24-hour pharmacies in Bulgaria are just around 30, there are none in big regions like Vidin, Vratsa, Razgrad, Smolyan and Targovishte. About 50,000 people in 16 small municipalities have no place to buy medicines because there are no pharmacies there. At the same time, Bulgaria is among the first countries in the EU by number of pharmacies per capita. This was said by Health Minister Kiril Ananiev during the parliamentary scrutiny on Friday. At the moment, incentives have been developed to make retailers open pharmacies in small settlements and sparsely populated areas. The municipalities could subsidize the 24-hour work. He explained that, according to the Ministry, there are currently 3,996 pharmacies in operation. Only 0.8 per cent of them work 24 hours, making around 30 pharmacies across the country.

At the same time, Bulgaria ranks among the first countries in Europe by pharmacies per capita - 1806 people are served by one pharmacy. On average, for the EU, this indicator is one pharmacy for 4450 people.

"This shows that our country is one of the top places by number of pharmacies per capita, but one of the last, by access to a pharmaceutical service," Ananiev commented. The Minister recalled that there was no regulatory requirement for the distribution and density of pharmacies in the territory, nor for their mode of operation. "The assessment of the place of opening of the pharmacy, its mode of operation, the amount of services and products provided is only in the hands of the marketing authorization holder of the drug retail drug license," Ananiev said.

He added that incentives are being developed for the opening of pharmacies in small settlements and sparsely populated municipalities. They were done together with the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), the Executive Agency for Medicines and the Bulgarian Pharmaceutical Union. The result would be a legislative change.

"The proposals are aimed at meeting the minimum needs for activities provided by pharmacies and stimulating the "approaching " of pharmacies to patients in small settlements," explained Ananiev. The ministry also worked to create a mobile pharmacy market, but this also required a change in the regulatory framework.

Another way to overcome the lack of pharmacies in small settlements was the introduction of public-private partnership in this sphere. "There are currently 39 municipal pharmacies in the country, most of which are located in small settlements." The opening of pharmacies in small settlements could also be done by negotiating joint activities between municipalities and existing local companies holding a permit for pharmacies, "says Ananiev. The Minister believes that the provision of access to pharmaceutical services should be not only a national but also a municipal policy. According to him, local authorities should provide targeted subsidies to provide 24-hour customer service, especially in municipalities where there are no 24-hour pharmacies at all.

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