The average check in Russian pharmacies increased by almost 16% over the year

According to the results of the third quarter of 2022, the average check in Russian pharmacies amounted to 622 rubles, follows from a survey of pharmacists conducted by the research company Ipsos (1,492 pharmacists in 27 cities of Russia took part in it). This is 15.6% more than in the same period of the year before last. And compared to 2020, the increase was 25.6%. Moreover, in network pharmacies, the average bill was 13.5% higher than in non-chain pharmacies – 640 rubles.

Ipsos marketing manager Shamil Akhmetzyanov explains such an increase in the third quarter of 2022 as an increase in the cost of medicines. Another reason is the increase in the number of purchases for future use by patients with chronic diseases.

A noticeable increase in the price of medicines in the third quarter of last year was noticed by 82.3% of pharmacy customers surveyed by Ipsos, follows from the survey. Domestic analogue drugs 54% of respondents began to buy more often due to rising prices for foreign drugs. Whereas 45% of respondents are forced to purchase them due to the lack of foreign drugs. Among physicians, psychiatrists, allergists, gynecologists, pediatricians and ENT specialists faced the problem of the lack of drugs in pharmacies when prescribing them. Less often, this situation occurs in cardiologists, gastroenterologists, therapists, urologists and neurologists.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, according to Nikolay Bespalov, development director at RNC Pharma, the average check continued to increase due to an increase in demand for medicines against the backdrop of mobilization and an increase in the incidence of influenza and SARS. He found it difficult to give exact figures, but suggested that the figure could exceed 700 rubles.