Normally, in-patients are under the direct supervision/management of medical () assisted by the resident physicians and interns. The medical specialist determines the choice of drug products to be given to the in-patient.

The hospital pharmacy follows a formulary or therapeutic list of essential drugs to order, and these are initially prepared by the hospital’s ()and duly approved by the designated members of the therapeutics committee. Therefore, entry of a drug product in the pharmacy to a large extent is dependent on the committee, and prescriptions that will be generated are dependent on products actually available inside the hospital pharmacy. Promoting drug products to consultants or specialists in the hospitals is almost a () exercise, if the company’s products are not available inside the hospital pharmacy. In-patients very seldom, if not rarely, buy prescription drugs outside the hospital pharmacy, unless the said product is not available.

is the umbrella organization for both the private and government hospitals all over the country. However, there exists two associations namely, the Private Hospital Association and the Public Hospital Association, composed of private and government hospitals, respectively.

Competition is stiff and complicated in the hospitals market for sales and prescription generation. Availability of products in the hospital pharmacy is essential. Prescriptions are served on the basis of a product’s availability at the hospital pharmacy. Many drug companies go to the extent of lowering their pricing schemes even below their costs or offering better terms and discounts against direct competitors for purposes of gaining a strong foothold in the hospital pharmacy. ()() of product lines in the Hospital Pharmacy is a critical success factor for market share dominance and survival in marketing drug warfare

These are business establishments like PLDT, San Miguel Corporation, Philex Mining Corp., Meralco, Sugar Centrals, Del Monte, Philippine Packing Corp., Dole Philippines, and other industrial companies that maintain medical and dental services, purchase medicines and supplies for employees’ use for free or discounted rates. The industrial clinics likewise prepare a formulary or therapeutic listing of essential drug products as basis for purchase orders and reorders.

Large industrial clinics maintain a staff of physicians, dentists, nurses, pharmacists and allied professionals, and are headed by a ()and assisted by a () department. Purchases are normally on usual credit terms, discounting, and other services. The terminal purchase decision-makers are the members of the therapeutic committee, sometimes the supply/purchasing department, and in some instances, the medical director.

These are composed of physicians maintaining generic or branded drug products in commercial supply in their private clinics who purchased either directly from medical representatives of drug companies or from large wholesalers. These drug products are directly dispensed to incoming patients and charges are included in consultation fees. Purchases of dispensing physicians are normally on cash basis, some on usual credit terms and credit limits

Dispensing physicians mushroomed in the urban and rural areas nationwide providing prompt medical care services and ably augmenting income from the purchase of medicines. Many dispensing MD’s clinics operates without a licensed pharmacist and are ()with community and hospital pharmacies.

These are composed of such sales outlets as the groceries and supermarkets, trading stores, and even sari-sari stores that sell OTC or proprietary drug products.

A few of these outlets install a full-blown pharmacy department, inside the supermarket premises attended to by a licensed pharmacist. They sell practically all drug products as in a drugstore or community pharmacy, e.g., prescription and nonprescription drugs. What differentiates them from other drugstores are basically their strategic locations inside the supermarket. These outlets capitalize on the total shopmix or One-Stop-Shop concept. Customer traffic is heavy in supermarkets and these drug outlets enjoy hefty sales and profits.

A majority of groceries and supermarkets throughout the country are only allowed to carry () drug products either at the selling areas or check-out counters, or both, because these are simply bought by shoppers who may have heard, seen, or read these products on radio, TV, or print advertisements, are prescribed by their family physicians and dentists, or are endorsed by friends, relatives and associates. OTC products at the selling areas are displayed in massive facings in gondolas and display racks while those at the check-out counters are made available through dispensers and are mostly in tablet formats

Groceries and supermarkets also carry () products in additional to pharmaceutical products. These are no pharmacists at the selling areas of these outlets and shoppers simply pick-up their choice- OTC/proprietary drug. In a way, these outlets compete with community pharmacies. Impulse-buying is a common occurrence either at the selling areas, floor displays, or check-out counters. Grocery shoppers without drug products in mind, or with no intention of buying, tend to buy OTC drug products repeatedly. The drug products on mass display, easily accessible and visible, trigger purchase decisions, in a new market such as groceries for the present drug products. Merchandising paraphernalia includes, price tags, posters, stickers, buntings, banners, and the merchandise itself, on display.

The purchase decision-makers in groceries and supermarkets are the () Officers, and in some instances, the (). Credit terms are in the range of

Merchandise displays at the () area and check-out counters are not for free but rented out to suppliers/manufacturers on a monthly basis, e.g., monthly rentals oP200 for products on display per check-out counter, and approximately P6,000 to P8,000 for floor product displays.

These are thousands of these outlets in practically all the 45,000 barangays all over the country and OTC drug products are made available for the people in respective localities. To some extent, some sari-sari stores are converted into home remedy stores, “Botica sa Barrio”, or cooperative drugstores.

These outlets, because of minimal volume of purchases, go directly to the big ()or trading stores on () Very few of these outlets are directly served by sales representatives of drug companies, except for those with established credit lines, and higher volume purchases monthly.

Sari-sari stores or trading stores that carry ()drug products in addition to household items do not have a licensed pharmacist, and in a way, compete with community pharmacies. Home remedy drug products for common ailments are served in these sales outlets as part of the total store-mix of product lines, expanding the self-care and self-diagnosing practice.

These entities buy medicines from drug companies from charitable purposes, mostly on cash basis, with very few on credit terms. These entities, during periods of calamities and for apostolic works, employ the voluntary services of medical teams and allied professionals in conducting “Medical Missions” or “Free Clinics” consisting of free medical and dental services, free surgery, and free medicines (initial or starter doses). Purchases from these entities in the aforementioned includes a range of analgesicscough-colds, antibiotics, anti-diarrheals, anti-spasmodics, and the like

The ()() acts as the terminal purchase decision-makers. These entities do not normally employ the services of ()to dispense the drug products.