Future pharmacy services and funding models in Finland
Funders
Leaders
The aim of the project is to examine alternative service-based models for financing the Finnish pharmacy system. The models place particular emphasis on the broader utilization of pharmaceutical services as well as remote and online services, ensuring nationwide pharmacy services, and establishing models for cooperation between pharmacies and wellbeing service counties.
Background
In many countries, the financing of pharmacy systems has shifted toward a service-based model, in which society reimburses a portion of the pharmaceutical services provided by pharmacies. International examples show that pharmacies can alleviate the burden on the healthcare system and improve access to care when they are integrated into the care pathway. In Finland, too, the discussion regarding the role of pharmacies as part of the social and healthcare service chain has intensified.
Reforms in social and healthcare have strengthened the government’s role in the management and funding of services, which creates conditions for reforming the finances and operations of pharmacies. Recent reports and studies have repeatedly shown that community pharmacists possess untapped expertise to strengthen medication monitoring, adherence to pharmacotherapies, and support the overall management of medications. However, national guidance on the role of pharmacies as part of the pharmacotherapy process and on cooperation with wellbeing service counties remains currently unclear, and the current funding model, which is based on the sale of medicines, does not encourage the development of pharmacy services to meet the regional social and healthcare needs of the population.
Materials and Methods
The project is divided into two complementary work packages. The first examines international funding models and their applicability to Finland through a literature review, as well as descriptive and computational modeling and related analysis. The second work package examines the needs of the population and the social and healthcare sectors for future pharmacy services through various interviews and surveys, as well as data collected from registers, for example. In the fall of 2026, the following events will be organized: 1) a workshop for medicine users, and 2) a public event open to everyone to discuss the results obtained in both work packages of the project.
