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jimu news reporter du guangran

the price of the same medicine purchased offline at the same pharmacy is much higher than that on the food delivery platform.

on august 29, the reporter visited the site and found that the situation of different prices for the same medicine is not an isolated case. the same is true for some common medicines. for example, the pueraria lobata anti-inflammatory tablets sold in a pharmacy are three times the price offline in the same store as the takeout price.

the above phenomenon has caused confusion and confusion to consumers. jimu news reporters learned that pharmacies or platforms on food delivery platforms will have irregular discounts and full-reduction activities. the drugs sold are the same, but the prices are very different. in response, a store clerk promised that consumers can apply for the "takeaway price" in the store.

the same medicine in the same store has different prices, and some common medicines are 3 times more expensive than online

"i went out to buy anti-inflammatory drugs. the first pharmacy said it was 47 yuan, but the same medicine was only sold for 36 yuan on the food delivery platform. the internet showed that other pharmacies were cheaper, so i was curious and went to ask, but it turned out that another offline store sold it for 58 yuan. why was the price difference so big?" "the same eye drops are nearly twice as expensive in physical stores as on takeout." netizens have been complaining about their experiences on social media.

buying medicine on food delivery platforms has become the first choice for many people because of the convenience of purchase and the wide range of choices. however, it is also common that the same medicine in the same store has different prices, and the price difference between food delivery platforms and physical stores is large, which consumers directly call "stepping into a pit."

pudilan anti-inflammatory tablets, montmorillonite powder, and antiviral oral liquid are all common medicines in life and are usually available at home. on august 29, jimu news reporters randomly visited several pharmacies in chengdu and found that the price of a single box of "pudilan anti-inflammatory tablets" in the same store online and offline differed by up to 20 yuan, and the price in some physical stores was nearly three times the takeaway price.

the reporter bought pueraria lobata anti-inflammatory tablets at a chain drugstore for 28.5 yuan and montmorillonite powder at 19.8 yuan, and then ordered the above drugs from the same store on the food delivery platform. the platform shows that the online price of pueraria lobata anti-inflammatory tablets of the same brand and specification is only 14.2 yuan, and montmorillonite powder is only 12.5 yuan, both of which are discounted prices. after the delivery was delivered, it was found that the drugs in the physical store and the takeaway were the same, with no difference, but the price was doubled. on other food delivery platforms, the same pueraria lobata anti-inflammatory tablets are even sold for only 8.5 yuan.

the medicines purchased online and offline are the same (photo taken by jimu news reporter)

detailed purchase order of physical store (photo taken by jimu news reporter)

at another chain pharmacy, the reporter bought the same antiviral oral liquid as on the food delivery platform. the drug costs 5.8 yuan for a food delivery order, while the price in the physical store is 14.5 yuan.

coincidentally, the reporter randomly went to other pharmacies to inquire about prices and compare them. it was still found that some drugs had "same medicine but different prices", and the prices of drugs in physical stores were higher.

where does the difference in drug prices come from? in response, a pharmacy staff member explained that the takeaway discount price may be a platform activity. the prices of some drugs are indeed cheaper, but the drugs are the same and there is no difference. if you buy drugs offline, you have the opportunity to use medical insurance pooling, and the price is also lower.

the customer service of the food delivery platform said that merchants or platforms will have irregular discounts and full-reduction activities, and the specific details are subject to the event introduction. "the preferential price may be an activity organized by the merchant or a subsidy from the platform. the price of medicines will fluctuate from time to time."

some people place orders for self-collection to save money, and the pharmacy says they can apply for the "takeaway price" in the store

on food delivery platforms, many pharmacies sell thousands of orders per month, and some have monthly sales of more than 7,000 orders. some pharmacies do not have an 8-hour work system, but are open 24 hours a day.

"our store has a large proportion of takeaway orders." a clerk at a chain drugstore told reporters that some medicines are cheaper for takeaway, which is related to platform activities. if consumers are bothered by the price difference, they can go to the store to apply for the "takeaway discount", but not all products are eligible, and medical insurance cannot be used.

the staff of another store also promised that consumers can apply for the "takeaway price" at the store. if consumers are close to the store, they can also choose to pick up the food at the store when placing a takeaway order. the discount is the same, and there is no delivery fee. which method to choose depends mainly on the personal wishes of consumers.

xiaotian (pseudonym), who has picked up medicines in stores many times, said that he often buys medicines on food delivery platforms and is familiar with the prices of some commonly used medicines. once when he was buying medicines in another place, he found that the prices were quite different, so he placed an order on his mobile phone and chose to pick up the medicines in the store. the medicines are the same, and you can also use coupons, and you can be a food delivery man yourself.

drug prices on food delivery platforms (source: food delivery platform app)

reporters have found that the same medicine has different prices in many places. a media reporter visited several pharmacies in jinan and compared the price differences between two drugs online and offline and between different stores. it was found that for drugs with the same packaging and specifications from the same factory, the highest price difference for a box of xiaoer chiqiao qingre granules was 26.7 yuan, and the highest price difference for a box of kujin tablets was 20.2 yuan. yangzhou citizens once reported to the media that the prices of cefixime capsules and diclofenac sodium sustained-release tablets they bought in pharmacies were too high, and the price of the same drugs online was less than half of that in pharmacies.

in response to the above situation, the staff of the market supervision and management department told jimu news that, except for the unified pricing of psychotropic and anesthetic drugs, most other drugs are subject to market-adjusted prices, and the price is set by the operators themselves. when consumers buy drugs, they should pay attention to whether the price is clearly marked. for the same drug, you can "shop around" and choose the one with the most suitable price.

in front of a drugstore (photo taken by jimu news reporter)

according to beijing evening news, at the beginning of this year, the national medical insurance administration launched a special price control campaign for "four same drugs" (i.e. drugs with the same generic name, brand, dosage form, and specification), pushing the prices of drugs with the same generic name, brand, dosage form, and specification back to a reasonable range, and a number of pharmaceutical companies took the initiative to lower their online prices. afterwards, the national medical insurance administration issued a letter on launching a special campaign of "going online, checking drug prices, comparing data, and grasping governance". in drug price monitoring, the prices of drugs on the online drug sales platform, such as "takeaway price", "hourly delivery", "instant delivery", and "limited time delivery", are introduced as anchor points for the same-day instant delivery mode of drugs in the same city, and compared with drug prices from other channels, so as to control unreasonable high prices.

(source: jimu news)