Is Salud Publica the most corrupt ministry?

palmtreelocation

New member
Jun 26, 2013
4
0
0
I've been a resident for a little over a year and decided to run a pharmacy in the Bavaro/Punta Cana region. This was after studying the legal requirements and being assured that under the existing law no new pharmacy could be sanctioned within 500 metres of an existing operation. This i also had confirmed by a senior official at Salud Publica in Santo Domingo.
You can therefore imagine my surprise when a new pharmacy opened 330 metres away with all the correct permits and in a container as well rather than a plaza. When i had a representative call the local official in Higuey she indicated that the new business was more than 500 metres away. I decided to check the GPS data and sure enough it is 334 metres linear. So i arranged for the official to come down and remeasure all at my expense of course. This she did but refused to take a linear measurement, which is the legal requirement, preferring to drive the route instead. Even taken the road her measurement was barely 400 metres, at which point she pronounced that the shortfall was only 100 metres. I therefore escalated this problem to her superior as well as the main office in Santo Domingo, and furnished them with the evidence, including photographs and GPS data, not only of this issue, but also the fact that pharmaceutical medicines are being sold in all the local supermarkets, something else that is illegal without a licence. Having submitted that file, they are supposed to contact the existing business and arrange for a new measurement to take place. To date i have had no reply from any of them.
Anyone thinking of investing in this type of business in the Bavaro/ Punta Cana region probably needs to take account of the facts on the ground. Maybe its best to call yourself a supermarket, and sell anything you like which could save you a great deal of money in licensing costs. The law it seems is simply there to ensnare foreigners, whereas locals can probably send money to the official in Higuey to avoid any inconvenient legal complications around their business plans. Meantime they destroy existing business, and put people out of work by their short sighted addiction to corrupt practices.
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
Staff member
Jan 9, 2009
23,097
6,247
113
South Coast
Sorry to hear you've run up against the DR government, it's not usually pretty. Maybe something for the right journalist to publicize?

It's a shame, but I don't see a happy ending.
 

caribmike

Gold
Jul 9, 2009
6,808
202
63
You have the pharmacy in the plaza in Pueblo Bavaro and you refer to the containers at the Baseball place?
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
31,266
363
0
listen, it is best that you stfu and carry on with the business as usual. have some good daily stuff on offer or buy decent cheap generics to sell at a good, competitive price. the owners of the other pharmacy must already know you are throwing a fit about it. they know where your business is, where your car is parked, where your family lives. they will not go down without a dirty fight, take my word for it...

we run a pharmacy here in POP for several years, i worked there too. i know how it is done. the 500 meter rule is often ignored. i am sorry to hear about your issues. just go with the flow on this one. offer something the other pharmacy does not have: controlled medicine, working with insurances.
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
31,266
363
0
normal people do not need to know. pharmacy owners all know about it and so does salud publica.
 

suarezn

Gold
Feb 3, 2002
5,823
290
0
55
Why is this even a rule? It seems to me the public would benefit more from having competition and the government shouldn't be in the business of protecting private businesses at the expense of others. I'm pretty sure this rule was made by the association of existing pharmacy owners paying off the right people so others would have a hard time entering their territory.

I'm sorry the OP thought the rules apply in The DR, but frankly I would say if you have the money just discount the heck out of your stuff until the other business goes out...it's the wild west out there and what's good for the goose is good for the gander.
 

caribmike

Gold
Jul 9, 2009
6,808
202
63
Not sure if this helps. If OP is inside PB he pays roughly 4 to 5 times the rent* what they pay in that container...

*if he is not the owner of the local, that is...
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
31,266
363
0
suarezn, pharmacy business is heavily regulated, including profits range. so the owner cannot sell any cheaper than already does, most likely, unless he finds a cheaper supplier. the government has put a minimum - but not maximum - profit rule for the pharmacies. the only option is buying really cheap generics or buying as many offers as possible to include some stuff gratis. but the guy in the container may be buying fake drugs cheapy cheap, invoiced at even less than he paid for so he can sell making less profit but at larger volume...
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
31,266
363
0
that reminded me, 500 meter rule was originally meant for SD, i am not sure how official and legal is extending it over the whole country. which does not really matter because this regulation has exceptions regarding pharmacies in plazas or so i was told. that is one can either have a pharmacy in a plaza 100 meters away from existing pharmacy on the main street or within barrio and vice versa, one can put a pharmacy 100 meters away from a plaza that includes pharmacy...
 

palmtreelocation

New member
Jun 26, 2013
4
0
0
too true

Not sure if this helps. If OP is inside PB he pays roughly 4 to 5 times the rent* what they pay in that container...

*if he is not the owner of the local, that is...

Not only is the rent vastly higher, being in a plaza, but the cost of electricity is higher as well. There is no scope to discount as has been pointed out, and Salud Publica are very well aware of the 500 metre rule because they raised it telling us that it should be the main focus of our objection. A container does not comply anyway with the basic rule of having to be a fixed permanent structure, but they appear willing to bend that part of the law when it suits. As even the local people refer to the container as "that illegal pharmacy" i find it quite sad that the official at Salud Publica seems determined to try and avoid responsibility for her (lets be charitable) "mistake". What it does mean though is that anyone thinking of investing here in that type of business needs to know that they could easily lose a great deal of money, because the laws that protect their investment are actually not laws at all.
 

palmtreelocation

New member
Jun 26, 2013
4
0
0
it applies

that reminded me, 500 meter rule was originally meant for SD, i am not sure how official and legal is extending it over the whole country. which does not really matter because this regulation has exceptions regarding pharmacies in plazas or so i was told. that is one can either have a pharmacy in a plaza 100 meters away from existing pharmacy on the main street or within barrio and vice versa, one can put a pharmacy 100 meters away from a plaza that includes pharmacy...

According to a senior official at Salud Publica during a meeting at their main office, the 500 metre rule covers the country. It was certainly quoted to me when i first enquired about the business. I have no knowledge of the other specifics you mention, and they certainly were not brought up when we submitted our official complaint. I may or may not get somewhere. The real problem with this type of behaviour is that, while one person, the official, gets a probable kickback from the dodgy business of a few thousand pesos, the knock on effect of potentially having to lay off staff or close down means that actually more people lose out in the long run. Anyone that works for a Ministry should really be aware of the knock on effect of their decisions, rather than just short term feathering their own nest. Until you get a more thoughtful long term view here, i really see little prospect of this country hauling itself up the economic ladder, despite what the government may wish.