NMa Suspects Pharmacies in Assen of Restricting Competition
The Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa) suspects eight pharmacies in and in the vicinity of Assen of restricting competition amongst themselves. They did so by agreeing to exclude the possibility of jointly using an electronic network with data relating to patients during regular opening hours. In addition, NMa suspects that they obstructed the entry to the market of Wilhelmina Apotheek B.V., Asser politheek (a public-sector pharmacy on the hospital's premises). For this reason, NMa has drawn up a report on the eight pharmacies.
The eight pharmacies share an electronic network with an electronic database containing patient data. A network such as this can promote mutual competition because it gives all the pharmacies linked to it access to data relating to patients and can therefore guarantee that patients receive the proper medicines (medication monitoring). This ensures that patients receive the same quality of service from all the pharmacies linked to the network as they receive from their 'regular' pharmacy. According to NMa, the pharmacies in Assen jointly decided not to use the network during regular opening hours, but to limit its use to loco activities (when only one of the eight pharmacies is open). This limits the patientsÂ’ freedom of choice. In addition, the pharmacies in Assen restricted mutual competition, which is already limited on the pharmacy market.
The eight pharmacies also refused to grant Wilhelmina Apotheek access to the electronic network during regular opening hours. In doing so, they obstructed the entry to this market by the hospitalÂ’s pharmacy, since the quality of service provided by a new pharmacy depends partly on the possibility of efficiently monitoring medication.
The setting up of hospital pharmacies is being stimulated by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport with the aim of promoting competition between pharmacies. The market for pharmacies, after all, is characterised by high barriers to entry, which include the contracting policy of health insurers (without a contract, pharmacies do not receive a fee for patients insured by a health fund, which usually make up the lion's share of customers) and the monitoring of medication by the 'regular' pharmacy.
The pharmacies may now respond to the content of the report. After this, NMa will decide whether an infringement has been committed and, if so, whether NMa will impose a sanction.
This report was drawn up in the context of NMa's investigation into the healthcare sector in 2003, which was announced earlier. This sector is undergoing a transformation from supply driven to more demand driven healthcare. The point of departure of government policy is that competition may assist in achieving a better match between supply and demand. More competition in healthcare may also result in efficiency improvements, which may curb the strong increase in costs.
If a demand driven market is to be achieved, it is essential that entry by new competitors to the market is not obstructed and that competition between existing market players is not restricted. NMa takes action against such prohibited anti-competitive practices. NMa investigates both the supply and the demand side of the market. In this report on the pharmacies in Assen, the central concern is that patients should have sufficient freedom of choice and that new pharmacies should not be obstructed from entering the market.