Physician dispensing

One area of healthcare that often does not garner much attention is physician dispensing. A 2008 survey stated that three out of four Americans would have their prescription filled in their doctors’ office instead of a pharmacy if given the choice. Less than 10% of physicians dispense today. Published estimates say that number could grow as high as 25% over the next 5-10 years. We continue to follow this market because we are intrigued by the growth rate and market size potential.

The Aesthetic Guide stated that in 2008 global sales for physician-dispensed products reached $572 million and were expected to continue growing by an average of 13.1% per year to reach over $1 billion by 2013. These estimates we believe are for skincare sales, and do not include the total market.

A trend in the market is the growing number of prescribing physicians in the workers compensation market that are repackaging and dispensing medications normally dispensed by retail pharmacies. An increase in pharmaceuticals dispensing by doctors in several states is thought to be driving up workers compensation costs. In 44 out of 50 states, it is legal for physicians to do point-of-care dispensing.  The other states restrict what physicians can do but even those states still can dispense.  The states that are restricted are: New York, Massachusetts, Montana, Texas, Wyoming, and Utah (only state where it is illegal).

Knowledge Source’s recently published Physician Dispensing Market Overview examines the competitive landscape of physicians dispensing medication in their office. Due to the fragmented nature of the market, we look at companies that dispense, prepackagers, offer dispensing systems and software.