Public patient forwarding to private pharmacies: an analysis of data linking patients, facilities and pharmacies in the state of Odisha, India.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

In India, public sector patients purchase drugs from private pharmacies instead of obtaining them for free from public pharmacies-a phenomenon we call public patient forwarding to private pharmacies. This behaviour results in substantial financial hardship. We examine whether low public drug stocks, patient preferences for private drugs or the presence of private pharmacies nearby explain this behaviour.

Methods

We collected cross-sectional data from 7567 households, 523 health facilities and 1036 private pharmacies in Odisha, India. We linked 917 outpatient visits to facilities based on patient reports and linked public facilities to the nearest private pharmacy using Global Positioning System coordinates. We used ordinary least squares regression to assess whe

SUBMITTER: Haakenstad A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11836861 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature