Discussion about entry
Mi Farmacita ( my little drugstore) health, at the corner of your street or town
This is discussion about Mi Farmacita ( my little drugstore) health, at the corner of your street or town.
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Cost of medicines
This is an interesting approach to make healthcare and medicines available to people who cannot afford them.
If I understand correctly, the pharmaceutical distributors offer their best discounts to Mi Farmacita, who sell the medicines to patients at the lowest possible cost. If that is correct, I would like to understand the financials in more detail:
- How much do the patients pay for medicines? (For example a typical course of antibiotics, like amoxicillin)
- How does that compare to the price they would have to pay at a regular pharmacy?
- What is the retail margin kept by Mi Farmacita?
- Do the typical patients have enough upfront cash to pay for the entire treatment or does Mi Farmacita deliver the treatment one day at a time, to allow the patients to pay in small increments?
Again, if I am not mistaken, Mi Farmacita can also deliver medicines prescribed at government hospitals (presumably when the hospital pharmacy is out of stock?).
- Who pays for these medicines? The patient, the hospital, the social security system?
- Or do the patients pay a monthly contribution (a sort of insurance fee) to Mi Farmacita to be entitled to receiving medicines? If so, how much?
Many thanks and good luck!
Nora El Goulli
Medicines for Roatan
Honduras
cost of medicine answer
Gracias Nora and I will aswer it over your same questions:
- How much do the patients pay for medicines? (For example a typical course of antibiotics, like amoxicillin)
amoxicillin 500mg with 12 pills $4.23dlls 500mg susp(liquid) $6.25
- How does that compare to the price they would have to pay at a regular pharmacy?
Between 40% to 60% less becasue everything at mi farmacita has a discount in medicine we are interesting in volumen.
- What is the retail margin kept by Mi Farmacita?
48% before your operation cost and taxes and the average are around 22% before taxes.
- Do the typical patients have enough upfront cash to pay for the entire treatment or does Mi Farmacita deliver the treatment one day at a time, to allow the patients to pay in small increments?
Tehy buy it box by box if the need 90 days treatment and the bos has for a weekm they buy it week by week, they dodn;t buy all complete, and doesn;t have many incrments of prices during this period, we have not much this movemnts in mexico with prices.
Again, if I am not mistaken, Mi Farmacita can also deliver medicines prescribed at government hospitals (presumably when the hospital pharmacy is out of stock?).
Yes we can deliver if the social security accept it, but for the moment thay don;t accept it, but when they put of sotck the same people goes out to find where they can buy cheap the same medicine and if we are located near theire home they can find it ther and cheap price.
- Who pays for these medicines? The patient, the hospital, the social security system?
- Or do the patients pay a monthly contribution (a sort of insurance fee) to Mi Farmacita to be entitled to receiving medicines? If so, how much?
Always the patient, here the social security have a new project that call SEGURO POPULAR with the idea that the pharmacy can give the medicine to the patient with theure prescription and the seguro popular pays to the pharmacy, but its for the momento just a project, nothing final.
Thanks for your questions and hope I was clrearly enought and you rhave to right answers.
my best regards
Thanks for your time
Guillermo Krasovsky
www.mifarmacita.com
+52-664-6817143
Cost of medicines
Thank you Guillermo for your response.A 40-60% discount is a significant achievement!
My impression is that at those prices, you are reaching people with a lower income, but not the extremely poor.We are trying to improve access to basic medicines for the extremely poor in the Bay islands of Honduras. In Honduras, the price ranges are similar: at a private pharmacy, a 12 pill course of 500mg amoxicillin would cost around $5. But that is way out of reach for the average patient: 51% of the population lives with under $2/day, 25% with under $1/day.
Private pharmacies try to help by selling the treatment by the day or by the pill. That brings the daily cost to around $1/day. Still out of reach for most patients.The affordable cost for them is at most $0.10 a day, which is the hospital prescription fee. In case of life or death situation, they will borrow, cut the food ration for the entire household and take the children out of school to earn money in the street to be able to buy at $1/day...
Are you aware that in Bangladesh, Grameen villagers have access to basic medical care and medicines for an annual contribution of around $3/person? The contribution is collected in small increments (weekly I believe) through the Grameen network. I wonder how they make the numbers work!
It's easy to find de way
Hi Again, and I will try to help giving this idea, that we are workiing now on it.
Why the pharmacy can't give credit? they have maybe 30 dyas to pay to the supplier isn't? if they so, they can make a credit program, this credit program can give all the treatment to the person who need it ant htey can pay it, by day or by week, maybe you have to give the same last sample, and they can pay maybe .50Cents a day, this can help them to have all the treatment, and thay pay it in 10 days, with this everybody can help to have a healthy person that can works better becasue if he/she's seek can't do it or they doesn;t give all the work that they can do, doing this seekness to have part time work then they recive part time salary, and nobody wins, if the pharmacy can give this credit and make some publcity of this new program, they will have a lot of customers, of course maybe some of this customers will not pay, but if they do that, you can cut the credit to them and all his relatives, and this will enforce them to pay day by day or by week, don;t you think that?
If the people its poor and nobody gives them credit imagine the feeling that theay will have if some one beleive in them and try to help them? they will be always thanksful and never will leave this pharmacy in all his life, and of course will promote this pharmacy to all his family and everybody wins... isn't?
It's just and idea I don't know if they can do it and if the people can accet this or if the regulations can or canot do it, but better is talk and try to give something that can works.
Have a great weekend and excelent father's day.
Thanks for your time
Guillermo Krasovsky
www.mifarmacita.com
+52-664-6817143
It's a great thing that they
It's a great thing that they came with a more affordable alternative but it makes me wonder what do big "players" on the pharmaceutical drug market have to say about it. Everyone would want to buy cheaper drugs and that would bring some changes in the industry. I know that Canadian pharmacies are also an alternative for cheaper drugs only that they are an online alternative.