What is the role of distributors like McKesson Canada?

• A. To ensure medications are dispensed directly to patients.
• B. To provide clinical consulting to physicians.
• C. To distribute medications in bulk to pharmacies.
• D. To market over-the-counter products.

Answer: (C)

Distributors in the pharmaceutical system act as the link between drug manufacturers and pharmacies, handling bulk purchasing, warehousing, and the actual delivery of medications to pharmacies and hospitals. This ensures medicines are available where needed, in the right quantities and under proper storage conditions, with efficient inventory management and compliance with regulations. McKesson Canada functions in this capacity by sourcing drugs from manufacturers and distributing them in bulk to community pharmacies and hospitals, managing logistics and inventory. They do not dispense medications to patients at the point of sale, nor do they provide routine clinical consulting to physicians as a primary service, and marketing over-the-counter products is not their core role.