The role of pharmacies in the health services

On behalf of the Norwegian Pharmacy Association, Vista Analyse has analysed the role of pharmacies in the health service. The most important task of pharmacies is to ensure that the medicines are available to patients, and that the drugs are dispensed with good information about correct use and in line with the doctors' prescriptions.

Due to an ageing population, the use of prescription drugs will increase sharply in the years to come. Incorrect use of medicines already imposes great costs on patients and society, and pharmacies should be able to play an even more important role in the future to ensure the correct use of medicines.

In the report, we discuss how the design of regulated pharmacy advances affects value creation and pharmacies' incentives to develop their services.

Vista Analyse has carried out the project in collaboration with Professor Kurt R. Brekke at the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration.

The report is available here (in Norwegian).