The number of pharmacies in Germany has reached a new low. In the first quarter of 2024, their number fell by 142 to 17,429 compared to the end of 2023. This emerges from the pharmacy business report, which was presented on Tuesday at the economic forum of the German Pharmacists Association (DAV) in Potsdam. The economic situation remains “extremely tense”. An average pharmacy had net sales of 3.4 million euros in 2023, and operating profit before taxes fell by 4.3 percent to 148,000 euros due to increased costs. However, according to the Federal Association of German Pharmacists Associations (Abda), there are significant differences. This week the Abda called for protests again.
Between 2010 and 2023, every sixth pharmacy was closed, says Georg Götz, who teaches economics at the Justus Liebig University in Giessen, in a press conference. On behalf of Abda, he analyzed the plans of Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach and came to the conclusion that the death of pharmacies will probably increase. The plans for fee reform would not change that, said Götz in Potsdam. The variable remuneration of three percent of the pharmacy purchase price is to be reduced in two steps from the current three percent to two percent. The fixed surcharge per pack of prescription medication is set to increase.
Lawsuit not excluded
In a report by former Federal Constitutional Judge Udo Di Fabio, Abda had Lauterbach’s plans for pharmacies without pharmacists examined. By designing and supervising the pharmacy sector, the state is fulfilling a duty to protect the fundamental right to life and physical integrity, said Di Fabio. The giver of the law does have some leeway. Any legislative step “towards a move away from the model of personal control over the dispensing of medicines by a pharmaceutically qualified pharmacist” should be assessed as an infringement on fundamental rights. Everything will be done to ensure that this protection is maintained, says Abda President Gabriele Regina Overwiening. She did not rule out a lawsuit.