The Impact of Health Policy on The Pharmaceutical Supply Chain In France

OBJECTIVE: This paper discusses the impact of health policy on the pharmaceutical supply chain in France from 2008; it provides an analysis of the current situation and reflects on future reforms. Method: This study is based on secondary data analysis and information available from peer review literature and publically available data given on governmental websites. It focuses mainly on prescription drugs which are reimbursed by social security. RESULTS: Since 2008, the French Government has enforced a number of measures to reduce the cost of pharmaceutical spending, representing 15% of health care expenditure. The measures taken have gradually impacted all supply chain steps, from manufacturing to distribution and dispensation. While the target of reducing the growth rate of pharmaceutical expenditure has been achieved, a number of challenges have emerged, market allocation, parallel distribution channels and pharmaceutical stock-outs. In an already highly regulated environment, the effects of new regulations can be rather unpredictable as manufacturers and wholesalers are international but also have domestic interests; the government's corrective measures do not take into account the inter-organizational dependencies of the actors. An integrated view of the supply chain should be fostered so as to monitor all steps of the supply chain with similar objectives, and to share information between the actors.