Purpose The objective of this study is to investigate how the reregulation affected the decision making process of buyers of OTC drugs, and to identify determinants for how a buyer chooses to obtain OTC drugs in the reregulated Swedish pharmacy market. Furthermore this study aims to map out buyers’ purchases of OTC drugs as well as their impressions about the reregulation of the Swedish pharmacy market   Background The Swedish pharmacy market was opened up for competition the 1 July 2009. On 1 November 2009, private pharmacies are allowed in the market, as well non-pharmacy retailers can commercialize OTC drugs. Thus due to the reregulation of the pharmacy market, consumers and retailers face a different market situation, since the amount of retailer selling OTC drugs has increased. This study investigates how buyers’ purchase behavior of OTC was affected by the end of the pharmacy monopoly.   Method  The purpose of this thesis was achieved by using a mixed-method approach. The qualitative method in the form of interviews and the quantitative method by conducting a survey. The mixed-method was used in order to obtain a deeper understanding of the phenomenon of consumer decision-making process as well as attitude and impression about the reregulation of the Swedish pharmacy market.   Conclusion Buyers are in general satisfied with the reregulation of the Swedish pharmacy market. However, the positive attitude towards the reregulation does not necessarily mean a change in purchase behavior for OTC drugs. The decision making process is found to be dependent on the level of experience the buyer possesses with the needed OTC drug, as well as the type of need the buyer experiences, thus three determinants for the decision making process of OTC drugs were found. The frequency of purchase is connected to the gender and age group of the buyer. Also the majority of the researched buyers already had experienced the purchase of OTC drugs in store other than pharmacies. The buyers that never purchase OTC drugs in other retailers are in general open to the possibility of taking advantage of those stores.

Η εργασία που ακολoυθεί εκπονήθηκε στα πλαίσια του μεταπτυχιακού προγράμματος σπουδών "Φαρμακευτικό Μάρκετινγκ", του τμήματος Φαρμακευτικής του Πανεπιστήμιου Πατρών, κατά την ακαδημαϊκή περίοδο σπουδών 2009-2011. Σκοπός της έρευνας ήταν να γίνει μια εκτίμηση της κατάστασης στο χώρο της αγοράς των μη υποχρεωτικώς συνταγογραφούμενων φαρμάκων, έχοντας υπόψη τις διαφημιστικές στρατηγικές που εφαρμόζονται από τις φαρμακευτικές εταιρίες, καθώς επίσης και άλλων προϊόντων που διατίθενται από τα φαρμακεία. Στα προϊόντα αυτά περιλαμβάνονται συμπληρώματα διατροφής, υποκατάστατα νικοτίνης για τη ρύθμιση της διάθεσης για κάπνισμα, προϊόντα για το αδυνάτισμα, προϊόντα στοματικής υγιεινής, κρέμες για αντηλιακή προστασία, για αντιγήρανση και ενυδάτωση κ.ά. Για την πραγματοποίηση της παρούσας μελέτης συλλέχτηκαν οι τηλεοπτικές διαφημίσεις των προϊόντων αυτών είτε από τις διαφημιστικές εταιρείες είτε από το διαδίκτυο προκειμένου να αναλυθούν. Τα διαφημιστικά που αναλύσαμε ήταν 78 και τα δεδομένα που προέκυψαν αναλύθηκαν με τη βοήθεια του στατιστικού προγράμματος SPSS. Πραγματοποιήσαμε ανάλυση παραγόντων (factor analysis) από την οποία προέκυψαν 14 διαφορετικά προφίλ διαφημίσεων. Τα ερευνητικά συμπεράσματα υποδεικνύουν πως στις διαφημίσεις χρησιμοποιούνται σε υψηλό ποσοστό πληροφοριακά στοιχεία (ποιότητα, απόδοση και συστατικά μέρη/στοιχεία) καθώς επίσης και πληθώρα διαφημιστικών εκτελεστικών στυλ με κυρίαρχα: το κομμάτι της καθημερινότητας, φαντασία/όνειρο και διάθεση/εικόνα. / The following research was acomplished for the Master Program "Pharmaceutical Marketing" during the academic year 2009-2011. The purpose of this study is to conduct a content analysis of the advertisements of OTC products. The advertisements contain food supplements, NRT, diet products as well as dental hygiene products. In order to perform the content analysis, 78 television ads were collected and then analysed using SPSS. From the factor analysis that we performed we came up with 14 different kinds (profiles)of advertisments. The main conclusions dictate that in OTC advertisments are extensively used informational clues regarding the quality, the performance and the parts of its product. Moreover, a variety of advertising executive styles are also used, such as slice of life and fantasy dream.

