Pharmacies Struggle with Dual Pricing System Due to Software Issues
Pharmacies across Bulgaria are facing significant challenges with the introduction of dual pricing for medicines, which requires prices to be displayed in both Bulgarian lev and euros. The transition, aimed at preparing for the country’s planned adoption of the euro, has been hampered by serious technical shortcomings in pharmacy software systems. Many of these systems still do not properly display prices in euros, forcing pharmacists to resort to manual price adjustments.
The dual pricing regulation is part of Bulgaria’s efforts to ensure a smooth transition to the euro by maintaining transparency for consumers. However, pharmacies report that software developers were late in delivering updates, and some of the released systems are incomplete or contain critical errors.
“Most software providers delivered their updates at the very end of the month, leaving almost no time for pharmacists to adapt. Some systems launched with bugs and still don’t show euro prices on the sales screen. You can check the euro price, but only after several manual steps,” explained Vasil Khodzhev, pharmacy owner and board member of the Bulgarian Pharmaceutical Union.
Initial versions of the updated software were reported to generate inaccurate euro conversions, requiring pharmacy staff to manually correct price labels. This has placed an additional burden on already understaffed pharmacies, especially during the summer vacation period.
“It has been very difficult for my colleagues. Many pharmacies are short-staffed, and this came at a time when people are on holiday. It’s taken a lot of extra effort,” said Khodzhev.
To cope with the situation, Khodzhev and some other pharmacists have chosen to create their own internal tools for currency conversion and label printing. “We started preparing as soon as the final euro exchange rate was confirmed. That gave us a valuable head start,” he added.
Despite the software issues, some pharmacies have made good progress. “We are about 80% ready, which is quite a good achievement. However, it’s been exhausting. Every bit of spare time is spent re-labeling each medicine package,” said Stanka Markova, Deputy Chair of the Association of Assistant Pharmacists in Burgas.
According to government regulations, all pharmacies must display both BGN and EUR prices by October 8. This regulation applies to every medicine sold and is intended to protect consumers and ensure a transparent transition to the euro.
Still, many pharmacists are calling for better support from software developers and more realistic timelines in the future. For now, the dual pricing system remains a source of stress and logistical difficulties for pharmacies throughout the country.
