbursement had reached RON 2bn (€473m). At that time pharmacies had not been paid since June 2009, and this had led to the insolvency and closure of many of them. In September 2009 the Health Ministry approved the extension of the refund period for reimbursed drugs from 90 days to 180, and this caused an accumulation of budget funds owed to the pharmacies.