Knowledge development and networking in italian pharmacies: insight of a case study

Italian pharmacies act at the same time as private operators on regulated markets and as “partners” of healthcare public system, providing professional distribution of drugs, advising patients in the utilization of drugs... [ view full abstract ]

Italian pharmacies act at the same time as private operators on regulated markets and as “partners” of healthcare public system, providing professional distribution of drugs, advising patients in the utilization of drugs and supporting the healthcare policies within prevention campaigns.
Today the economic context for pharmacies in Italy is asking for more efficiency in drug distribution. The public funded remuneration for this service is decreasing and at the same time there is a growing need for new services that pharmacies could develop due to the proximity to patients.
These challenges exceed however the organizational means of the single drug shop, especially in the perspective of the knowledge required to succeed. Therefore collaboration becomes necessary to increase efficiency and increase capabilities.
The paper illustrates the experience of one of the first network of Italian pharmacies.
The case study shows how much a network organization can improve the development of knowledge, enabling pharmacies to reach goals very difficult to achieve individually, both in terms of efficiency and in term of opening new market opportunities.
The paper analyzes the situation before networking and the situation in the perspective of networking, both from financial and service offered point of view.
The paper analyzes also the characteristics and the importance of the organizational solutions adopted.