[The organization of pharmaceutical supply in Wielkopolska in the period from 1945 to 1998]

The Archive of the Poznan CEFARM, located in a three-story building at 15 Mostowa St. in Poznan, comprises a collection, difficult to assess in terms of its size, which documents the operations of pharmacies in Wielkopolska within nearly 50 years. A small part of this collection, i.e. only approximately 8-10 running meters of archives, constitutes the documents of management boards (which appear under different names) of entities which acted as a head-office for the pharmacies. Archives filed in portfolios and paginated documents are of diverse historical value. Numerous balance sheets indicating the execution of plans above the expected limits are less valuable. However, the minutes from the meetings of the boards of directors and the boards of the Trade Unions of the Medical Care Organization's employees as well as as post-audit reports of the Chief Board of Supervision are quite useful for a historian. The statistical data presenting the development of this entity and the reporting pharmacies sometimes Missing documents on the operations of the Independent and Autonomous Trade Union "Solidarity" from the periods 1980-1981 and 1989-1990 are a characteristic phenomenon. They were lost in unexplained circumstances. The organization of pharmaceutical supply in Poland in 1945-1998 is an interesting issue for research, since the State's political and economic system changed twice in this period. The abolition of private ownership in pharmacy and in the wholesale distribution of medicines, medical materials and sanitary goods in 1951 and the democratic changes commenced with the Round Table Negotiations in 1989 significantly influenced the system of pharmaceutical supply, which proves its strong dependence on politics. In 1945-1951 the system was characterised by excessive development of central and provincial administration, comprehensive reporting and, following the Soviet Union, the application of principles of central planning and central management. The establishment of the state's monopoly in the area of wholesale and retail distribution of medicines did not result in the considerable development of the network of pharmacies and increased availability of medicines expected by the society and proclaimed by the authorities. It was typical that the State-owned pharmaceutical wholesalers, existing in 1951-1989, aimed at indoctrinating their staff through a broad offer of social benefits available in a wider range for those persons who participated in welfare work and other profession unrelated activities of ideological nature.