Health News

Number of pharmacies in Germany continues to fall

In the past year, almost every day, has closed a pharmacy: 325 public pharmacies to 2018, have had to cease operation. This is the highest drop ever recorded in a calendar year. The current pharmacy number marks the lowest level since the mid-1980s. The show surveys the ABDA – Federal Union of German associations of Pharmacists e. V.

"Still, we have a comprehensive Arzneimittelversorgung", ABDA-President Friedemann Schmidt says, but if politically nothing would change, no more will be soon. The end of the year 2018, there were in Germany 19.423 public pharmacies. The pharmacy density is decreased from 24 to 23 pharmacies per 100,000 inhabitants, and is now significantly below the EU average of 31.

"It worries and hurts me that the number of pharmacists continues to fall. The company must offer to young pharmacists back a real prospect, to an existence as a self-employed aufzubauen", Schmidt says. The downward trend shows that the regulatory framework needs to be stabilized and that the pharmacy would need a better technical and economic perspective. The profession have made his proposals for a further development of the pharmacy care a few weeks ago for discussion. "The policy has been understood that legislative intervention is necessary; the should now be able to quickly kommen", so Schmidt.

ABDA/NK

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