Navigating Market Access Challenges in Community-Based Pharmacy Business within Uyo Metropolis
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The community-based pharmacy practice has evolved and nowadays has been a combination of enhanced pharmacy services and engagement for the stakeholders and business opportunities for standalone establishments all over the world. This study explores market access challenges faced by community pharmacies in Uyo metropolis and identifies strategies to overcome them. The re-searcher adopted an exploratory research design and utilized an open-ended questionnaire to collect data from registered community-based pharmacists in Akwa Ibom State and their customers, who were 105 in attendance, and they participated in a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) held at Ibom Hall, IBB Way, Uyo, on June 19, 2025. Findings reveal that a customer-centric approach is required to build strong relationships with stakeholders within the pharmaceuticals industry. This includes understanding the needs of policymakers, patients, and payers, and demonstrating the value of a product through data and analysis and regular customer engagements, and relationship building. This could be achieved by implementing strategies like Strategic Account Management (SAM); community pharmacies can create collaborative relationships, build trust, and improve market access. Other strategies include: analyzing the costs and benefits of a product/service through the Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR), compared to other treatments, can demonstrate its value to payers, utilizing digital initiatives like; patient support programs, digital marketing & data analytics, "and” adapting to the evolving Healthcare Landscape like; technology, etc. These were the other major findings.
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