A pharmacist, also known as a chemist or a druggist, is a healthcare professional who specializes in the preparation, dispensing, and management of medications to ensure safe and effective use, while also providing medication counseling and guidance to patients and healthcare providers. Also, pharmacists often serve as primary care providers in the community, and may offer other services such as health screenings and immunizations.
Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links health sciences with pharmaceutical sciences and natural sciences. The professional practice is becoming more clinically oriented as most of the drugs are now manufactured by pharmaceutical industries. Based on the setting, pharmacy practice is either classified as community or institutional pharmacy. Providing direct patient care in the community of institutional pharmacies is considered clinical pharmacy.
Woolworths Group Limited is an Australian multinational retail and finance company, primarily known for its operation of retail chain Woolworths Supermarkets across Australia and Woolworths in New Zealand, as well department stores Big W and Masters. Headquartered in Bella Vista, Sydney, it is the largest company in Australia by revenue and number of employees, and the second-largest in New Zealand.
The Jean Coutu Group (PJC) Inc. is a Canadian drugstore chain headquartered in Varennes, Quebec. It has more than 400 franchised locations in New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec under the PJC Jean Coutu, PJC Clinique, and PJC Santé banners. The company was once the third largest distributor and retailer of pharmaceuticals and related products in North America, with nearly 2,200 drug stores. Its American stores have been sold to Rite Aid.
McKesson Europe AG, with its headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, is a leading international wholesale and retail company and provider of logistics and services in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors. The company had around 37,000 employees at the end of the 2019 financial year and is represented in 13 countries in Europe. In the 2019 financial year the company achieved a turnover of EUR 21.18 billion. The majority shareholder of the company is the US-based McKesson Corporation, which holds a share of 77.01%. The remaining 22.99% of shares are available on the open market. Kevin Kettler, a US citizen, has been Chairman of McKesson Europe since 1 November 2018.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society is the body responsible for the leadership and support of the pharmacy profession (pharmacists) within England, Scotland, and Wales. It was created along with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) in September 2010 when the previous Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain was split so that representative and regulatory functions of the pharmacy profession could be separated. Membership in the society is not a prerequisite for engaging in practice as a pharmacist within the United Kingdom. Its predecessor the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain was founded on 15 April 1841.
IGA, Inc., is an American chain of grocery stores that operates in more than 41 countries. Unlike the chain store business model, IGA operates as a franchise through stores that are owned separately from the brand. Many of these stores operate in small-town markets and belong to families that manage them. It was founded in the United States as the Independent Grocers Alliance in 1926. The headquarters is in Chicago, Illinois.
Alliance Boots was a multinational pharmacy-led health and beauty group with corporate headquarters in Bern, Switzerland and operational headquarters in Nottingham and Weybridge, United Kingdom.
The pharmaceutical industry is one of the leading industries in the People's Republic of China, covering synthetic chemicals and drugs, prepared Chinese medicines, medical devices, apparatus and instruments, hygiene materials, packing materials, and pharmaceutical machinery. China has the second-largest pharmaceutical market in the world as of 2017 which is worth US$110 billion. China accounts for 20% of the world's population but only a small fraction of the global drug market. China's changing health-care environment is designed to extend basic health insurance to a larger portion of the population and give individuals greater access to products and services. Following the period of change, the pharmaceutical industry is expected to continue its expansion.
Green Cross Health is a provider of primary health care services around New Zealand, including pharmacies and medical clinics. It is based in Ellerslie, Auckland.
Priceline is an Australian health and beauty retailer. The Priceline brand has two store types; a traditional Priceline and Priceline Pharmacy. It is owned by Australian Pharmaceutical Industries, which was acquired by Wesfarmers in 2022.
Sigma Healthcare Limited is an Australian, ASX-listed company with a focus on the pharmacy industry. The company has pharmacy operations in retail, wholesale and distribution. From its head office in Clayton, Victoria, Sigma manages over 1,200 branded and independent pharmacies. Sigma Healthcare owns Australian retail pharmacy brands: Amcal, Discount Drug Stores and Guardian Pharmacy. The company also has a presence in the hospital pharmacy services, contract logistics, dose administration aids and other healthcare service adjacencies.
In the United States, a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) is a third-party administrator of prescription drug programs for commercial health plans, self-insured employer plans, Medicare Part D plans, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, and state government employee plans. According to the American Pharmacists Association, "PBMs are primarily responsible for developing and maintaining the formulary, contracting with pharmacies, negotiating discounts and rebates with drug manufacturers, and processing and paying prescription drug claims." PBMs operate inside of integrated healthcare systems, as part of retail pharmacies, and as part of insurance companies.
Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (API) is a health and beauty company owned by Australian conglomerate Wesfarmers. It is involved in pharmaceutical distribution, retailing and manufacturing. API is Australia's largest wholesale distributor of pharmaceutical and allied products. The company is involved in retailing through company-owned stores and franchise operations. API operates in the retail health and beauty industry under the following brands: Priceline, Priceline Pharmacy, Soul Pattinson and Pharmacist Advice.
Zentiva is a pharmaceutical company based in Prague, Czech Republic. The company is developing, manufacturing and marketing a wide range of generic and OTC products.
Metcash Limited is an Australian wholesaler and conglomerate company that distributes food, liquor and hardware. The company is headquartered in Macquarie Park, NSW.
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) is an American multinational holding company headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, which owns the retail pharmacy chains Walgreens in the US and Boots in the UK, as well as several pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution companies. The company was formed on December 31, 2014, after Walgreens purchased the 55% stake in Alliance Boots that it did not already own. The total price of the acquisition was $4.9 billion in cash and 144.3 million common shares with fair value of $10.7 billion. Walgreens had previously purchased 45% of the company for $4.0 billion and 83.4 million common shares in August 2012 with an option to purchase the remaining shares within three years. Walgreens became a subsidiary of the newly created company after the transactions were completed. As of 2022, Walgreens Boots Alliance is ranked #18 on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.
Nomeco, a wholly owned subsidiary of Phoenix Group, is the largest wholesaler of pharmaceutical products in Denmark. The company is headquartered in Copenhagen and is building a 20,000 square metre Nordic logistics centre in Køge which is expected to open in 2017.
Chemist Warehouse Group is an Australian company operating a chain of retail pharmacies both locally and internationally. The company is Australia's largest pharmacy franchise retailer with over 350 stores, and employs over 8,000 staff. The company brands itself as offering discounted prices for pharmaceutical goods. The company also manages a website and a "click and collect" 24 hour dispense either pick-up and delivery service for medications.
Retailing in New Zealand is an important sector in the economy of New Zealand, as a channel for a large proportion of household spending and international visitor spending.
