how do pharmacies work? Do they just have every kind of medication at all time? How is a prescription ready within an hour?
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I’ll cover one aspect which I don’t see in the comments here and is the case for India.
There are medical representatives(M.R) which are essentially pharmaceutical salespeople. One M.R will go and visit various physicians in an area and ask them to prescribe a particular medication for a particular ailment. Then the same M.R will go to the pharmacies/medicals and tell the pharmacist that these all Drs have agreed to prescribe this medication , you better buy some from me cause you are going to lose business otherwise. The pharmacy places the order with the M.R, sometimes the M.R might even be carrying the medication with themselves and directly sell it to the pharmacy on the spot.
Then the Dr prescribes the medication to their patients, in India they just write it on their letterhead but it could be any piece of paper doesn’t matter. You can walk into a pharmacy and just ask for any medication and they will sell it to you. So it’s really easy to self medicate. I personally see it as a positive but obviously most developed country govts disagree, and that’s a different topic.
The medication is pre packaged by the manufacturer in appropriate quantities for the smallest possible dosage. If you’re prescribed more, you simply buy more packets.
A trip to the pharmacy takes 5 mins and this is with you walking in with the prescription, there is no contact between the Dr and the pharmacy. I was surprised with how long it takes to fill a prescription in US. Didn’t know the pharmacist is literally filling bottles in the back. I see major safety issues with that, since human mistakes can happen and the pharmacist could give you the wrong medication. Whereas if it’s pre packaged by the manufacturer you know it has the medication it says on the packaging. You can even send a picture of the prescription to the pharmacy and they will deliver it to you the same day.
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