ARLINGTON, Va. — Pharmaceutical sales through primary health care distributors climbed to nearly $263 billion in 2009, says a recent report from the Healthcare Distribution Management Association (HDMA).

According to the report, released last month by the Center for Healthcare Supply Chain Research, HDMA’s research foundation, primary distributors now account for nearly 86% of drug sales.

The detailed report — “The 2010-2011 HDMA Factbook: The Facts, Figures & Trends in Healthcare” — provides a comprehensive picture of the health care distribution industry, reporting in the areas of operations, finance, distributor demographics, information systems, delivery and returns, and more.

“The HDMA Factbook sheds light on the tremendous efficiency involved in moving millions of medicines and health care products across the supply chain,” HDMA president and chief executive officer John Gray says. “Such efficiency would not be possible without HDMA distributor members, who continue to safely deliver lifesaving products to the right patient at the right time while saving the health care system billions of dollars in the process.”

According to the Factbook, a typical HDMA member distribution center handled a daily average of 1,710 orders in 2009.

These distribution centers delivered more than 91,000 products a day to pharmacies, hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities and other outlets, while keeping net profit margins at an average of 1%.