Expanding Services at Pharmacies Is Advocated For
Nina Warken, the Federal Health Minister, has announced plans to reform Germany's pharmacies, aiming to give them more flexibility and responsibility. The reforms include allowing pharmacies to offer more services, such as vaccinations and early detection tests for cardiovascular diseases.
One of the key aspects of the reform is the planned increase in pharmacy remuneration, as announced in the coalition agreement between the Union and SPD. However, the Minister has emphasized that this increase will not happen this year. Instead, the fixed component of remuneration is set to rise from the current 8.35 euros per package to 9.50 euros, amounting to around 900 million euros.
Pharmaceutical technical assistants are planned to undergo further training to assume more responsibility. This training will allow them to represent the pharmacy management in limited periods. Pharmacists will also be permitted to dispense certain prescription-only medicines without a prescription for chronically ill patients in urgent need and with known long-term use.
The reform plans also aim to relieve doctor's practices by allowing pharmacies to handle uncomplicated illnesses like simple urinary tract infections. However, the Association of General Practitioners has expressed concern about a potential "floodgate" and risk to patient safety. They have called for a halt to the plans, questioning the ability of pharmacists to determine the nature of an illness without a medical examination.
The Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Selbsthilfe (BAG Selbsthilfe) has also spoken out against the plans, criticizing them as insufficient and calling for sustainable structural reforms instead. Thomas Preis, president of the Federal Association of German Pharmacists' Associations, has criticized the delay in the increase of pharmacy remuneration.
The reform plans also include relaxing previously prescribed opening hours for pharmacies, allowing them, especially in rural areas, to better adapt their business hours to local demand. In addition to flu and corona vaccinations, all vaccinations with "inactivated vaccines" will be able to be offered in pharmacies in the future.
The delay in the increase of pharmacy remuneration is about immediate aid to make up for what has been missed over two decades. The German Pharmacists' Day took place in Düsseldorf, where these changes and the future of pharmacies were discussed. Despite the concerns raised by some medical professionals, the reform plans aim to give pharmacies more flexibility and better utilize them for patient care through a package of new regulations.
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