Beyond Financial Health: Community Pharmacy Sustainability and Access to Affordable Medicines
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65339/ijsis.V1.I3.170Keywords:
Community Pharmacy, Financial Sustainability, Medicine Access, Patient Affordability, Small and Medium EnterprisesAbstract
Community pharmacies must remain financially viable without weakening access to affordable medicines. This public commentary examines Panga and Galvez's survey of financial sustainability practices among small and medium-scale pharmacies in Naga City. The study provides useful local evidence on cost optimization, customer needs, inventory management, staffing shortages, drug costs, and regulatory requirements. Its conclusions, however, are based on employee perceptions rather than verified financial and patient-access outcomes. Interpretation is further limited by unclear establishment-level sampling, unequal respondent access to financial information, and incomplete reporting of inferential statistics. Future research should treat the pharmacy as the principal unit of analysis and pair objective financial indicators with stockouts, prescription fulfillment, generic availability, and medicine affordability. This approach would provide stronger evidence for policies that support business continuity and equitable access to medicines.
References
Abu Assab, M., Hasan, H. E., Alhamad, H., Albahar, F., Alzayadneh, A., Abu Assab, H., Abu Dayyeh, W., & Zakaraya, Z. (2024). Financial indicators utilization among community pharmacists: A comprehensive study for pharmacy management. PLOS ONE, 19(3), e0299798. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0299798 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0299798
Panga, D. L. D., & Galvez, S. M. (2026). The financial sustainability of small and medium-scale pharmacy businesses in Naga City. International Journal of Sustainability and Advanced Integrated Research, 2(2), 3288-3293. https://doi.org/10.65339/ijsair.V2.I2.575 DOI: https://doi.org/10.65339/ijsair.V2.I2.575
Republic of the Philippines. (2008). Republic Act No. 9502: Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008. Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
World Health Organization. (n.d.). Access to medicines and health products. Retrieved September 29, 2026, from https://www.who.int/our-work/access-to-medicines-and-health-products
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