Η παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία έχει ως σκοπό να μελετήσει αν η διαφήμιση των OTC παυσίπονων φαρμάκων επηρεάζει τη συμπεριφορά των καταναλωτών-ασθενών. Πιο συγκεκριμένα, μελετούνται διάφοροι παράγοντες που βρέθηκαν από τη βιβλιογραφική ανασκόπηση ότι επηρεάζουν τις επιλογές των καταναλωτών. Επίσης, διερευνήσαμε τη γνώμη των καταναλωτών για τα OTC παυσίπονα φάρμακα και πόσο σημαντικός είναι ο ρόλος του φαρμακοποιού για τις αποφάσεις που λαμβάνουν οι καταναλωτές. / The aim of this thesis is the impact of advertising OTC painkilling drugs on consumer behavior.

Aging population is becoming the potential social and economic problem for many governments all around the world. These countries including Taiwan are seeking for solutions for the increased healthcare spending. According to the United Nations’ population estimates, we are living in a rapidly aging world. The global share of what we call “senior” or people age over 65 is expected to rise from nearly 8% in 2015 to more than 14% by 2050. The situation in Taiwan is not much different. With increasing life expectancy and a birth rate that continues to decline, the aging population in Taiwan has become more and more obvious. Widespread adoption of Generic and Biosimilar drugs, as opposed to patented or brand name drugs, could help governments reduce healthcare costs and increase the reach of healthcare services. Patented drugs in the prescription drugs segment account for about 70% of total prescription spending in Taiwan. However, the share is set to decline gradually under pressure from government policies promoting the use of generic products and the increasing switches from prescription segment to OTC segment (RX-to-OTC). We expect the penetration of generic drugs in Taiwan OTC drugs segment to increase as the generic drug market has continued to gain prominence within the pharmaceutical sectors in recent years. Despite the fact that OTC generic drug market is a highly competitive market in Taiwan, Genedex Co. still aims to provide good quality generic drugs at a competitive price to meet the generic drugs demands. In addition, Genedex Co. understands the ability to quickly bring new products to the market will play a large role in the future success. Thus, product innovation and differentiation will also be the center focus in the business model. Looking into the future, Genedex Co. expects to see growth at a more rapid pace starting from year 2020 as newly developed generic OTC drugs will be introduced to the market to compete with the branded counterparts and also expects to achieve a more solid presence in the market by year 2021.

Final master work, 41 pages, 15 graphical scheme, 6 tables, 29 references and 2 annex. Keywords: Sociological investigation, self-medication, popularity of self-medication, treatment and self-treatment, medicaments, OTC drugs, non-OTC drugs, advertisement, respondent, gastro intestinal disorder, pharmacist in self-medication, herbal remedies. Self-medication should be understood as a treatment of easy and uncomplicated disorder without the help of a health care specialist. Self-medication process occur when the self-healer can exactly realize his or her disorder or symptoms of his or her disease, they can chose the most suitable medicament and use it properly for not longer than 7 days. The proper self-medicament should not cause any undesirable effects and worsen the patient’s health condition. Only OTC drug are suitable in self-medication. Before start using the medicament, the patient should always read carefully the note and information leaflet. Work object: citizen of Kaunas City. Work subject: patients, 2nd year students of the Technological University of Kaunas (KTU), company workers. Work aim: Evaluate the self-healing between the citizen of Kaunas City suffering from Gastrointestinal tract disorder. Task work: 1. Theoretical analysis of self-medication 2. Investigate the gastrointestinal problems between the citizen of Kaunas city. 3. Investigate the treatment peculiarity between the citizen of Kaunas city. Method of analysis :... [to full text]